The Genius of the American Constitution Since the advent of human government, one of the principle fears held by the constituents of the government has always been to prevent any form of tyranny or abuse within it. Tyranny can be loosely described as one person or a group of people having total power in a government leading to the subjugation and oppression of people’s rights. Many new nations wish to eliminate any aspect of their government that may eventually lead to tyranny. The United States was no different in this respect; the framers of the Constitution longed to have no signs of tyranny in their government because they had gone to war with Britain for that very reason. In 1787, a group of fifty-five delegates came from throughout the states to meet in Philadelphia to discuss the problems with the current government. The existing Articles of Confederation posed a monumental problem for these individuals; they recognized that the central government was almost entirely powerless under these articles. Besides this, another problem was that the government lacked a court system or a chief executive. The central government did not possess the power to tax the states either. These problems warranted change which prompted these men to get together. This new constitution they were to create was supposed to guard the people against all kinds of tyranny whether it be of a few, the many or majority, or even a single individual. This seemed virtually insurmountable a task to accomplish but was ultimately achieved. The Constitution guards against tyranny by having a central and state government that cannot overrule or have more power over the other, establishing the separation of powers to keep anyone from abusing it, and having a sys... ... middle of paper ... ... addressed and resolved. The existing government under the Articles of Confederation was not simply working and to resolve this, delegates came from almost every state to lay down the foundations for the Constitution. Their task was to create a strong central government without giving too much power to one person or group. The war with Britain and the tyrannical rule of King George III led the people to detest tyranny because they had seen it in effect personally. The task of creating this Constitution was not simple and required some of the brightest minds to come together to ensure that it would fully guard against tyranny. Eventually, a sophisticated system was created that allowed the Constitution to create a strong central government that protected the liberties of the people while simultaneously making it impossible for tyranny to be evident in the government.
Gordon Wood calls the new Federal Constitution a "radical experiment", and believes the framers of that Constitution to be political radicals, why does he believe so?
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
The Constitution of the United States is one of the most iconic and important documents of all time. However, when it was first generated, its writing and ratification caused some major concerns. The purpose of the Constitution was to address the great number of issues of a new nation. To be more specific, the Constitution was meant to resolve the political, economic, and social problems of the country. Nevertheless, the document spurred much discussion and concern over people’s rights, the economy, and political corruption.
During and after the turmoil of the American Revolution, the people of America, both the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, strove to create a new system of government that would guide them during their unsure beginning. This first structure was called the Articles of Confederation, but it was ineffective, restricted, and weak. It was decided to create a new structure to guide the country. However, before a new constitution could be agreed upon, many aspects of life in America would have to be considered. The foremost apprehensions many Americans had concerning this new federal system included fear of the government limiting or endangering their inalienable rights, concern that the government’s power would be unbalanced, both within its branches and in comparison to the public, and trepidation that the voice of the people would not be heard within the government.
The average American doesn’t really think much of the government, without realizing, something terrible is secretly happening. Since the Articles of Confederation failed to unify the states that finally gained independence, 55 delegates came together in Philadelphia to discuss the making of a Constitution. The constitution would have a purpose to stop tyranny. The definition of tyranny (according to James Madison and Federalist Paper #40) is the accumulation of powers in the same hands whether of one, a few, or many. The constitution guarded against tyranny with the use of Federalism, “Separation of Powers”, “Checks and Balances”, and “Balancing power between large and small states”.
Aristotle once said, “ Every man should be responsible to others, nor should any one be allowed to do just as he pleases; for where absolute freedom is allowed, there is nothing to restrain the evil which is inherent in every man. ” In May of 1787, 55 individuals drifted into Philadelphia in response to a call for a Constitutional Convention. The dilemma facing the group of men was the existing constitution, The Articles of the Constitution it wasn’t working, the constitution wasn’t strong enough to hold a nation. Together they theorized a way to separate the powers so no one has more power than the rest. This was America’s guard against tyranny it was the new constitution. The constitution guards against tyranny by utilizing big states vs. small states, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
Tyranny has been a problem throughout many cultures and civilizations. When the United States of America first separated from Britain after the Revolutionary War, they needed to put laws and a government in place. However, there was a widespread fear that if the government was too strong then tyranny would occur, much like what happened with King George the Third in Britain. This led to the founding fathers creating the Articles of Confederation. Unfortunately, after approximately 7 years of the Articles being in effect, the founders decided we needed a change because the Articles had many flaws, and were missing many key components that are required for a successful democracy. In May of 1787, 55 delegates arrived in Philadelphia to frame a
The natural born clause is one of the worst provisions in the Constitution, America is supposed to be a “land of opportunity,” but with this clause it demonstrates the opposite. People leave their country of birth and come to America in search of the opportunities that are portrayed in the United States. Many foreign born people do not only leave their homeland behind, but they also leave their families behind. The reason for which they leave their homeland and come to America is because they believe they will be treated fairly and they will be provided with the same opportunities as the natural born citizens. Denying a foreign born citizen the opportunity to be a President simply because they were not born in the US territory counters the
The American Revolution stirred political unity and motivated the need for change in the nation. Because many Americans fought for a more balanced government in the Revolutionary War, they initially created a weak national government that hampered the country's growth and expansion. In the Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Mrs. Adams complained about the inadequacy of power that the American government had to regulate domestic affairs. The Articles of Confederation was created to be weak because many had feared a similar governing experience that they had just eliminated with Britain. The alliance of states united the 13 local governments but lacked power to deal with important issues or to regulate diplomatic affairs. Congress did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, or draft people for war. This put the American citizens at stake because States had the power to refuse requests for taxes and troops (Document G). The weakened national government could not do anything about uprisings or small-scale protests because it did not have the power to put together an army. The deficiencies of the confederation government inspired the drafting of the American Constitution. The document itself embodied the principle of a national government prepared to deal with the nation's problems. In James Madison's Federalist Paper, he persuades the American public to adopt the Constitution so that the government can protect humans from their nature and keep them out of conflicts.
Eventually, we would have an tyranny without a strong trustworthy constitution. We do not want to recreate exactly what the colonists were trying to avoid and escape from, which was tyranny. Tyranny refers to when a person has a lot of power, and has a lot on their hands, having complete control, and total control. In 1787 a group of delegates from 12 of the 13 states goes together to try to better the country.The constitution was mainly written in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was made to make a guideline for the building of a federal government so that there wouldn’t be any tyranny.
The first written constitution of the United States was The Articles of Confederation.. The Articles of Confederation failed because they did not have a strong central government. They was various problems and weaknesses with the articles of confederation, which is why we have the U.S. Constitution.
The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of this, the Constitution was written....
The men who wrote the American constitution agreed with Thomas Hobbes that humans were naturally evil. Therefore, they agreed that in order to prevent a dictatorship or monarchy, the citizens should have influence in the government. The writers wanted a more ideal constitution, but they realized evil human motives would never change. One of the main goals of the constitution was to create a balanced government that would allow the citizens to prevent each other from being corrupt. The writers wanted to give citizens liberty, but they did not want to give people so much liberty that they would have an uncontrollable amount of power. The writers agreed that a citizen’s influence in government would be proportionate to that individual’s property.
The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. The Articles had created a very weak national government. At the time the Articles were approved, they had served the will of the people. Americans had just fought a war to get freedom from a great national authority--King George III (Patterson 34). But after this government was put to use, it was evident that it was not going to keep peace between the states. The conflicts got so frequent and malicious that George Washington wondered if the “United” States should be called a Union (Patterson 35). Shays’ Rebellion finally made it evident to the public that the government needed a change.