Controversial Issues in the United States

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Throughout history, especially when a new country is formed, there are many controversial issues. These issues come up when not everyone agrees on how the country should be run. In the United States, especially in the early years, there were various issues. These issues split the United States into 2 political parties. In the early 1800’s, these 2 parties were the Democratic Republicans and the Federalists. Democratic Republicans believed in a strong state government. The Federalist believed in a strong central government. Some of the issues they disagreed on were ratification of the Constitution and the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Before the Constitution came to be, the United States had a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation, which were approved in 1781. The Articles of Confederation gave a lot of power to the states and not very much to the central government. Very soon after the Articles of Confederation was created, many problems came up. As it states in Document 1, Congress could not tax or pay its bills or debts. It could neither protect its country from mercantilist European empires nor supply the army. They could not even revise the Articles of Confederation in order to be able to levy taxes since it needed the unanimous consent of all thirteen states. The state was much too powerful, leaving the federal government almost powerless. In 1787, 55 delegates from 12 states convened to revise the Articles of Confederation. During the convention, they came up with a plan that created three branches to the Federal government. The constitution created a strong government with lots of power given to the Federal government and stripped the state government of a lot of its power. This created 2 sides, Federalist... ... middle of paper ... ...ew Orleans. Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition, to scout and map the newly acquired territory, hopefully encouraging settlement there and proving that the land was good. Although now the nation’s territorial expansion has ended, the westward movement of people continues to this day. America had multiple controversial issues to deal with, especially as a newly formed republic. Although these issues create tension within the government, it strengthened the country to bring it to where it stands today. The ratification of the constitution strengthened United States by giving its federal government power. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory strengthened United States by expanding its land, thereby expanding its dominance in world politics. Works Cited Prentice Hall - America – Pathways to the Present-Pages 132, 133, 139, 140, 141, 142, 186, 187

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