The time for a new government came about in times of fear, many men such as William Livingston wondered “if the republic could even survive another decade” for Henry Knox made an excellent point in declaring “Our present federal government is a name, a shadow, without power, or effect”. Meantime the relationship between the states was poor and there was an uncertainty if they would even remain united what with the debts, the economic turmoil, and the slow realization that without England they had no protection from the outside world. The question on everyone’s mind was, is there anything that can be done to save their country? 55 delegates gathered in hopes of answering this question with a brilliant solution of their own.…
In 1787, the members of the Federal Convention knew that the Articles of Confederation were severely lacking what was essential for a successful government and nation. Knowing this, the convention looked to the past to construct a constitution for a young and ever changing country. The Founding Fathers’ were influenced by the Romans, the English and many others along the way, hoping that they would be more successful at producing liberty, order, and justice. The result is the long standing Constitution that has guided America and the government through the founding to present day.…
Starting on May 25th of 1787 and lasting until September 17th of 1787 the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution is an integral part of American history. Moreover, the study of American history tends to neglect mentioning the “behind the scenes” that progressed the creation of America’s federated Constitutional Republic. “Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution” by Richard Beeman is designed to demonstrate the diversity amongst Founding Fathers’ beliefs, intentions, and contributions to the Constitution and government. The narrative styled historical nonfiction follows the Constitutional Conventions of the late 1700’s including detailed debates surrounding slavery, representation, treasury, and ultimately…
The United States Constitution is an extremely valuable document .The constitution assisted in creating our modern day United States; The constitution assisted in establishing our administration giving inhabitants privileges and liberty. The Constitution was put in place to give citizens a voice on how the country should be run and to establish laws and principles. There were five manuscripts that were very important in establishing the constitution, (A)The Magna Carta,1215 (B) The Mayflower Compact 1620, (c) The Declaration of Independence 1776, and (D) The Articles of confederation 1777 and (E) The Federalists Papers 1787-1788. The first document was the Magna Carta.…
It can be said that in a democracy, unity among the many cannot exist without compromise. Following the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1776, the Articles of Confederation (the “Articles”) were written to allay fears about, and promote liberty, for its citizens, by legitimizing the rights of individual states. However, the Articles provided such restrictive powers for the underfunded national government to counteract deficiencies, that the union was at risk of collapse. A series of meetings, known as the Constitutional Convention (the “Convention”), was held to fix America’s dysfunctional political system, resulting in re-writing the American Constitution. Throughout the process of ratifying this historic document, many disputes…
"We the people of the United States" A excerpt from the preamble of the U.S Constitution. This helps solidify the principle of the U.S government that it should be run by the people, for the people. Exemplifying the independent and sovereign nature of the United States of America. "in Order to form a more perfect Union " A phrase within the document that reflects the dissatisfaction of the colonist of that time. Great Britain had instituted several laws upon the colonist with no representation, this caused for an uproar in America which sparked a brutal and pivotal war.…
The modern American public often views the Founding Fathers of the United States as level-headed, well-intentioned, diplomatic, successful statesmen. Upon further investigation and analysis, a clear discordance in the men’s visions of the American Spirit shows its face. Some founders strived for a strong centralized federal government while others desired a union of essentially independent states. This dichotomy reveals the schism of understanding amongst the “Founding Brothers” as illuminated in the historical analysis by Joseph Ellis.…
The Preamble was placed in the Constitution more or less as an afterthought. It was not proposed or discussed on the floor of the Constitutional Convention. Rather, Gouverneur Morris, a delegate from Pennsylvania who as a member of the Committee of Style actually drafted the near-final text of the Constitution, composed it at the last moment. It was Morris who gave the considered purposes of the Constitution coherent shape, and the Preamble was the capstone of his expository gift. The Preamble did not, in itself, have any substantive legal meaning. The understanding at the time was that preambles are merely declaratory and are not to be read as granting or limiting power—a view sustained by the Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905).…
The Constitution works because it has check and balances. The Checks and Balances make sure that no branch of government gets too powerful, or else there would be no point in having three branches of government. Our Constitution works because each branch has equal power.…
The Preamble to the Constitution is saying that the people in America need to unite to have peace, and to defend and provide common defense. To have peace in our nation for us and our generations to come. We must respect and follow the laws. We need to help the people in need.…
* Until I return, Peter Sagal, host of NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me," will be giving my first 4 lectures by you watching each of his following 4 PBS videos on line, each of which is 53 minutes long. Important points of each WILL BE on exam # 1. The four episodes include... (1) A More Perfect Union, (2) It's a Free Country, (3) Created Equal, (4) Built to Last, and they each can be viewed at http://video.pbs.org/program/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/ Peter Sagal breathes new life into the traditional civics lesson, by travelling across the country on a Harley Davidson to find out where the U.S. Constitution lives, how it works and how it doesn't ... how it unites us as a nation and how it has nearly torn us apart. Sagal introduces some major constitutional debates today and talks with…
The Founding Father had a fair number of obstacles to overcome to get the Constitution passed and ratified. One of their big obstacles was the fact that everyone did not want a national government that would have more power than an individual state. None of the states wanted to be controlled or taxed by anyone else. The people were afraid of having an executive branch that would resemble anything like a king. The other issued addressed was that no part of the government would run the country without being checked by another branch of government. People also wanted to make everyone feel that the government was there to serve them and would not be easily influenced by any special interest. The main problem that confronted the creators of Constitution was how to create the fair representation for balance interest of small states and big states. As we may see there were a few obstacles that need to be overcome to satisfy the interests of many in order to receive their support.…
I have a pale memory of standing in the school gymnasium for a 2nd grade assembly. We began to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. As I placed my [Describe hand?] hand over my heart, I heard a giggle from behind. I turned and saw some of my classmates twisting in their place, chatting amongst themselves, and distractedly gazing at the ceiling beams. I realized in that moment the very thing intended to unify us as a people seemed like a chore to most. This kind of general disrespect is now being extended to the Constitution. We treat it like a set of rules, instead of a collection of privileges and protections. The popular opinion is to change the Constitution to fit today’s culture.…
“Evelina!” I’ve broken something again. Master Jefferson has been spotted in the distance, and the entirety of the household of Monticello is in a frenzy. Everyone around me is rushing to get the house ready, and to make Master Jefferson’s room adequate for his anticipated return. As I seize a broom to sweep up the remnants of the jug I dropped, I think about what news he might bring of the newly proposed Constitution. In truth I am unsure about whether this constitution will help anything. On one hand, unification of the states would make this land stronger as a nation and more organized, but with the proposed president in place, it seems as if we are leaning more towards our monarchical roots. Without a bill of rights, our individual rights are threatened, but they did say that the Constitution could be…
October 27, 1787 was the day when the Federalist Papers where first published in the New York press under the signature of "Publius". The Federalist Papers brought political thought in American to an all high importance. After the Revolutionary war, many Americans started to realize that the Articles of Confederation was not doing much justice and was just not working in general. This lead to rivalry among the states over land, commerce, and the repayment of public debate. America strongly wanted a government that would maintain national unity but to a certain existent. Delegates then decided to meet at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 to find an answer to this new form of government that America was searching for. Their solution became the United States Constitution. Before the delegates could put the Constitution into action they had to get it ratified and approved by nine of the thirteen states. The future for the United States then rested in the hands of the citizens. Questions began to ponder their minds on whether they where open to a new idea of a government for their states. Shortly a public debate began to form in each state, should the Constitution be accepted or not?…