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Essay On Federalism

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Essay On Federalism
The Constitution was chartered by the government to serve as the supreme law of the United States. It took approximately ten months for the first nine states to approve the constitution. During the period from the drafting and proposal of the constitution, there was an intense debate on the ratification because there were various forms of arguments against the ratification of the Constitution between Federalists and Antifederalists. Essentially, federalism is derived from the Latin root foedus. It is a system in which power is shared between national and provincial governments; so the U.S is being governed by two levels of government. In their debates over the new constitution, the Antifederalists used arguments that were closer to the ideals …show more content…
There was a desire to form a democratic government due to the Enlightenment which affected political ideals and social customs as the thirteen colonies evolved into the United States. The American Enlightenment was a period of intellectual incitement which lasted from 1714 to 1818. There was a mass production of books and other pieces of literature with 17th century Englishman John Locke being the Enlightenment's most influential author. For instance in the Two Treatises of Government, Locke states that, “It is evident, that absolute Monarchy, which by some Men is counted the only Government in the World, is indeed inconsistent with the civil Society, and so can be no form of Civil-Government at all.” Locke’s fundamental argument is that human nature is invested with natural rights, so people can law against someone who infringes on their rights. People have the right to dissolve of their government if it does not benefit their interests; the government must serve the people because it has no sovereignty of its own. His ideals then influenced Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence in which it states “We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain undeniable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of

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