Framers Of The Constitution: Questions And Answers
1. Why did the Framers of the Constitution opt for a federal system rather than a unitary one? The experience with British rule had soured the Founders on the idea of one government with centralized and ultimate power. The new Americans did not care if tyranny came from a central government in America rather than from across the Atlantic—they wanted to make the potential for tyranny as remote as possible. In a federal system, both the states and the central government are sovereign within the sphere of powers the Constitution grants them.
2. How has the evolution of the federal system affected the civil rights and liberties of American citizens? The Civil War ends in 1865 and the Thirteenth amendment is added to the Constitution