Before we knew it as the United States Constitution, we all knew it as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was just too weak as in: each state had one vote in Congress, there was no executive branch to enforce laws passed by Congress, there was no national court system, and etc… Before it could be ratified there was great concern between the delegates that were present at the convention. The main concern they had was the type of legislature. The representatives of larger states wanted the seats in the legislature to be determined by the size of the state. The representatives from the smaller states wanted to have equal representation in Congress. They negotiated on this situation by allowing a bicameral legislature,…
Their was way too much power in the constitution. It had to be divided. The first one it was divided into was federalism, which…
The United States' form of government from 1781-1789, was based on the Articles Of Confederation. The document itself did provide the early establishment with a form of national government, a legislative branch, and expansion of land to the west, but still had more weaknesses than it did strengths. The articles were weak and would not be able to provide the growing nation with an effective government. One of the main reasons being (for the weaknesses), was the States' fear of a strong executive branch, in other words, the monarchial government they fought to be free from during the Revolution. The articles failed to efficiently regulate trade, levy taxes, and predominantly enforce the laws written. As time progressed, rather than revising the articles, a better Constitution was needed to replace this ineffective government.…
In the year of 1787 the rights and liberties of citizens of the United States would be changed for eternity. The Constitution was signed to create a democracy by which the United States was governed to protect against tyranny (cruel or unjust powers). Before the Constitution, under the Articles of Confederation, there was no chief executive or leader, no court system, and there wasn’t even a way for the central government to force a state to pay taxes. So, how did the Constitution guard against tyranny? Federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and big states v. small states are all ways that protect the people of the United States and the Constitution against tyranny.…
As soon as the Americans first broke away from Britain, they wanted their government to not resemble Britain’s at all. By doing this, they adopted the Articles of Confederation that had no national executive branch. However, because the government under the Articles of Confederation had about no power because it couldn’t raise money through taxes, the people who led the national government came to realize that a more centralized government was needed. As the constitution was written and it was in the process of being ratified by all the states, the federalist papers written mostly by Alexander Hamilton were written. In one paper by James Madison, he writes “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition” (Doc I), which shows the concept of checks and balances could be used to keep the national government in line and controlled. The Constitution, finally ratified, was similar to Britain’s government but also different in its more active system of checks and balances.…
The United States Constitution, the first constitution of its kind, was ratified on September 17, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The Constitution gave Congress the power to tax and raise an army. The American federal government was established, and certain citizens’ rights were guaranteed, but implications within the document itself garnered hefty resistance. People claimed the Constitution would frame a successful government that the Articles of Confederation failed to do, but others said that the centralization of a federal government would provide an opportunity for it to use its powers immorally. Without a government, the nation might retreat to anarchy, but with a government, the rights of the people might be…
The United States (U.S.) Constitution is the source of all government powers and provides limitations on the government that protect the natural rights of U.S. citizens. Prior to its creation, the 13 original states comprising the U.S., were united under the Articles of Confederation. These articles entrusted a Confederate Congress with the authority to wage war, mediate disputes between states as well as set weights and measures. However, the Confederate Congress was completely funded by individual states, did not have the authority to raise funds itself and all decisions required a unanimous vote of approval from all states. It was far from a perfect government. These limitations along with the historical tendencies high ranking officials have toward greed and abuse of power rendered this Congress ineffective, spawning a collective desire for reform. (Whitehouse.gov, 2017) In 1787 delegates from 12 of the 13 states convened in Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. Their goals were to design a government that could provide fair treatment to its citizens, keep peace amongst the individual states as well as with outside nations, defend our country from enemies, and to set a standard for living comfortably, well, and free. To achieve this, the government was split into three separate branches and power divided amongst them.…
The Articles of Confederation needed to be replaced because it was created to keep the states independent from a national government. In the Articles of Confederation it stated "Its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right . . . not . . . expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assembled." It was created to pretty much let the states stay as independent as possible and keep a National government weak. The only thing was to make sure that security of liberties, common defense and general welfare were protected. The weakness of the Articles of Confederation were that each state only had one vote in congress, congress had no authority to tax, there was no national court system, there was no executive branch to enforce acts passed by congress as well as many other flaws. The Framers did not like how this was constructed so it took several years to correct and agree on the document. The framers decided that there was a need for a stronger federal government so they created the US Constitution to fix the problems that were in the Articles of Confederation. Some things that were changed or included were in the Articles of Confederation it has a Unicameral legislature, the Constitution has a Bicameral legislature divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Articles of Confederation has between two and seven members per state in congress, in the Constitution there two senators per state with representatives apportioned according to the population of the state. There are also several other differences but in all both documents closely resemble each other. A lot of people thought that the Constitution was giving too much power to the National government and that it was no different than having a monarchy. I think people eventually accepted the Constitution because people saw how everything worked with a weak government and incidents like Shays rebellion made people realize that a need for a stronger…
Have you ever thought of why we have a constitution? Well one reason is, it helps guard against tyranny. The constitution was made in 1787 by a group of 12 to 13 delegates who didn’t want one person or a group of people to get to much power. Some of the things in our constitution that help guard against tyranny are federalism, separation of power, big vs. small states and checks and balances. Federalism guards against tyranny because the states and central government have power they control and power they share.…
Before the constitution we currently have today, the U.S followed the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was created to make a new government that was entirely different from a Monarchy; the governmental system that was responsible for corrupted leaders in wanting power for themselves. The Articles of Confederation a limited government, and many of the flaws consisted of: making it much harder for the thirteen states to pass laws, a poor central government, and having no stable currency. In 1787, twelve delegates debated in the Constitutional Convention to discuss on replacing the current constitution in favor of a new one. In December 7, 1787, a new constitution was approved and put into effect from that day forward.…
When the Constitution of the United States was first drafted, life was simply different. Not as many people were as educated as they are today, and politicians had to be the voices of the people; the big people and the small people. Farmers needed just as much say in the government as factory owners, and politicians gave them that opportunity. Over time, society changed. We industrialized. Technology, education, labor forces, and every other aspect of America advanced. With these changes, there had to be a way in which those same politicians who we put our trust in, would be able to modify the foundations of the country. (In other words, the Constitution.) Through loose construction, the early leaders of the United States were able to improve aspects of the Constitution, which eventually improved the overall life of the American citizens. Now today, the constitution is interpreted loosely.…
The constitution is a plan for government and was written in 1787. Our society is constantly changing, so our constitution needs to also. The role of government is to protect us and they can’t do that with a constitution that isn’t fit for our daily life. The constitution doesn’t support a strong central government. There are corrupt officials, growing population, and it is outdated.…
The U.S constitution was thought as unconstitutional because the requirements stated in the Articles of Confederation needed to ratify a change were not respected by the economic leaders; such as Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, etc. Most economic elite members were not in favor of the articles because they wanted a more national economy and military. They went to Philadelphia to create a Constitution, even though it was done disrespectfully and unjustly as the Continental Congress abused their authority, it was done with the intention of creating a more efficient system than that of the Articles of Confederation. As the political philosopher John Locke said “life, liberty, and pursuit of property.” The founding fathers interchanged property to happiness because to them owning land meant success which meant happiness. In wanting a unanimous vote, the articles of confederation strived for extreme equality. They wanted everyone to have a say, however their structure was unrealistic. Results support this, as it took six years for a single agreement for revisions to be made. The Constitution also supports the idea of a democracy, as it requires the majority of the states to agree with a ratification, however it is more realistic. Order is taken into account for the sake of government intervention, while simultaneously providing liberty to the states. After all, the articles of confederation wanted legislative power, so at least a…
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, yet there was a struggle for its ratification that went on until 1790. Members of Congress believed that the Articles of Confederation, the first government of the United States, needed to be altered while others did not want change. After the Revolutionary War, there was a need for strong state centered governments, rather than a strong central government based on their experience as a colony. However, an investigation of the historical record reveals that the Articles of Confederation were not meeting the needs of Americans, and the need for a new Constitution was desired. This desired Constitution created a huge dispute and argument between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.…
The United States' Founding Fathers had a difficult task in creating a new type of government that would protect peoples rights and states all while giving the states enough powers for the federal government. The Constitution was approved by the states and passed into law after arguments and solutions at the Constitutional Convention.…