Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Constitution
Constitution Paper
Kaitlyn Smith
HIS/110
June 8, 2014
Kellie Rainka
Constitution Paper
The Constitution is the backbone of American. It is the freedom, rights, and laws of every American. The Constitution is one of the most important documents to this country. It helped to develop the Great Compromise, it confronted the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, and it also addressed the grievances in the Declaration on Independence.
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was created by Roger Sherman in order to settle a debate between the large states and the small states. James Madison created a plan for the large states, which he called The Virginia Plan. While, William Peterson devised a plan for the small states, …show more content…
The New Jersey Plan. Madison wanted to eliminate the Articles of Confederation and also wanted to create a bicameral legislature, but Patterson thought it was better to simply edit the Articles and have a unicameral legislature. On the other hand, Roger Sherman had a different plan. His plan, The Great Compromise, suggested that each state have equal representation in the upper house and that there should be one representative for every thirty-thousand people in the lower house (Schultz, 2014, Chapter 7). His plan helped the Constitution to succeed.
The Constitution and the Weakness in the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all of the thirteen states on March 1, 1781.
The Articles were known as the first constitution of the United States, however according to “The Articles of Confederation” (2013), “The Articles created a loose confederation or sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments” (para 1).
One weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress could not levy taxes. The nation was still in debt from the Revolutionary War, but Congress was only able to request funds from the state, since the states were the ones who had the power to raise revenue and enforce taxes. However, most of the time the states did not raise the money that was due to the national government (Brackemyre, 2014). Therefore, Congress had a hard time paying off debts and making a national budget. Another weakness of the Articles was that there had to be unanimous ratification of a bull in order for it to become a law. This made making changes that could potentially have improved the nation very difficult. A third flaw of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress could not fully regulate trade, except with Native Americans. Congress was allowed to trade with Native Americans, as long as it did not interfere with the state being able to monitor its own trade. In addition, the Articles did not assign a uniform currency. Congress was able …show more content…
to regulate currency but since most of the currencies were different, it made it difficult to trade.
On June 21, 1788, the Constitution was ratified and addressed the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. One way the Constitution addressed the Articles weaknesses was by creating a bicameral legislature. As I stated before, the bicameral legislature meant that Senate would have equal representation and the House of Representatives would be elected based on the population. Second, the Constitution declared a three quarter majority vote of all states, instead of a unanimous vote. The Constitution also addresses that instead of a nine out of thirteen vote for a bill to become a law, the bill would now have to pass the majority vote and then be sent to the President to be signed. Another way the weaknesses were addressed was the Constitution made Congress more powerful. Congress was then able to levy taxes and raise revenue, regulate foreign and domestic commerce, declare war, keep an army, and to make any changes that was needed to pursue these powers (Schultz, 2014, Chapter 7). The Constitution helped to create the Executive Branch, which was made up of a president and his cabinet. This provided America with a representative for foreign affairs. In addition to the Executive Branch, the Constitution also created the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch. The Judicial Branch consisted of a Supreme Court and several regional courts chosen by the President. Lastly, the Legislative Branch held the right to tax.
The Constitution and the Grievances in the Declaration of Independence
The American were sick and tired of the British government constantly interfering with their natural rights. The British prevented the passing of laws that promoted the common good, denied colonists a fair trial, assigned standing armies in times of peace, and many other actions (Larcher, 2012). So, in hopes to cut ties with Britain, the Second Continental Congress created the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration consisted of six major parts, one of which was usually referred to as “the grievances”. The grievances were the complaints that American was having with Britain, more specifically King George the third. The grievances also included that the colonists had proclaimed many times that they were fed up with the poor treatment they received. The colonists wanted to show the world that the British did nothing to change that. However, when the Constitution went in effect on June 21, 1788, the Bill of Rights confronted the colonist’s complaints.
The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in order to get the Anti-Federalist states to consent to the ratification of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists felt that the Bill of Right assured them that the Constitution would secure some of their liberties (Schultz, 2014, Chapter 7). John Hancock, the leader of the Anti-Federalists, agreed to consent when the Federalists told him that the Bill of Rights would be the first item created in the new government. The Bill of Rights consisted of ten amendments. However, only the second, third, fourth, and sixth amendments addressed the colonist’s complaints in the Declaration of Independence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Constitution played a huge role in American History. It determined how Representatives are chosen in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and other roles in Congress. The Constitution terminated the Articles of Confederation and granted the Congress more power. In addition, it also relieved the colonists of King George the third’s tyranny. The Constitution formed American, and helped to make it the great country it is today.
References
The Articles of Confederation.
(2013). Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html
Schultz, K. M. (2014). U. S. History Through 1877 (3rd ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Brackemyre, T. (2014). America 's First Failure at Government: The Articles of Confederation. Retrieved from http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/articlesofconfederation/
Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. (n. d. ). Retrieved from https://suite.io/michael-streich/19zs2nv
The Purpose of the Declaration of Independence. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/purpose-of-declaration-of-independence.html
Lorcher, T. (2012). Summary and Analysis of The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/40052-declaration-of-independence-summary/
The Declaration of Independence (1776). (2010). Retrieved from
http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/declaration-of-independence/
Kaitlyn Smith
HIS/110
June 8, 2014
Kellie Rainka
Constitution Paper
The Constitution is the backbone of American. It is the freedom, rights, and laws of every American. The Constitution is one of the most important documents to this country. It helped to develop the Great Compromise, it confronted the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, and it also addressed the grievances in the Declaration on Independence.
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was created by Roger Sherman in order to settle a debate between the large states and the small states. James Madison created a plan for the large states, which he called The Virginia Plan. While, William Peterson devised a plan for the small states, …show more content…
The New Jersey Plan. Madison wanted to eliminate the Articles of Confederation and also wanted to create a bicameral legislature, but Patterson thought it was better to simply edit the Articles and have a unicameral legislature. On the other hand, Roger Sherman had a different plan. His plan, The Great Compromise, suggested that each state have equal representation in the upper house and that there should be one representative for every thirty-thousand people in the lower house (Schultz, 2014, Chapter 7). His plan helped the Constitution to succeed.
The Constitution and the Weakness in the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all of the thirteen states on March 1, 1781.
The Articles were known as the first constitution of the United States, however according to “The Articles of Confederation” (2013), “The Articles created a loose confederation or sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments” (para 1).
One weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress could not levy taxes. The nation was still in debt from the Revolutionary War, but Congress was only able to request funds from the state, since the states were the ones who had the power to raise revenue and enforce taxes. However, most of the time the states did not raise the money that was due to the national government (Brackemyre, 2014). Therefore, Congress had a hard time paying off debts and making a national budget. Another weakness of the Articles was that there had to be unanimous ratification of a bull in order for it to become a law. This made making changes that could potentially have improved the nation very difficult. A third flaw of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress could not fully regulate trade, except with Native Americans. Congress was allowed to trade with Native Americans, as long as it did not interfere with the state being able to monitor its own trade. In addition, the Articles did not assign a uniform currency. Congress was able …show more content…
to regulate currency but since most of the currencies were different, it made it difficult to trade.
On June 21, 1788, the Constitution was ratified and addressed the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. One way the Constitution addressed the Articles weaknesses was by creating a bicameral legislature. As I stated before, the bicameral legislature meant that Senate would have equal representation and the House of Representatives would be elected based on the population. Second, the Constitution declared a three quarter majority vote of all states, instead of a unanimous vote. The Constitution also addresses that instead of a nine out of thirteen vote for a bill to become a law, the bill would now have to pass the majority vote and then be sent to the President to be signed. Another way the weaknesses were addressed was the Constitution made Congress more powerful. Congress was then able to levy taxes and raise revenue, regulate foreign and domestic commerce, declare war, keep an army, and to make any changes that was needed to pursue these powers (Schultz, 2014, Chapter 7). The Constitution helped to create the Executive Branch, which was made up of a president and his cabinet. This provided America with a representative for foreign affairs. In addition to the Executive Branch, the Constitution also created the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch. The Judicial Branch consisted of a Supreme Court and several regional courts chosen by the President. Lastly, the Legislative Branch held the right to tax.
The Constitution and the Grievances in the Declaration of Independence
The American were sick and tired of the British government constantly interfering with their natural rights. The British prevented the passing of laws that promoted the common good, denied colonists a fair trial, assigned standing armies in times of peace, and many other actions (Larcher, 2012). So, in hopes to cut ties with Britain, the Second Continental Congress created the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration consisted of six major parts, one of which was usually referred to as “the grievances”. The grievances were the complaints that American was having with Britain, more specifically King George the third. The grievances also included that the colonists had proclaimed many times that they were fed up with the poor treatment they received. The colonists wanted to show the world that the British did nothing to change that. However, when the Constitution went in effect on June 21, 1788, the Bill of Rights confronted the colonist’s complaints.
The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in order to get the Anti-Federalist states to consent to the ratification of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists felt that the Bill of Right assured them that the Constitution would secure some of their liberties (Schultz, 2014, Chapter 7). John Hancock, the leader of the Anti-Federalists, agreed to consent when the Federalists told him that the Bill of Rights would be the first item created in the new government. The Bill of Rights consisted of ten amendments. However, only the second, third, fourth, and sixth amendments addressed the colonist’s complaints in the Declaration of Independence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Constitution played a huge role in American History. It determined how Representatives are chosen in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and other roles in Congress. The Constitution terminated the Articles of Confederation and granted the Congress more power. In addition, it also relieved the colonists of King George the third’s tyranny. The Constitution formed American, and helped to make it the great country it is today.
References
The Articles of Confederation.
(2013). Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html
Schultz, K. M. (2014). U. S. History Through 1877 (3rd ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Brackemyre, T. (2014). America 's First Failure at Government: The Articles of Confederation. Retrieved from http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/articlesofconfederation/
Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. (n. d. ). Retrieved from https://suite.io/michael-streich/19zs2nv
The Purpose of the Declaration of Independence. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/purpose-of-declaration-of-independence.html
Lorcher, T. (2012). Summary and Analysis of The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/40052-declaration-of-independence-summary/
The Declaration of Independence (1776). (2010). Retrieved from
http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/declaration-of-independence/