Us Constitution Dbq Essay
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
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In addition to gathering in response to the Coercive Acts implemented by the British government, the Continental Congress also convened as the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War revealed itself in 1775. The next year, the Second Continental Congress declared the colonies’ independence from Britain, thereby jumpstarting the rise of the American government. In 1781, the Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation, the predecessor of the United States Constitution. However, in contrast to the Constitution, the Articles were weak and ineffective, which was especially evident after the end of the Revolutionary War; the executive branch did not exist, and the Second Continental Congress had no power to tax or raise an army, but each of the thirteen states had equal power. The Constitutional Convention was therefore called in 1787 to draft a new constitution that would be more effective. The federalists supported the ratification of the new drafted constitution, saying that a central government was needed to stabilize the nation, but the antifederalists were still clinging on to states’ rights, which were the base principles of the Articles of Confederation. The debate over the ratification of the Constitution was largely dominated by the opposing views of the federalists and the
In addition to gathering in response to the Coercive Acts implemented by the British government, the Continental Congress also convened as the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War revealed itself in 1775. The next year, the Second Continental Congress declared the colonies’ independence from Britain, thereby jumpstarting the rise of the American government. In 1781, the Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation, the predecessor of the United States Constitution. However, in contrast to the Constitution, the Articles were weak and ineffective, which was especially evident after the end of the Revolutionary War; the executive branch did not exist, and the Second Continental Congress had no power to tax or raise an army, but each of the thirteen states had equal power. The Constitutional Convention was therefore called in 1787 to draft a new constitution that would be more effective. The federalists supported the ratification of the new drafted constitution, saying that a central government was needed to stabilize the nation, but the antifederalists were still clinging on to states’ rights, which were the base principles of the Articles of Confederation. The debate over the ratification of the Constitution was largely dominated by the opposing views of the federalists and the