The United States Constitution was created to define the powers and limitations of the government. It replaced the Articles of the Confederation, and was ratified by all 13 states in 1787 (American Government, n.d.). The ratification of the Constitution was not without opposition, and the government was split into two groups: federalists, and anti-federalists. The federalist group believed that a national governing body, ruled by the elite class was necessary. Antifederalists, on the other hand, believed that state governments should have more say, and that the government should be run by ordinary people (American Government, n.d.). In 1789, James Madison submitted 12 amendments to the constitution. These amendments were
Before the U.S. Constitution there was the Articles of Confederation. The document could declare war, negotiate treaties, and control foreign affairs. It couldn’t enforce laws, tax, and raise its own army. What the Articles Of Confederation lacked was a strong central government. Alexander Hamilton called for a constitutional convention in 1786, and it took place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787.
The purpose of the Constitution was to establish a central government authorized to deal directly with individuals rather than states and to incorporate a system of checks and balances that would preserve the fundamental concepts contained in the Magna Carta, that is, to limit the power of the government. The first three articles of the Constitution establish the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and the country’s system of checks and balances. The balance of power was established vertically through the separation of power between the federal government and the states and laterally through the three branches. In the supremacy clause, the constitution declared itself the supreme law of the land. The U.S. Constitution
In May 25, 1787, a convention was called in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to express the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, the intention from many delegates was to draft a new constitution; create a new government rather than fix the existing one. Rhode Island was the only one of the 13 original states to refuse to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, the first issues they had to address was the representation in Congress.
It took the convincing of the Anti-Federalists to explain how the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and did not state the rights and freedoms of the people, therefore lacking a Bill of Rights. The Federalists agreed to a Bill of Rights, and later the Constitution was ratified with nine out of thirteen votes on June 21 of 1788. Soon after the Constitution was ratified, the separation of powers was understood in the United States government. The separation of powers separated each branch of government.
After the Declaration of Independence in 1787, the Federal Government turned to the creation of the Constitution in which delegates from 13 states convened to make compromises on their beliefs for the betterment of a nation. Although the Bill of Rights was initially not a part of the Constitution, the Federalists thought that it was crucial to ensure ratification of the Constitution. This ratification was one of the main reasons why the Bill of Rights needed to be added. Federalists feared a strong, central government, and created a Bill of Rights in order to prevent government abuse. Others believed that a dominating Government could prohibit rights in the future, which would not necessarily be expressed in the Bill of Rights.
Believe it or not, the Constitution was not America 's first form of government. Our country started out with the Articles of Confederation, which were...shall we say... less than perfect. They gave the states much more power than the central government, due to a pervasive fear of strong central governments. This fear stemmed from the reign of the tyrannical King George III, and the founding fathers did not want to give their country the ability to establish another monarchy. In the Articles of Confederation, the central government had no power to tax, regulate trade or commerce, enforce laws, settle disputes between states.
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but there was a grapple for its ratification that went on until about two decades after the ratification. Members of Congress believed that the first government of the United States or the Articles of Confederation, needed to be adjusted while others did not want anything to change. After the Revolutionary War, the people did not want a strong central government, because it reminded them too much of what they were trying to escape from. Under the Articles, each state had their own laws, and the need for a new Constitution was desired by many. The Constitution of 1787 created huge debates, arguments and splits in the nation that lasted for several year after its ratification between people who
Following the end of the American Revolution marked a new set of problems for the United States. As impending war debts were threatening to crush the new nation, America knew they needed to address the flaws of the Articles of Confederation through a Constitutional Convention. The United States Constitution of 1787 was created in hopes of developing a stronger and more effective governing body while still upholding America’s virtues of freedom. Unfortunately, with change, comes opposition, and many people feared that the Constitution would be oppressive and undermine the autonomy of the individual states through its strong central government. Because of this, the issues that sparked the greatest controversies during the ratification of the
The Constitution of the United States has served as a foundation of how the government worked since 1789. It started as a modified version of the Articles of Confederation and ended up being the final product. The Federal Government has a sufficient amount of power that is divided through Federalism and Separation of Powers. It does its job well of protecting the citizens. The Constitution that frames this government, lists its power and limitations along with people’s rights.
Before the constitution the states and the government based the way, they lived using the Articles of Confederation. Congress was in shambles and we owed a massive debt, which led to a rebellion later on. To keep the new nation in check they created a constitution. With the constitution they created federalism or shared power between the states and the government, they created this to make sure the government or states don't overpower on another. The Federal system was made up of three types of government powers, these are reserved, enumerated, and concurrent powers.
After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, numerous delegates met for a convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention in 1787. At first, the convention’s purpose was to fix the Articles of Confederation. But, the delegates ended up making a new document called the Constitution. This document set the base of the United States’ government, as it established various laws and basic needs for the government.
The original constitution of the United States was drafted for multiple reasons. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was extremely weak. The individual states had more power than the federal government, and each of the states acted more like independent countries. Additionally, the Articles of Confederation did not distribute power well. The revised Constitution allowed for 3 branches of government, which divided federal power so that one branch could not become more powerful than another.
Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.
These authorities that the national government should have, were all up to the states to decide under the Articles. With the taking away some of the states rights in the Constitution, Anti-federalists feared that this would leave the states too weak, resulting in more problems. Under the new Constitution, many powers that were now in the government 's hands are: the power to levy and collect taxes, the power to regulate interstate commerce, the government set up a national court system consisting of district, circuit, and a supreme court, the government could enforce laws, there was now a house based on population, and a senate based on equal representation (two votes per state), to amend the Constitution, a ⅔ vote of Congress was needed, and a ¾ vote of the states were needed, and a majority rule was needed to pass bills. These new powers and abilities of the national government helped to create a strong, new
Two changes I would make in the constitution both fall into the second article. This is the article concerning the presidential election process and duties. While other articles could of course be modified in some way or another, I find that the two changes I came up with could be agreed with by almost everyone. I tried to make these decision not based on how I feel about politics and my beliefs, but instead I made my decisions based on what is best for everybody. I wanted to put my political affiliation aside for this question because in the grand scheme of things what I will suggest are things that could legitimately be addressed without too much complication.