p1 The presidency had never been done before in history and this was the first one of its kind, so the delegates used the knowledge that they had and the history before them to create the rules for the presidency (Milkis and Nelson 1). p2 The delegates also had experience with governments that were similar for the previous ten years including the articles of confederation (Milkis and Nelson 2). p3 The delegates were also tired of having tyrants run their colonies and they did not want their leader to chosen by a king. All men are supposed to be created equal and the delegates strongly believed in that (Milkis and Nelson 3). The people of the time during the constitutional convention wanted the president to be elected for his character and virtue, …show more content…
This was ultimately turned down (Milkis and Nelson 15). p16 Hamilton thought that his plan for the presidency would be appropriate during the convention: the leader have lifetime term and vast powers. Many of the delegates thought was too far out there and that it was too extreme in most cases for to even consider (Milkis and Nelson 16). p18 The committee of detail made many of the phrases in the constitution and established the procedure for the presidents veto when it came to laws that were presented to him (Milkis and Nelson 18). p19 The committee also granted the president the powers to make executive meetings, take care that the laws be enforced, and eventually the oath to become the president. (Milkis and Nelson 19) p20 After the committee was done with their draft, the delegates went thru and made a few changes to the constitution which included changing the oath for president to include “will to the best of my judgement preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states” (Milkis and Nelson 20). p21 Eventually the committee of eleven made a few other changes to the constitutions executive branch and the president which included: the president be elected by the electoral college and not the people, the person who finished in second become the vice president, and a presidential term of four years and …show more content…
p23 The committee suggested that the president may have powers that vested beyond that of the constitution if necessary (Milkis and Nelson 23). p28 The delegates longed for someone very similar to washington and not a monarch as they were previously ruled by Britain (Milkis and Nelson 28). Washington was going to be the one to set the precedent for the president of the United States. p31 The possibility of an executive board vs an just one executive was argued, wilson argued that the one executive would be a source of energy and dispatch in the new government (Milkis and Nelson 31). p34 The committee nominated that the president have no restriction on reelection and be elected by the electoral college (Milkis and Nelson 34). Washington only served 2 terms and that was eventually made an amendment. p35 The virginia plan had left blank the number of terms that a president could serve, but the committee eventually decided on a four year term (Milkis and Nelson 35). p38 The committee decided later that the president could be impeached by the two thirds vote of the senate and the senate had to vote impartially under oath (Milkis and Nelson
The new government was tested by its own strengths and weaknesses before a Constitution was ever written at the Convention. The young country could have been torn apart over issues such as representation and slavery during the summer of 1787 in the city limits of Philadelphia. Instead, the delegates were able to work together to form a government that would appeal to the people of our past, and the people of our future. For over 225 years, this has worked, with only few minor details needing rearranging.
On June 12, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee, consisting of one delegate from each of the thirteen states, for the purpose of setting up a cohesive Federal Government. Headed by John Dickinson, the committee presented a draft of the Articles of Confederation to Congress a month later. Though the Articles were not officially ratified until five years later, Congress began operating under them in 1777. The delay that occurred during the years from drafting to ratification was partially caused by the opening of a multi-faceted debate that encompassed the issues of representation for citizens, the balance of power within the country, and state sovereignty. Densely-populated states wanted a system of representation based on population, while the more sparsely-inhabited states disagreed. The Federalist Party wanted a small federal government, but common sense demanded a balance in size. Everyone wanted the question of state sovereignty answered. The Articles of Confederation attempted to answer these questions, but instead, only succeeded in creating an ineffectual, self-contradictory government that required reform. This reform came in the form of the Constitution of 1789.
Several delegates submitted plans for consideration that would strengthen the national government two such plans were the Virginia and the New Jersey Plan. Despite much of Virginia’s plan being accepted, if a compromise had not been reached the New Jerseys plan would have been more workable because it offered: equal representation of the states, provided operational means to congress, and was not a radical departure from the Articles of the Confederation. To begin with the unequal representation of the states in the Virginia Plan was of great concern and controversy while the New Jersey Plan retained equal representation of the states. Virginia proposed a bicameral legislature that included elections by the people and appointments by those elected.
The responsibilities would include managing debt, creating national monetary and fiscal policies, as well as managing the national tensions that lead to crisis. Men like Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and John Adams, were in favor of the Constitution, supported the Bill of Rights and subsequently, a larger more powerful federal government. In their views for support of a federal government they proposed the Constitution and later added the first ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights (Lecture). While framing the Constitution issues taken into consideration were states boundaries, representation quotas and veto rights (Countryman 172). Two main plans were proposed to solve the plethora of issues facing the country – one by James Madison and one by Patterson. The fundamental differences was where the federal government derived their power. Patterson advocated for the federal to obtain their power from the states rather than the people, whereas Madison advocated for the power of the centralized government owing its power directly to the people (Countryman 178). After years back and forth conversations, a three tiered system was created that would ensure the integrity of the system by separation and complete independence from each other, thus listing specified duties and power allotted to the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary powers of the United States
When the new Constitution was drafted, the ratification, the official approval by the people of the United States, sparked a national debate. People were shocked by the radical changes it proposed; they expected the convention to merely amend the Articles of Confederation. They were afraid of regressing back into a state under tyranny, a form of rule where a single or small group reigns with vast or absolute power. Americans had just fought for their freedom from the tyrannical rule of the king of England. All their efforts and revolutionary ideas would have gone to waste.
All of the framer of the U.S. Constitution had one thing in common, they all felt that the government didn't have enough power. At the same time they didn't want to give the government to much power. They all knew if there was power to be held someone was going to hold it and over use it The framers didn't want to create a system like Britain or England.
This task was easier said than done. The fear of creating a government with too much power was a fear that was very much alive throughout the states. Tyranny was a common factor in developing governments, the delegates were seeking to avoid this error. Two ground rules were put into place for the Convention. The first was that any and all deliberations were to remain secretive. The second was that no topic or decisions would be considered closed and could therefore be up for debate and revision at any time. Once these rules were agreed upon, business started. The two contenders were the Virginia Plan, which had the larger states rooting, and the New Jersey Plan, claiming the votes of the smaller states. Under the Virginia Plan, legislature would be two houses and would be represented based on population. Under the New Jersey Plan, legislature would be one house and each state would have equal representation regardless of population. An agreement could not be reached between these two plans, instead a compromise was made. The Great Compromise met each side with an upper and lower house. The upper house was the Senate and would provide equal representation that was elected by the lower house. The lower house was the House of Representatives and would be dispersed based on population of the states. This compromise satisfied the small and large states, giving a
One of the major leaders of the party was Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was one of the main supporters and advocates for the development of the Constitution. His desired version of the Constitution clearly reflected the ideals and agenda of the Federalist party. The ideals of the Federalist party involved limited state powers, and a very strong centralized government. It was these ideals that essentially led to the development of the Anti-Federalists who feared that such great allocations of power to centralized government would lead to a centralized rule that could not be controlled. Once the Federalists had control of the federal government, the fears of the Anti-Federalists quickly came to fruition. Although the Anti-Federalists were in opposition to the actions and strength of the federal government under Federalist control, certain accommodations were made to appease some Anti-Federalists. The main one being that Thomas Jefferson, a leader of the Anti-Federalists was made vice-president after losing in a presidential
Some historical circumstances surrounding the issue of the ratification of the Constitution was weakness of the new government under the Articles of Confederation which led to the Constitutional Convention. 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. This desired Constitution created a huge dispute and argument between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The people who supported the new Constitution, the Federalists, began to publish articles supporting ratification. As stated in document 2 John Jay (Federalist) had many arguments to support ratification of the Constitution. One argument John Jay used was, with the ratification of the Constitution, he says, “…Our people free, contented and united…” The Antifederalists had numerous arguments they used to oppose the ratification of the Constitution. The Antifederalists believed that a free republic wouldn’t be able to long exist over a country of the great extent of these states.
As a federalist Alexander Hamilton wanted to establish a stronger federal government under a new Constitution. He met in Philadelphia with other delegates to discuss how to fix the Articles of Confederation that created a weak central government. During the meeting, Hamilton expressed his view that a dependable current source of revenue would be crucial to develop a more powerful and resilient central government. Although Hamilton played a diminutive part in the writing of the Constitution itself, he did heavily influence its ratification. In cooperation with James Madison and John Jay, Hamilton wrote fifty one of eighty five essays under the joint title The Federalist “The Federalist Paper.” In the essays, he cunningly explained and defended the newly drafted Constitution prior to its approval. In 1788, at the New York Ratification Convention, two thirds of delegates opposed the Constitution, however Hamilton was a powerful advocate for ratification, effectively arguing against the anti Federalist persuasion. His efforts succeeded when New York agreed to ratify, which led the remaining eight states to follow. He had a proposal for the new government that was modeled on the British system, which Hamilton considered the best.
By the late eighteenth century, America found itself independent from England; which was a welcomed change, but also brought with it, its own set of challenges. The newly formed National Government was acting under the Articles of Confederation, which established a “firm league of friendship” between the states, but did not give adequate power to run the country. To ensure the young nation could continue independently, Congress called for a Federal Convention to convene in Philadelphia to address the deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation. While the Congress only authorized the convention to revise and amend the Articles the delegates quickly set out to develop a whole new Constitution for the country. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the new Constitution called for a national Executive, which was strongly debated by the delegates. There were forces on both sides of the issue trying to shape the office to meet their ideology. The Federalists, who sought a strong central government, favored a strong National Executive which they believed would ensure the country’s safety from both internal and external threats. The Anti Federalists preferred to have more power in the hands of the states, and therefore tried to weaken the national Executive. Throughout the convention and even after, during the ratification debates, there was a fear, by some, that the newly created office of the president would be too powerful and lean too much toward monarchy.
The delegates started visualize the president in being the “the representative of the people and peoples guardian against legislative hubris” this lead to the idea of the people choosing the president. They went on to debate about what the president had the power to do as well as what the other two branches of government had the power to do. Towards the ending of the convention they drafted the Constitution and it was time to get it ratified by at leased nine of the
In 1787, the Electoral College was created by the Framers who were also called the “Founding Fathers”. The Electoral College was created because the Framers did not want a large group of people to directly elect the president because it could cause confusion and disorder for an event that is very important to the United States. Some of the Framers favored the idea of selecting the president should be by Congress, or if the selection of the president should come directly from the popular election. With having his conflict of whom should elect the representative of the whole United States, the Electoral College was created. In this institution, the members that have the final say correspond to the number of representatives in the Senate
“As much as he wanted to remain above politics and not appear to peddle a document that could lead to elevation of president, Washington had so much time and reputation invested in the Constitution and believed so strongly that his country could not survive without it, that its progress consumed him even as he resumed day to day management of his estate.”(Larson 70) These ideals were so deeply ingrained in Washington that the Union could not fail and had to succeed. Washington in his first address to congress stats “By the article establishing the executive department, it is made the duty of the President “to recommend to your consideration, such measures as he shall judge necessary expedient” The circumstance under which I now meet you, will acquit me from entering into that subject, farther than to refer to the Great Constitutional Charter under which you assembled”(Writings 283) George Washington knew the importance of his stance and precedent and that this country was a nation of laws that must be respected and
In the convention he wanted to have an unlimited power of veto for the president. If the