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Description about federalism
Interpreting the constitution
Federalism US Constitution
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In the preamble of the historical document," Constitution of the United States of America," written by Thomas Jefferson and its many signatories the six elements that they were trying to bring to America were: a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity. When Thomas Jefferson and its signatories state: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." they mean in order to prove to others that they are capable of being an independent country they need to be united. As opposed to the Articles of Confederation, where the states were ruled by their own state government, the U.S. …show more content…
The phrase, I believe, was meant to establish a fair court system. Thomas Jefferson and the signatories of the U.S. Constitution want to bring insured domestic tranquility to America. When stating this in the Constitution, I think that it means that no nation would survive long with civil unrest and rebellions like what happened during the time of the Articles of Confederation: Shay's Rebellion. Peace within the nation was needed to build and establish a strong and united nation. In the U.S. Constitution Thomas Jefferson and it's signatories also state that they want to "provide for the common defense". This means that states no longer needed to depend on their own defense but instead they now could depend on the federal government. Before the U.S. Constitution, federal government wasn't able to provide defense because it was unable to prevent states from engaging in their own foreign policy and
Federalist #10 is written by James Madison addressing the state of New York, and is a continuation of Federalist #9, which attempts to address the Union as a safeguard against domestic faction and insurrection. It hopes to instill in the anti-federalists that the constitution safeguards against incivility and uprising. Madison believes that “(the American constitutions) have as effectually obviated the danger on this side, as was wished and expected”. He believes that the United States Constitution is well-covered against possibilities of insurrection and uprising from both inside and outside of government positions in office, and this is what he is attempting to explain to the citizens of New York.
So they made the Constitution. The constitution protects America by, Federalism, Separation of Powers and checks and balances. Federalism helps protect America from tyranny. It lets the states and the government both have power. Doc A. -.
It was the mid-late 1700s, and America had finally achieved and received independence from Great Britain. Peace in America on the other hand, not so much. After gaining independence, the Articles of Confederation were made as a system of government for the United States, but gave very imbalanced power between federal and state levels. For example, on the federal level, the national government couldn't force a state to pay taxes. To try to amend the Articles, in 1787, a meeting made up of delegates representing the states was called up, but instead, what would be created is what we now know as the Constitution. But how exactly did this document remedy the flaws of the Articles, and prevent tyranny from unjust amounts and usage of power? The Constitution helped stop tyranny in government with a
was created to make sure the sovereign power of the states was protected. The state
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
The Constitution is composed of 3 major parts. The first of which is the preamble. As the opening statement of the Constitution it outlines the goals the American people have for the country. In the preamble the people are assured the laws of the land would apply to all and be fair to all by this line “establish justice” (Doc 1). Peace and order in the nation along with the providing of defence for the people of America are also promised by the line “insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense.” (Doc 1). People were also assured their well being and their freedom as long as they lived in the law,Page 42R “promote the general, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Doc 1). The preamble sets the tone for the rest of the document and declares the document the “...Constitution for the United States of America.” (Doc 2)
The Articles of Confederation was America’s first constitution. The Articles of Confederation failed to create a strong central government, however. With the demise of the states in sight, the need for a stronger and more structured central government became apparent. An invitation was sent to all thirteen states in February 1787 by the Confederation Congress to resolve the matter. The events that took place over the next several months would create the United States Constitution. Going down in history as a revolutionary form of government, the U.S. Constitution would give life to a country that is still running strong over 200 years later.
Eventually, we would have an tyranny without a strong trustworthy constitution. We do not want to recreate exactly what the colonists were trying to avoid and escape from, which was tyranny. Tyranny refers to when a person has a lot of power, and has a lot on their hands, having complete control, and total control. In 1787 a group of delegates from 12 of the 13 states goes together to try to better the country.The constitution was mainly written in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was made to make a guideline for the building of a federal government so that there wouldn’t be any tyranny.
A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to set specific standards for our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution in the first place. America revolted against the British due to their monarchy form of government. After the American Revolution, each of the original 13 colonies operated under its own rules of government. Most states were against any form of centralized rule from the government. They feared that what happened in England would happen again. They decided to write the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781. It was not effective and it led to many problems. The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of t...
The Articles of Confederation set up a government that consisted of a one house body of delegates, with each state having a single vote, acting collectively, could make decisions on certain issues that affected all states. There was no president or judiciary so any decision required nine of the thirteen states’ votes. At this point in time the United States of America ... ... middle of paper ... ... o consider the charms of liberty as imaginary and delusive.”
In 1776 when the Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain with the Declaration of Independence they had one clear goal in mind: become a sovereign nation and avoid the tyranny of Great Britain. What they did not know, however, is that they had to face many more issues beyond simply cutting the ties with Great Britain; they also had to create and maintain a working system of rules which could guide them into becoming the United States of America. Once Independence was gained in 1783, the Articles of Confederation were created, but with many deep flaws in the system. The Federal government had no power, and the states were loosely held together and hardly acted as if they were a single united nation. After recognizing that these problems were too large to overcome easily, several of the greatest men in the nation gathered together to rectify these problems.
During the construction of the new Constitution, many of the most prominent and experienced political members of America’s society provided a framework on the future of the new country; they had in mind, because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation, a new kind of government where the national or Federal government would be the sovereign power, not the states. Because of the increased power of the national government over the individual states, many Americans feared it would hinder their ability to exercise their individual freedoms. Assuring the people, both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison insisted the new government under the constitution was “an expression of freedom, not its enemy,” declaring “the Constitution made political tyranny almost impossible.” (Foner, pg. 227) The checks and balances introduced under the new and more powerful national government would not allow the tyranny caused by a king under the Parliament system in Britain. They insisted that in order achieve a greater amount of freedom, a national government was needed to avoid the civil unrest during the system under the Articles of Confederation. Claiming that the new national government would be a “perfect balance between liberty and power,” it would avoid the disruption that liberty [civil unrest] and power [king’s abuse of power in England] caused. The “lackluster leadership” of the critics of the new constitution claimed that a large land area such as America could not work for such a diverse nation.
The American Revolution stirred political unity and motivated the need for change in the nation. Because many Americans fought for a more balanced government in the Revolutionary War, they initially created a weak national government that hampered the country's growth and expansion. In the Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Mrs. Adams complained about the inadequacy of power that the American government had to regulate domestic affairs. The Articles of Confederation was created to be weak because many had feared a similar governing experience that they had just eliminated with Britain. The alliance of states united the 13 local governments but lacked power to deal with important issues or to regulate diplomatic affairs. Congress did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, or draft people for war. This put the American citizens at stake because States had the power to refuse requests for taxes and troops (Document G). The weakened national government could not do anything about uprisings or small-scale protests because it did not have the power to put together an army. The deficiencies of the confederation government inspired the drafting of the American Constitution. The document itself embodied the principle of a national government prepared to deal with the nation's problems. In James Madison's Federalist Paper, he persuades the American public to adopt the Constitution so that the government can protect humans from their nature and keep them out of conflicts.
The people of the United States wants to change the constitution to fit there needs. They want to change the constitution so they can make a perfect union. They also want to establish justice and fairness to every one in the state. the people also wants the government to provide a common defense. The government should also promote general welfare to the people. These reasons are how they think we can make a perfect union.
Even before the Constitution was ratified, strong argument were made by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in the Federalist Papers urging the inclusion of a federal form of government to replace the failed confederation. In Federalist Paper No. 9 Hamilton states, “This form of government is a convention by which several smaller states agree to become members of a large one, which they intend to form. It is s kind of assemblage of societies that constitutes a new one, capable of increasing, by means of new associations, until they arrive to such a degree of power as to be able to provide for the security of a united body” (Usinfo.state.gov). The people of the United States needed a central government that was capable of holding certain powers over the states.