The time period of 1786-1792 was probably the most crucial time period of American history. The ratification of the constitution occurred on June 21, 1788, and symbolized a new era of politics. In order to ratify the Constitution, nine of the thirteen colonies were mandated to look over the document before it would become a common ground law book. Many important government figures at the time such as, Madison and Hamilton were faced head on with an important obstacle, state power or Anti-Federalists versus national power or Federalists. Furthermore, the United States of America was split between deciding what powers to give to the people, the states, and the executive branch. The major concerns generated by the writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution were mostly due to the separation of powers to either the people, the states, or the …show more content…
executive branch. Originally the first constitution was signed on September 17, 1787; it did not provide enough rights for the public and most people felt left out. In order to bridge the gap between the executive branch and state powers, the Bill of Rights was published in 1791. In fact, the first amendment was the most important amendment of the 10 that made the initial cut. In document H, the first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” In brief, the quote above provides American citizens with their basic rights to freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly. Importantly, the United States of America is built upon this one amendment since it allows for the spread of diversity and ideas to reach from one group to another. Similarly, Document C also builds upon the rights of American citizens stating, “A third does not object to the government over individuals, or to the extent proposed, but to the want of a bill of rights.” The quote suggests that the government is not allowed to overstep the freedom of an individual if the Bill of Rights lets the public do it. Following the ratification, citizens were left in much better hands, eventually leading to nine of 13 states to ratify the constitution. Following the original Constitution, the thirteen states felt very limited since they didn't have much power.
Most of the power was in the hands of the executive branch, disabling the states from becoming their own entity. Document E claims that the “Jefferson Writings” led the states to receive protection against standing armies, restrictions against monopolies, and trials by jury. Restrictions against monopolies and trials by jury were fairly beneficial for the citizens of each state, building upon the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” and being wrongly accused. Restricting monopolies also equalized wealth through each of the states. Likewise, Document F goes into detail about the Anti-Federalist papers, stating how a “good constitution” is one with “equal, full and fair representation.” Today’s government has a house of representatives and a senate. Specifically, the house of representatives is based on population, while on the other hand the senate is equally represented with two from each state. Ultimately, state power is crucial because it balances out the executive branch from making all the
moves. Finally, the last branch of power that was debated on in the constitution was actually the original plan work of the document. Initially, the first Constitution of 1787 awarded a substantial amount of power to the executive branch. Since the Europeans were accustomed to having a King with loads of power, the states did not want a repeat of that event occurring again. The states knew that if the Constitution was left the way it was, there would have eventually been an uprising against the government. Consequently, Hamilton, one of the writers of the “Federalist Papers,” was a proponent of Federalism. According to Document I, more than half of all the states were advocates for Anti-Federalism, so Alexander Hamilton had a lot of work cut out for him in order to sway the states toward a new and ratified constitution. Alexander Hamilton states in Document B, “The federal government ought to posses the power of providing for the support of national forces…was intended to be included the expense of raising troops…for the payment of the national debts contracted, and a general power of taxation.” In brief, Alexander Hamilton grants the executive government the power to tax the states and the citizens, create a national army, and collect debts associated with the national treasury. In the wake of ratifying the new constitution, the executive branch was made sure to be balanced in order to prevent any power to be monopolized.
In May of 1787, 55 white wealthy males drifted into Philadelphia to work on the Constitution.
According to article 2 “The state's government will retain all powers that are not specifically given to the national Congress.. ” (Williamsburg, 2009) In other words the states will have all the powers that are not appointed to the national government, by the Articles of Confederation. According to article 9 “ The national congress will have the power to declare war, negotiate foreign treaties, settle disputes between states, regulate currency, direct the operations of land and naval forces, borrow money from the states.” (Williamsburg, 2009) A elaboration of this is that, The national government is limited to the powers, that are stated above, and has no control of anything else. Since the national government had little to no control over any of the state's, laws that were past inside of these states became unjust and faced little repercussions from the national government, because of the limitations that were put into place by the articles of
You little tyrant king george off with your head.Since the Americans had a bad experience with one person having too much power they made a constitution that guarded against tyranny by, dividing power, making the branches able to check or limit each other, and dividing power between big and little states.
Many complaints focused on the lack of a bill of rights in the Constitution, stating the inalienable rights of an American citizen. In Thomas Jefferson’s Jefferson Writings (Doc. C), he states that no government is entitled to omit such an important part of a country’s makeup. The reason a constitution is made is to protect the rights the people fought for during the Revolution, not limit them. Another concern is the balance of power between social classes and the governmental branches, which was a big issue with the Articles of Confederation. Even with checks in place so no branch of government could become to powerful, there was always a risk. In the “Brutus” and “John DeWitt” papers (Doc. D) it states that this unbalance of power could lead, disastrously, to one group dominating over all others, most likely the aristocrats. Some people, such as Patrick Henry during his Speech to Virginia State Constitutional Ratification Convention (Doc. F) even became heatedly anti-federalist, stating that the Constitution endangered to sovereignty of the states entirely. But even with these various concerns and arguments, the Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states in
The states attempted to limit the power of the national government because they feared that it would become a monarchy. In an effort to limit the power of the national government, Congress created one without enough power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. One of the main weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation was its incapability to regulate trade and levy taxes. The states controlled all of their “cash flows.” Sometimes, the states were in debt because of tariff wars that they would engage in with one another.
Eric Foner claims the definition of Federalism refers to the relationship between the national government and the states. Unlike the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation came with many weaknesses. Some provided by our powerpoint include that the Federal government had no power to make the states obey the Articles and laws that were passed by the legislature. The states also had the power to tax, and the opportunity to print their own money. Our powerpoint focuses on the $10 million Congress owed to other countries, as well as the $40 million it owed to the American veterans. The Constitution differed. Foner states that not only did the Constitution enhance national authority, but it also permitted Congress to levy taxes, conduct commerce, confirm war, deal with the foreign nations and Indians, and rent and help the “general welfare”. According to the powerpoint, Federalists focused on the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
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.
Being very different from the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution gave the foundation for the legislature and kept each branch in check, assuring none would become too powerful. With the large and small states finally in agreement, ratifying the constitution was the next step. September of 1787 the final draft, containing around 4,200 words, was created by the Committee of Style. George Washington was the first to sign the document on September 17th. Although 39 of the original 55 signed the document, the delegates of Massachusetts were unwilling to approve the document. Nine of the thirteen states had to ratify the document in order for it to become law. To help gain popularity for the Constitution, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay made essays. There were 85 total essays and they were distributed in newspapers across the states. Those who supported the document were referred to as Federalist and those who did not support the document were known as Anti-Federalist. The first states to ratify the Constitution were Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Connecticut. Massachusetts still strongly opposed the document, saying that freedom of speech, religion, and press were lacking protection. An agreement was made in February 1788 that the document would be amended to include what was lacking upon ratification. With hesitation,
In 1789, the Confederation of the United States, faced with the very real threat of dissolution, found a renewed future with the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. This document created a structure upon which the citizens could build a future free of the unwanted pitfalls and hazards of tyrannies, dictatorship, or monarchies, while securing the best possible prospects for a good life. However, before the establishment of the new United States government, there was a period of dissent over the need for a strong centralized government. Furthermore, there was some belief that the new constitution failed to provide adequate protection for small businessmen and farmers and even less clear protection for fundamental human rights.
States over the years have argued over state government and the federal government and the Article of Confederation was a perfect example how the state government does not work. In Document D Maryland questions the authority of the federal government to incorporate a bank. During the McCulloch v. Maryland case Maryland attempted to tax the bank. Maryland got overruled and didn't get their way. Still it serves as a good example of sectionalism where states are thinking only for themselves and not for the good of the nation. Thomas Jefferson in Document F also claimed that the Missouri Compromise will be divide the United States and obliterate unity. This claim is true considering now that the North and South now compete for more free and slave states. In order for Missouri to become a slave state Maine had to become independent again showing signs of sectionalism the North vs. the South. Signs of nationalism although are seen in Document H. John Q. Adams wrote in his diary about the Monroe Doctrine which warns the Holy Alliance to stay out of the Caribbean and Americas claiming they were the defenders of democracy. The United States did not have the army to back up this bold statement but it was still a bold sign of nationalism and did this for the purpose of controlling commerce in this region and improving the state of the economy.
The U.S Constitution is recognized as a document that secures basic rights for citizens and structures the American national government. Before the Constitution, the states had all the power and the national government was very weak. Therefore, the creation of the Constitution was necessary to grant the national government power. Even though, the Constitution was signed in 1787, there was still debate in that the Constitution gave the national government too much power. Some of the individuals whom opposed the Constitution where Patrick Henry and George Mason. Patrick Henry became the leader of the opponents, because of his strong legal and rhetoric skills. On the other hand, George Mason was a patriot during the American Revolution, whom believed in the inalienable rights of the people. These two man were important figures that argued the dangers ratifying the Constitution would bring and that the Constitution would give too much power to the national government.
In Donald Robinson’s, Slavery in the Structure of the American Revolution, he eloquently articulates the original purpose of separation of power in the United States of America: to protect private interests and freedom. Considering that separation of power is viewed as a means to prevent a unitary and centralized government, the issue of slavery influenced the adoption of separation of power. While equality is a quintessential reflection of America, the power of states’ rights prevents states from being consistent with American values. In this paper, I will examine the principle concept of separation of power in the context of ensuring private interests, in particular, the institution of slavery and segregation. I will argue how decentralized political power fundamentally prevents unity within a nation because of its intent to protect the private interests in the United States of America.
In the Constitution, central and state governments received power that was shared and split in a federalist system, preventing tyranny of one over the other. Madison put forward his idea of federalism in Federalist Paper #51. “...the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments...The different governments will each control each other, at the same time each will be controlled by itself” (Doc. A). A Venn diagram derived from the Constitution shows that the central government controlled national affairs such as war, foreign trade, and foreign relations, and states controlled internal affairs such as establishing public services and regulating in-state businesses. The shared powers included taxes, loans, and laws. Despite Madison’s bias towards the federalist system (rarely does one truly attack one’s own political treatise within it) in his quote, the apportioning of powers shows that neither the central or st...
In spite of the prominence of the states in everyday life, the most demanding public policy questions former to the American Civil War involved discussions over the possibility of national power with most Americans believing it should remain partial. Yet federalism was still the center of political arguments. The Constitution did not report if states did nor did not reserve any remaining sovereignty in the powers given to the national government. The fact that the states were much more capable in accomplishing governmental purposes adequately t...
One of the biggest threats to a thriving country is a tyrannical government. To prevent this, the Founders declared that the power of the government must be separated. This principle, the Separation of Powers, states that, to prevent tyranny, one governmental branch cannot have supremacy over the country. The power must be divided among three branches. These are the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The Separation of Powers is of equal importance now as when the Constitution was written because it prevents tyranny.