Mustafa Tambawalla, 1st Hour
The Constitution: A Minority Document, Charles A. Beard
Thesis: The Constitution is a document which enacted social and political changes on American Society; Furthermore, it established a series of checks and balances to regulate the allocation of power in congress. The document also conferred powers onto the federal government, and enacted a variety of restrictions on state governments.
Reasons:
The Constitution is a document drafted by men with a variety of professions and self interests, leading it to enact both social and political changes on American Society.
Majority of members in the congress were personally interested in the outcome of their efforts at Philadelphia, and were more or less economic beneficiaries from the adoption of the Constitution.
The new government was built upon the beliefs of practical
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Political belief that factions rise from inequality in property rights, and that “the theories which men entertain are emotional reactions to their property interests”.
The establishment of a series of checks and balances, by the Constitution, was enacted to regulate the allocation of power in Congress.
No one branch of the government would have more power than the other, and this system of regulating each other’s powers is known as checks and balances. The very regulation of power is located in the Constitution. No Minority shall be damaged by a Majority.
Madison explains the extending sphere of activity of the legislative branch, and how no branch in particular will be powerful, because such a system would be tyrannous.
A variety of interests were to be intertwined in the Constitution in the hopes of protecting minority rights from the majority.
Judicial control gives the Supreme Court the ability to check the constitutionality of passed motions, holding up the system of Checks and
How the Constitution Guards Against Tyranny Ever wonder why the Constitution was doubted? The Constitution was written in Philadelphia 1787, the Constitution failed because of the Articles of Confederation. Two problems were that there was no chief executive and there was no court system. There are many types of tyranny, for example there can be one person who has a lot of power or when a group of people have too much power. Tyranny back then was harsh ownership of one individual, because of tyranny the constitution was doubted.
In document C, there is a very useful chart that shows one way that each of the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) holds a little bit of power over the others. This is good because it means that no one part of government is above or below the others in terms of power, and there is always a way for one of them to be “checked” if they are becoming too tyrannical. For example, the President (executive) can veto Congressional legislation, but Congress (legislative) can impeach the President if necessary. Being able to “check” each other is one of the ways that the Constitution kept one group from having too much power. Another benefit of having the checks and balances system is that none of the three branches is so far apart from each that they have no power over the others, but they are far enough apart to prevent the power from accumulating.
The Constitution… An improvement from a government that proved to be ill-conceived. The Articles of Confederation had not worked in the way that the states had hoped. A solution was to be found in the May of 1787 (BE). This solution was the Constitution.
The document essentially split the nation into two camps. On one hand, there was a group who welcomed the document, seeing it as necessary for progress. On the other hand, there was a camp which opposed the document, arguing that it represented an unwelcome change. The fact that it ushered a new form of governance where authority would be shared between the federal government and state authorities is one of the factors that made the constitution a controversial document (U.S National Archives and Records Administration, n.d). There are those who felt that the constitution took away authority from the state governments and therefore robbed them of their autonomy.
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
“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.
After fighting for so long and hard to secure independence from the British rule, the young United States of America needed to come together to form a strong nation. Having literally sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to free themselves from the tyrannical oppression of an over-powered central government, the people wanted to ensure that they would not be trading one for another. There needed to exist a means to effect a measure of equality and security for the newly founded country. The Constitution aimed to do just that.
After signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776, The 13 former colonies were undergoing an identity crisis. It was one thing to declare independence, but it was another to realize what you were now that you declared it. The Constitution was eventually written, at an attempt to create a more perfect union between the states. One of the amazing things about the Constitutional Convention was that the people knew most governments would result in either chance or war. They knew that what they were doing was sitting in a room and rationally trying to create a good government.
James Madison wrote Federalist 51 over 200 years ago, yet its words still impact today’s government in 2016. When writing Federalist 51, Madison had two main objectives in mind; he wanted a government with a separation of powers, and he also wanted minorities to be protected. Both of his objectives have been accomplished and continue to be present in today’s American government with the latter objective being more present in today’s government even more so than in the past. To begin with, power is separated in today’s government, preventing a single person or group from having absolute power since, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” according to John Dalberg-Acton. The American government is composed of three branches which power is separated amongst.
The Constitution was scribed subsequent to the delegation that occurred at the Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This document was intended to be an improvement of the Articles of Confederation, in which the ending result was an entirely new government called the republic. The idea of institutionalizing a constitution created differences between the participants of the meeting. Those who opposed the idea of a new government and the constitution were called the Antifederalists and those who supported the ratification of the Constitution were federalists, which is the idea of federalism vs. state’s rights. The Constitution failed to protect the rights of the civilians despite Federalists attempts to persuade individuals
DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal
The Constitution of the united states of America means to me my rights as an American citizen. The constitution makes me feel safe from the government because it protects my rights. It lets me know the government power over the people, and the laws they can make and the laws they can not make. The Constitution ensures my freedom as an American. It is a very important document for the United States of American for the president to follow.
Federalism guards against tyranny, so does the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each guard in different, unique ways. All of them do the same job to guard against tyranny. Federalism divides the government into the state and central governments. The division of powers gives each branch of government equal power, while checks and balances allows each branch to check each other.
Why was the Constitution a controversial document even as it was being written? Established in 1787 The Constitution was a controversial document because it was a document that could both solve the nation’s hardships and warped the Republican foundation. The Constitution on one hand would give the people a voice and the other would control the nation through a monarchy system. One of the controversies that arose from the creation of the Constitution was the question of management of commerce.
Established on September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed rights for its citizens. The Constitution also represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism that the United States of American stands by. This means that the Constitution regards to the American citizen as something that is held to deserve meaning the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. It also means its citizens come first in order of importance. The Constitution represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism by stressing liberty and inalienable rights as central values, making the people as a whole sovereign, rejecting inherited political power, expecting citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption.