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Essay on the united states constitution
Essay on the united states constitution
Controversy about constitution
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1. This document was recorded and written during the Virginia Convention of 1788. In this recording of the Virginia Convention, the opposing side against the ratification of the constitution presented its arguments of why the new constitution should not be ratified. The writers or authors of this document are Patrick Henry, George Mason and an unknown recorder. Patrick Henry was born on May 29th, 1736.
George Mason and Patrick Henry had valid arguments and provided multiple points to support their rejection of the U.S. Constitution. George Mason and Patrick Henry were Anti-Federalist, a political party at the time which argued against the formation of a strong central government. Both Mason and Henry opposed the Constitution because they felt the Constitution would be similar to the British monarchy which had a powerful leader which would enforce unfair laws as well as taxes amongst the state governments and the people in them. George Mason main argument against the Constitution was the creation of a National government which would be strong enough to destroy state governments which represented the people and their interest.
-Define what limited government means -Explain why delegates at the Constitutional Convention believed the concept of checks and balances were so important -Identify one way in which each branch of government can check the power of the two other branches of government You may find the organizer that I gave you entitled “Structure of the Federal Government” will help you answer this question. You should turn in prewriting with your essay This essay focuses on answering what a limited government really means, ______, why the delegates at the constitutional convention believed in the concept of checks and balances,_______ and lastly one way in which each branch of government can check the power of the other two branches which is ______ and _______. Limited government means that no one person or group is in charge. America is a great example.
May 1787. 55 delegates, one long, sweaty conference. The Constitutional Convention was a huge event for the United States. During this convention, the 55 delegates from all states except Rhode Island met up to change their Articles of Confederation. Instead of editing, however, the 55 delegates rewrote the whole thing into the Constitution, which is still used today.
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 Constitutional Convention in 1787 held many problems however, they were resolved. The Constitutional Convention had two questions. How would they strengthen the national government without taking any power from the states? and, How would they balance the interests of both the wealthy and those that aren’t wealthy? 55 men agreed to make a compromise, and therefore the Constitution became a bundle of compromises.
At the Constitutional Convention, our founding fathers met to reconstruct the Articles of Confederation, not knowing that they would create the United States Constitution, an entire new format of government. They wanted to create a government that was powerful yet restricted in certain ways, in order to create equal representation for all people. Three main compromises were made at the Constitutional Convention. These compromises were The Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the addition of the Bill of Rights.
The issues that precipitated the Constitutional Convention were the fact that “ … the framers sought to create a new government capable of promoting commerce and protecting property from radical state legislatures and populist forces hostile to the interests of the commercial and propertied classes.” The delegates were empowered to revise the Articles to meet the country’s needs, but they took it into their own hands and created an entirely new constitution. In my opinion, the Constitution of 1787 was legitimate in the social sense but was not legitimate by legal standards. The only reason that this new constitution was accepted was because it was what the United States needed at the time so the majority of the citizens agreed upon keeping it.
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 Constitutional Convention was arranged for the “purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation” (208). As a result, it was concluded that the power of this great nation should fall in the hands of a “direct authority” rather than within each state (209). Additionally, the national government must provide the Constitution as the representation of the people’s voice and their rights. Consequently, the New Jersey plan became in effect in which equal representation amongst the states in a “unicameral (one-house)” (210).
One such heated debate involved the topic of representation in the new government. Under the Articles of Confederation there was a simple “one-state, one-vote” policy (The Articles of Confederation, n.d.). In framing the new Constitution, many of the larger states wanted this to be changed to a proportional concept. The delegates from these states argued that due to their larger areas they contributed in greater amount to the nation than did the smaller states, and should therefore have a greater representation and influence. The Constitutional Convention already agreed that the number of delegates in the House of Representatives, being elected by popular vote, should be in proportion to the number of people they represent.
One of the compromises made in the Constitutional Convention is the three-fifths compromise. In this compromise, the southerners wanted to add slaves to the population of the state they lived in. If slaves were included in their state’s population, that state would be able to add more representatives in the House of Representatives. Northerners did not agree with that statement because slaves did not have the right to vote. After the delegates compromised, they agreed that only three-fifths of the slave’s population would be counted into the state’s population.
They Did It ! Recently a decision was made that will change America forever. On August 18th Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment, therefore granting women the right to vote in all states. This decision with certainly be met with both support and opposition from many.
The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics video titled “Key Constitutional Concepts” explores the history of the creation of the United States Constitution in addition to key concepts crucial to the document. Two central themes explored in the video include the protection of personal rights and importance of checks and balances. The video strives to explain these concepts through Supreme Court cases Gideon v. Wainwright and Youngstown v. Sawyer. To begin, the video retraces the steps leading up to the Constitutional Convention in Virginia in 1787. It opens by explaining the conflict that led to the Revolutionary War and the fragility of the new nation.
The explosion of the Second World War gave way to the most defined era of the 20th century. In the wake of a war torn decade, the growing prospect of opportunity spurred the inception of the “Baby Boom”. Millions of individuals were introduced into our world at a rate never seen before in our nation’s history, and as does every generation, these millions of Baby Boomers are aging at an unprecedented rate also. The average lifespan of individuals has steadily increased since the postwar decades with the much advancement in healthcare. The majority of today 's population is expected to live into their eighties.
