Confederation Vs Constitution

Jonathan Horst The beginning of the government began with the Annapolis Convention where 12 delegates gathered in Annapolis and discussed issues between the then five states. It then progressed as more colonies started popping up in America. Representatives from each state gathered and formed the Articles of Confederation. However, uprisings began and the founding fathers concluded that the Articles of Confederation were too weak. Thus, the Constitution was formed. The Constitution laid down basic guidelines for the government to follow and strengthened central government over the Articles of Confederation. It also stated the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights are now the first ten amendments that state basic rights for all citizens

One delegate from Virginia believed that representation of the states at government meetings should favor the more populated. This was known as the Virginia Plan and stated that states with more people living in them should have more government representation. However, smaller states disagreed and they formed the New Jersey plan saying that all states should have equal representation. Therefore, The Great Compromise was created. This stated that the government be split into two separate houses making it a bicameral government system. The Senate would have 2 delegates from each state, no matter the population, meet and these senators would represent their entire state. The House of Representatives would be based on population, and each representative would represent his or her congressional district rather than the entire state. This would be accepted by the government and Congress would be formed. Yet, slavery was a huge issue that was not talked about much in the Constitution as each state still seemed very independent at this point, but now slavery was playing a key role in the representation of the congressmen and women. The Northern states believed that slaves should not count towards representation of the states as they were considered “property” of their plantation owners. The south disagreed, and the ⅗ Compromise was formed

They are the judicial, executive, and legislative. The President is the head of the Executive Branch which carries out the law. He or she appoints politicians to his or her cabinet and appoints a vice president to serve if he or she is unable. The President has the ability to veto laws passed by Congress, and create Executive Orders which many consider to be unconstitutional. Congress makes up the legislative branch which creates the laws. The vice president, appointed by the President, is the head of one part of Congress known as the Senate. The House of Representatives is run by the Speaker of the House who may serve as President if both the President and Vice President are unable. Congress creates and passes laws, and can overrule a President’s veto by a ⅔ vote. The Judicial Branch interprets the law. The head of the Judicial branch is the Supreme Court, which is also the head of the entire court system. The President also appoints judges to the Supreme Court. The three branches are held together by balance and checks which assures no one person gains too much power, nor one branch gains too much