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Constitutional Convention Dbq Essay

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Introduction

The Constitutional Convention was called to order so that the Articles of Confederation could be amended. However, the Founders soon realized the Articles of Confederation provided an insufficient platform of which to erect necessary safeguards of democracy including, separation of powers, and federalism. Establishing a new constitution was not an easy feat. Many different clashing ideas would have to be weighed, measured, and agreed upon. In the end, Alexander Hamilton would reflect on the document, “For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which, without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.”[footnoteRef:1] [1: Ford, Paul Leicester, et al. Essays on the …show more content…

The initial lack of a Bill of Rights was the chief objection of the antifederalist[footnoteRef:8] The antifederalist were concerned over local control of civil liberties. However, Federalist insisted the because the Constitution gave the federal government only certain delegated powers, a Bill of Rights was not needed.[footnoteRef:9] Additionally, federalist argued that enumerating individual rights could be dangerous because it may be interpreted as a comprehensive list, thus forfeiting unmentioned rights.[footnoteRef:10] Eventually, the Bill of Rights was adopted and ratified. However, the Bill of Rights was not as comprehensive as Thomas Jefferson had proposed.[footnoteRef:11] For example, Jefferson proposal featured far more extensive language in his proposals for the right to trial by jury, provisions regarding standing armies, writs of habeas corpus, alongside other concerns.[footnoteRef:12] While the ambiguity of the Founding Fathers may be genius on the one hand, on the other hand, history has supported the need to “spell it out.” If the Founding Fathers were aware of how ignorant the citizens of 2017 would be regarding foundational concepts of the Constitution, one must wonder if they would have implemented additional safeguards even beyond the Bill of Rights. [8: Ibid.,349] …show more content…

Finding answers to these challenges was difficult due to the plethora of positions on various issues. The delegates were faced with issues surrounding popular and political sovereignty. The founders were faced with the challenge of how to ensure the people and states were properly represented in electoral politics. Proper representation would ensure the United States Government operated under the “consent of the governed.” Additionally, while the Constitution implied certain liberties, the Bill of Rights was created to protect civil liberties further. The Bill of rights contained the most important accomplishment of the convention-The Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause was designed to protect religion from government infringement. It’s survival and proper interpretation, may directly correlate to the survival of the United

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