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Explain The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Us Constitution

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The United States Constitution overcame the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation to provide the organization of the new government. In the late 1700s, in the thirteen original colonies the American Revolution was fought against the British. In this war, the outnumbered colonists won. After the war, they developed the Articles of Confederation, which were the first type of government that the colonists had. This government was very weak. Preceding the formation of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention was held in which delegates debated about the representation of our country and how the states would be represented. Do to the weakness of the Articles, delegates had another debate on whether or not to create a U.S. …show more content…

For the Constitution to be applied it first had to be ratified. Once it was written each state held a convention to decide whether they approve of it or not. For it to be ratified, nine out of the thirteen states had to agree. Not all of the states agreed that the Constitution should be ratified, these states were North Carolina and Rhode Island. On one side of the Constitution, was the federalists who wanted the Constitution to be ratified. These people favored a strong National Government. They wanted the Central Government to have power so it wasn’t weak like it was under the Articles. The main Federalists were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. They three men also wrote the Federalists Papers. On the other side were the Anti-Federalists, who did not want the Constitution to be ratified. They felt the Government would be too strong under the Constitution. They felt it weakened the states too much. One of three main reasons to be against the Constitution was that they felt a President was too much like the King they just left. Significant Anti-Federalists were George Mason, and Patrick Henry. In the end, the Federalists won and the Constitution was

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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

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The Articles of Confederation established a poor government. Many problems caused the government to be weak. One major problem with the Articles of Confederation was that the government had no power to collect taxes. This effect the government, because the government couldn't get money to pay the debts the US had or even for the army. This document had just formed a weak, poor government that had no power.

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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

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The Federalists of the convention were in favor of the ratification of the Constitution. They believed that the national government must be strong in order to function and to control uncooperative states, which could protect the rights of the people. They also believed that the Constitution and state government protected individual freedoms. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists opposed a strong central government, particularly a standing army. They believed it threatened state power along with the rights of the common people.

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Before the U.S. Constitution there was the Articles of Confederation. The document could declare war, negotiate treaties, and control foreign affairs. It couldn’t enforce laws, tax, and raise its own army. What the Articles Of Confederation lacked was a strong central government. Alexander Hamilton called for a constitutional convention in 1786, and it took place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787.

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Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.

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The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. Such flaws would eventually lead to the Constitution and the repeal of the articles, for the Constitution was a measure to fix the problems of the articles with a stronger government that allowed them to impose taxes and and implement new laws for a more effective government.

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According to the map “Ratification of the Federal Constitution, 1787-1790,” a large amount of the states had a federalist majority, meaning that they supported the Constitution. Most of the Federalists were rich men who were large landowners, judges, lawyers, leading clergymen and merchants. Led by Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, James Madison, and George Washington, federalists “believed the national government was too wear under the Articles of Confederation” and wanted a strong federal government (Document 3). However, the antifederalists disagreed with the Constitution. They “feared strong national government would lead to tyranny” and wanted strong state governments (Document 3).

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The Federalists wanted a strong central government. The Anti- Federalists claims Constitution gives the central government too much power and, and they worried about the new constitution will not give them any rights. That the new system threatened freedom; Also, threatened the sovereignty of the states and personal liberties; failed to protect individual rights. Besides, some of famous peoples such as " Patrick Henry" and artists have came out against the Constitution. Although the anti-Federalists were unsuccessful in stopping the passage of the Constitution, their efforts have been responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of

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Represented by Alexander Hamlton, they favored the constitution and were against the bill of rights. The Anti-Federalists feared/preferred a weak central government. They were represented by Thomas Jefferson, they favored the articles of confederation and were for the bill of rights. The warnings from the Anti-Federalists about the constitution were right. They warned the Federalists about the consequences of undelegated power becoming abused.

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“Before the Constitution could become "the supreme law of the land," it had to be ratified or approved by at least nine of the thirteen states” (Costly, 2002). The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation introduced a great deal of interstate conflict, something that delegates, through the drafting of the Constitution, tried their best to solve. When the Founding Fathers signed the Constitution in 1787, it needed the ratification from nine states before it could go into effect. There were two sides to the Great Debate. The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

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The Articles of Confederation had many problems and therefore it made the government weak. One of may problems was that under the Articles Of Confederation was that there was no executive branch, and so nobody could enforce or carry out laws made by Congress. Another problem was that each state only had one vote in Congress. When each state only had one vote states that had small populations had the same amount as a large state.

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Slavery in the U.S. Constitution After the Unites States declared Independence from Great Britain in 1776, they greatly feared a strong national government that would be like a monarchy like the one Great Britain had. To prevent this tyrannical government from happening in the U.S., a convention of delegates from all thirteen states were brought together to create the U.S.’s first written constitution: the Articles of Confederation. This convention was called the Continental Congress. The Articles of Confederation focused on having a federal government, or a loose alliance of the states.

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The Anti- Federalists claimed the Constitution gave the central government an excessive amount of power, and while not a Bill of Rights the folks would be in danger of oppression. Both Hamilton and Madison argued that the Constitution did not want a Bill of Rights, that it might produce a "parchment barrier" that restricted the rights of the folks, as critical protective

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The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.

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