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Ratification Of The Constitution Dbq

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After the Constitution was written by the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, all the individual states of America had to be convinced for its ratification. But, opponents, named "Anti-Federalists" opposed against the Constitution's ratification for multiple reasons: some thought that the Constitution would "take away the power from individual states", others desired "an even more centralized government with a single popularly elected government" and finally, some seeked for a Bill of Rights to "protect individuals liberties", in fear of undermining "the claims of slaveholders or other property owners". James Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison therefore wrote the Federalist Papers, eighty-five anonymous essays , in order to reduce the fears of Anti-Federalists and promote the Constitution's ratification. These papers described the importance …show more content…

The Federalist Paper 51, written by James Madison, establishes the necessity for checks and balances and the crucial factor of separating powers in order to develop a structured and balanced government. Hence, the Constitution visions to divide the government in three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Nevertheless, James Madison argues that the separation of powers is not enough. He states that men are not angels, but merely motivated by ambition and "personal motives". Madison insists that "ambition should counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place." Essentially, Madison believes that the ambition and motives of men should be used to keep the branches within the

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774 Words | 4 Pages

The Federalist Papers No. 51 were written by either James Madison or Alexander Hamilton to address the various concerns the residents of New York had with the newly formed government provided to them and the other colonies via the Constitution, more specifically the purpose of the new structure of government, the separation into different branches of the government and each branch’s reliance on the people, and the system of checks and balances and duties placed on each branch among other things. The Federalist Papers No. 51 also explained the necessity of the government outlined in the Constitution and why the founding fathers found it best to arrange the new government the way they did. One of the main ideas addressed in the Federalist

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The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. Modern day use the Federalist Papers to interpret the Constitution to look at the intentions of the framers and ratifies. This has been used on issues ranging from the power of the federal government in foreign affairs. However, there has been issues regarding the interpretation of the articles. That it is a lot of opinion that comes from the authors.

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How do you convince some newly independent citizens of the benefits of ratifying a constitution? According to Alexander Hamilton, through writing, and lots of it. In 1787, Hamilton, along with James Madison and John Jay, published a series of documents, addressing concerns the people might have about the Constitution drafted by the Congressional delegates. The Constitution was being sent to the states for ratification, but in New York, many were opposed to the ideas put forth. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay wrote eighty-five documents which would later be named The Federalist Papers, as they voiced the common opinion of the Federalist party, which was in favor of ratification.

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Each person or group has their own way to protect themselves from having to face other people who think they can take over. The Constitution is a framework of government that is supported by specific laws. It was written in 1787 in Philadelphia. How was the Constitution protected from tyranny? Tyranny is when one person or a certain group, like a king or dictator, tries to put all of the power in their hands and they try to take over.

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The former is impossible, as any society is bound to have a majority of citizens who share common beliefs or ideas, and a minority of others who feel differently. This leaves only one option; to limit the authority of the majority and prevent them from dominating the minority. In order to prevent corruption or oppression, power must be distributed in a way that inhibits any one person or group from gaining too much of it. 4.) How does this essay by Madison tie into the separation of powers and checks and balances in the constitution?

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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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Since they were all for the new constitution, they wanted to go ahead and make it. But the Anti-federalists didn’t want this. They were hesitant on this new government. So, that is why the Federalist papers were created. These were a series of 85 essays that tried to convince Anti-Federalists to ratify the Constitution.

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What if there was a government that has one ruler making many unjust laws. For example, if someone was put into prison for years for only doing one small crime. Or maybe, if a particular religion or race did not have the same rights as others. This took place in the 1700s in an act called tyranny, or rule by a dictator or strong group that results when the ruler(s) have too much power. The existing government of the Articles Of Confederation was too weak, so the plan was to build a new government that prevented tyranny.

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Prior to the ratification of the United States Constitution, a series of eighty-five essays, later compiled and published as The Federalist Papers, were written under the joint pseudonym “Publius” by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. In these essays, the three men expressed support for ratification by explaining the meaning and virtues of the Constitution (Brinkley, 139). Although, it did not receive such fame until the early twentieth-century, Madison’s Federalist No. 10 has since been regarded as one of the more prominent Federalist papers (Adair, 48). In it, Madison presents the argument that the new republican government under the Constitution would be better able to deal with the problems that arise from factions. This paper

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51, Madison introduces the system of checks and balances to, again, emphasize the balance between political factions, in this case, the branches, in order to protect people’s rights. The government is structured upon the will of people so that it largely depends on people. However, the three branches should remain independent from each other, which is extremely important in order to make sure that no one branch would become too powerful. This is why the legislative branch must be divided into two parts, even though all the delegates there are elected by the people. Not only the federal government is being separated into three branches, there are different levels of government as well, so that powers are distributed among state governments, city governments, and local governments.

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Have you ever wondered why the United States government doesn't have one branch that takes over the whole government, since tyranny is everywhere. Well, tyranny doesn't happen because we have the United States Constitution to guard against it. The Constitution was written on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia by 55 delegates. It was written because Congress authorized delegates to gather in Philadelphia and recommend changes to the existing charter of government for the 13 states, the Articles of Confederation, which many Americans believed had created a weak, ineffective central government, but they instead created a whole new document, the Constitution. So, how does the constitution guard against tyranny?

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Federalist Fifty-One, also written by James Madison, focuses on seperation of powers within the government and checks and balances. The essay begins with a great quote: “If men were angles, no government would be necessary. If angles were to govern

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Constitution guards against tyranny by making each government check and balance one another. Checks and balances is a system in which each part of the government limit other branches while being limited by others so nothing beneficial for only one group of people gets passed. By letting this happen, each branch can be overruled and it prevents unlawful things from happening. The Federalist Paper #51 by James Madison states, “… the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other…not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other… ”(James Madison, Federalist Paper #51).

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For example, the legislative branch has the job of making effective bills and pass them. However, if the president vetoes the bill, the legislative branch still has the right to ignore the president and pass the bill. The framers also incorporated a strong central government because many of the individual states had conflicts about jealousy and competition of power. Madison’s principles were influenced by a common theme: compromise. For instance, Madison came up with the three-fifths compromise; a five to 3 ratio.

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158 Words | 1 Pages

In 1787, as a debate over ratification of the Constitution evoke a lot of controversy, American citizens were advised not to rely on anyone’s opinions and to trust their own judgment. Additionally, Philadelphian Samuel Bryan published his first essay under the name “Centinel,” claiming that it would “not be difficult to prove” that only an authoritarianism could “bind so great a country under one government,” and that whatever structure men could formulate to oversee conclusively would develop into a dictatorship. The chosen officials of the government would be “devoid of all responsibility or accountability to the great body of the people, and that so far from being a regular balanced government, it would be in practice a permanent ARISTOCRACY.”

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