The Constitution DBQ The Constitution of United States is regarded by many as an important document, for it gave the common people the power to form a government the way they want. Yet, despite all the benefits that it brought to the American people at the time, people also had some concerns about the Constitution such as: it is creating a Central government that is too powerful, only white men that owns property are allowed to vote, not everyone in the nation are treated equally, etc. When the Constitution was first being drafted, Representatives from each state hoped to add terms that would benefit their own states—this lead to a heated debate on how the Constitution should be formed. The Constitution is a combination of all the states’ …show more content…
of those of other descriptions on the 1st. year after this Government shall have been adopted and every year thereafter…”(Document 6). When it came to the issue of slavery, the southern and northern states broke into a bitter argument on whether slaves should be included into the state’s population or not. Southern states wanted to include slaves because the majority of their population were made up of slaves, but northern states feared that by allowing southern states to do so they might loose control of the House of Representatives. Unmoral as it may be, the 3/5th compromise eased the conflict between the Northern and Southern states. Yet, to most people at the time the Constitution created an effective central government and federal system, “…Should all the states adopt it, it will be then a government established by the thirteen states of America…, but by the people at large…The existing system has been derived…whereas this is derived from the superior power of the people”(Document 8). James Madison included the statement above in his speech defending the Constitution, for he believed that the Constitution was a document by the people and for the people. What’s more was that he believed the Constitution provided a balance between the states and federal government that no other document had ever did
(Doc. A) Federalism not only gave the states power, but gave them equality with
On account of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court decided that they didn't have the ability to constrain President Jefferson to convey the commissions that he had solicited Secretary from State James Madison to not convey to the "midnight judges" designated by John Adams just before his term as president finished. Despite the fact that the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court the ability to issue writs of mandamus, Article III of the Constitution did not permit the Supreme Court. By settling on this choice, the Supreme Court initially showed its energy of legal audit; to upset a government demonstration since they trust it is illegal. Some would contend that the force of legal audit makes the legal branch too capable, while others
There was no president, nor judiciary, but the states, acting collectively made decisions upon issues. For a
Hence Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights as a way to get the Constitution ratified and for people to really see a needed change. The Bill Of Rights which lists specific prohibitions on governmental power, lead the Anti-Federalists to be less fearful of the new Constitution . This guaranteed that the people would still remain to have rights, but the strong central government that the country needed would have to be approved. The 1804 Map of the nation shows that even after the ratification of the United States Constitution there still continued to be “commotion” and dispute in the country.(Document 8) George Washington stated that the people should have a say in the nation and government and everything should not be left to the government to decide.(Document 3) Although George Washington was a Federalist many believed he showed a point of view that seemed to be Anti-Federalists. Many believed that The Bill of Rights needed to be changed and modified and a new document’s time to come into place.
Flaws Embedded into the Constitution When the architects of the constitution wrote about what should institute a fair and just nation with some overarching principles, they simply couldn't anticipate all the contemporary problems the nation faces today. They had no way of knowing the dramatic social reforms to come that would include movements like LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, and Feminism. The framers attempted to solve this conundrum using the concept of a “living document.” They made it so that future generations to come would be able to make amendments to the constitution in order to keep up with their generation’s wants and needs. However, perfection was far from achieved and the result was a flawed political document.
The Constitution united the states in a more structured and governed body, while allowing the states to have some individually, and protected all rights of people specified in the Bill of Rights. The main fear in the constitution was that the central governing power in federal government would create a tyrant, something the colonists feared from their experience as being part of the British empire. Because of this, the founding fathers divided all the powers in the federal government into branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch is in check with the others, and makes it extremely hard for the country to fall into
The Articles of Confederation was one of the first official documents of the United States. From the beginning of the American Revolution, Congress felt the need for a stronger union and a government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. During the early years of the war this desire became a belief that the new nation must have a constitutional order appropriate to its republican character. However, after a few short years the Articles were replaced by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Articles were a stepping stone which led to the Constitution however the Articles contained more weaknesses than strengths which forced the colonists to get rid of them and create a new document.
After fighting for so long and hard to secure independence from the British rule, the young United States of America needed to come together to form a strong nation. Having literally sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to free themselves from the tyrannical oppression of an over-powered central government, the people wanted to ensure that they would not be trading one for another. There needed to exist a means to effect a measure of equality and security for the newly founded country. The Constitution aimed to do just that.
During the Constitutional Convention, delegates were considering how to distribute representation for each state, consequently, the question regarding whether slaves should be counted towards the population arose. Southern states feared that not counting slaves as a part of their populations would give them less representatives in Congress, thus allowing larger Northern states, like Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to overwhelm, and out vote the South in issues regarding slave trade. Likewise, the North did not want to surrender their population advantage in Congress either. The compromise they reached was set forth in Article 1, Section 2 of the United States constitution. The compromise they reached arbitrarily counted every five slaves as three individuals.
The division between federal and national style governments is seen with the ratification of the Constitution, because it is ratified through each State instead of the people directly. Under the Constitution the choice to join the federal government was left to the states, so they could choose to enter the union voluntarily. Twice throughout Federalist 39 Madison explains his reason for creating a federal government stating, “the Constitution will not be a national but a federal act” and again, “the new Constitution will, it established, be a federal and not a national constitution. In the hopes of achieving ratification Madison wants whoever was reading to recognize the unique system being created. The final piece of Federalist 39 explains how States would have jurisdiction over local governments, but states would not have jurisdiction over the federal
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.
The early modern world period was from the 15th century to the 18th century. The majority of the population lived in rural cities. Life expectancy was not very long, and the lifespan was twenty-five years old. Diseases, famine, lack of medication, and improper sanitation contributed to the low life expectancy. Diet of the wealthy class consisted of bread, meat, and wine however the lower class’s diet consisted of fruits and vegetable.
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
“The accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny. ”-James Madison. Fifty-five delegates, from the thirteen states, met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to discuss and revise the Articles of Confederation. The chief executive and the representatives worked to create a frame for what is now our Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways; Federalism that creates a State and Federal government, Separation of Powers that gives equal power to the three branches, Checks and Balances that create balance in the three branches by checking each other and being checked and the Small States vs the Big States ensures an equal voice for all states no matter what their size.
What are the Historical Influences of United States Constitution? It is known that people all over the world have come to the United States, to create a better life for their families and themselves. The United States is known for having the best form of government for people to be included and have a say in their beliefs. What many people do not know is, what influenced the United States Constitution and the founding fathers in writing.