Before the constitution, America was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This governing document was somewhat effective, but was very weak and caused many states such as Texas to act as independent countries. America was not unified like it is today, and many saw the need for change. No single person governed our country, there was no judicial branch, and Congress had little authority. A group of delegated saw this need for change, and met at the Pennsylvania State House to determine a better system for our country. George Washington was selected as president of the convention. Many delegates feared that creating the Constitution would give the government too much power, and would diminish the power of individuals and states. Many different …show more content…
James Madison was the fourth president of the United States, and help build a foundation for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was introduced in 1789, and had several different purposes for our country. The first one was to establish liberty and freedom for the citizens of the United States. Many rights we take for granted today, such as freedom of press, freedom to protest peacefully, and the freedom to share your opinions with the government. The right to bear arms and the right to a speedy trial was also introduced. Some of these rights are still debated to this day, but they are key to establishing a dependable relationship between our government and its people. They establish a sense of security for our people, and gives them the confidence to express their opinions with the government. On the contrary, if we didn’t have the Bill of Rights within our Constitution, the fundamental principles that we all share as US citizens would not exist. Many of the immigrants traveling to our country would not come, because many of the immigrants who travel here are trying to gain more freedom. Our government would be more Communistic, and the freedom we all have taken for granted since birth would not …show more content…
These obligations help us as citizens of the United States stay safe, and help us become better people in the long run. Some of these obligations include defending the rights of the Constitution, defend the country if needed by the United States (getting drafted), paying taxes to both your state and federal governments, obeying the laws that our country has established, serving jury duty if you have committed a crime, and serving as a witness at a court trial. We as citizens are obligated to live by these rights, and respect the rules and obligations of the government. These duties and obligations are included within the constitution, and without them, our government would not be able to control many of its citizens. These obligations help show our loyalty to both our country and government. If we all could live by these obligations in our country, crime rates would be little to none, and there would be a system of unified respect between all of the citizens of the