Use your knowledge of the era of 1785-1788 and the documents provided to answer the following question:
What were the major arguments that surfaced in opposition to the new Constitution proposed in 1787? How did supporters of the Constitution counter those arguments?
Previous attempts to change the Articles of Confederation had failed because the approval of every state was required. There was often one or more recalcitrant member of the union. For example, Rhode Island even refused to take part in the framing; opposition to a new constitution was certainly formidable. Consequently, the Convention discarded the provision of unanimous approval and adopted the notion that the new Constitution would pass with only the approval of nine
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They would not agree to ratify such a proposal unless a Bill of Rights was crafted to limit Congress’s powers and protect the rights of the citizens.
Those in favor of the Constitution proposal argued that there must be a prime leader to run things smoothly. They agreed that the leader would not hold too much power, and that his decisions would be in favor of the people. In his paper The Federalist, James Madison advocates the idea of a centralized government. “Extend the sphere,” he writes, “and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests.” The Federalists designed the Constitution so there were no constraints on the ability of the central government to use its military power and its fiscal powers, its taxing and borrowing authority. According to the Federalists, the government's ability to borrow was critical to its ability to act militarily, especially in times of crisis. They also believed that the ability to tax its citizens was crucial for a government to borrow successfully. Taxing powers provided credibility and a means for servicing debt and for repayment. The Federalists argued that the nation, as it was currently, was unprepared for defense should foreign countries be plotting against the United States. They maintained the need for a Union, for credit, and for the ability to borrow money and tax. Federalists believed that their new constitution gave the government
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention, where it was held in Philadelphia. It was written by a group of people known as “Farmers,” or the “Founding Fathers,” and few of the most famous Founding Fathers were George Washington (The first president of the USA), Thomas Jefferson (The first vice president and the third president of the USA) James Madison (The fourth president of the USA), Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. The old government, the Articles of Confederation was not working as it supposed to be, it was vulnerable and cannot secure and defend the new born nation and for that reason the constitution of the united states saw the light.
“While the authors of the United States Constitution are frequently portrayed as noble and idealistic statesmen who drafted a document based upon their conception of good government, reality is that the constitution reflects the politics of the drafting and ratification process. Unfortunately, the result is a document that is designed to produce an ineffective government, rather than a government that can respond to issues in a timely fashion.” In support of this conclusion, the issues of slavery, The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the civil rights struggle keenly demonstrate the ways in which our constitution hinders the expediency and effectiveness of America’s government. The constitution’s provisions towards voting eligibility and
On July 3rd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously declared the independence of the thirteen United States of America from Great Britain. Determined to unify the thirteen colonies, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. Although the articles did not prevent the United States from winning independence, the innate flaws of the articles became apparent in the years following the revolution. The problems of the weak, purely legislative national government became too prevalent for agents of the revolution, such as James Madison and George Washington. Madison and Washington were strong supporters of a federal, or national, constitution, and on June 21, 1788, congress ratified the Constitution of the United States. And in doing so, violated the “Revolutionary Ideology” and the will of the American people.
A constitution is a written document that sets forth the fundamental rules by which a society is governed. Throughout the course of history the United States has lived under two Constitutions since the British-American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776. First in line was the Articles of Confederation (1789-1789) followed by the Constitution of United States of America (1789-present). The Articles of Confederation was the first formal written Constitution of America that specified how the national government was to operate. Unfortunately, the Articles did not last long. Under the words of the Article’s power was limited; Congress could make decisions, but had no power to enforce them. Also the articles stated
When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution in 1787, the United States just had 13 states. The Founding Fathers believed that more states would want to join the Union in the future. They saw that it would be significant for new states to have the same form of government as the original states had. Since then there are now over 50 states that have similar characteristics which were developed centuries ago; although, resembling the creation of new ideas and inventions, current state government had many problems from being the way it is today, it also has many important features that benefit many people, as well as plays an important role in how American democracy and government works.
The US Constitution states “We The People of the United states in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for more common defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The main purpose of the U.S Constitution is to establish the basic rights of all American Citizens. This follows that every United States Citizens have equal rights. Belonging to a minority group because of culture, religion or race does not assert that one is unconstitutional. In times of war, evacuation of minority groups only in NOT constitutional; however, evacuation of ALL United
In 1787, the Constitution was written and submitted for ratification by the 13 states, but not everyone agreed with it. There were two groups of though. One was the Anti-federalists, who opposed the Constitution and the other group were the Federalists, who supported it. The Anti-federalists were people who supported the Articles of Confederation because they were doing well under them. They were mostly poor people from rural areas and were supported by the big states. They believed that the Constitution did not secure their rights and gave the central government too much power. The Federalists were mostly the wealthy people who lived in or near city areas and were supported by the smaller states. They believed that the separation of
Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of confederation to those of the Constitution. Which document did a better job at protecting liberties? Running a government? Explain your answer with specific examples.
Every state but Rhode Island elected a ratifying convention in 1787-1788, and only North Carolina's adjourned (August 2, 1788, by a vote of 185-84) without voting on the Constitution. (Rhode Island submitted the Constitution to its town meetings; on March 24, 1788, in a vote boycotted by most Federalists, the voters rejected it, 2,708-237.) The first five ratifications took
Question: What were the major arguments used by each side (the supporters and the opponents) in the debates over the ratification of the U.S Constitution?
During the Convention there were many controversies between these men, some were focused on not wanting to upset their constituents back in their home states, and the smaller states were constantly trying to protect themselves from the influence of the larger states, while the southern states feared that a national government would upset the slave trade. However, many of the delegates shared a bigger fear throughout the convention, which was putting too much power into a central government and the fear that the senate and House of Representatives would have too much power. George Mason, an initial advocate of a strong central government withdrew his support and refused to sign the finished Constitution, claiming that the new government would “produce a monarchy, or a corrupt, tyrannical aristocracy” so for the sake of trying to find a balance, the idea of giving the chief executive the power of veto over legislation was proposed. Along with this power a check was needed, so the idea that a three quarters vote from congress
After the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the United States Government was reorganized under the Constitution. This gave the federal government far more power than did the Articles of Confederation, which invested power within the states. Basically, the Constitution created three branches of government (Executive, Judicial, and Legislative) which would work together to run the government. To make sure that there was an equal balance of power among the branches, a system of checks and balances was devised so that each branch could limit the power of the others. It is important to note that "the doctrine of separation of powers is not established by any constitutional provision [but] rather it emerges from he framers'
Madison claimed that these factions could be stopped by electing representatives. These representatives would then put forth national interest ahead of factional interest. In the other essays, the Federalists foresaw the future of the country containing leaders from various competing interests and groups, for the Antifederalists believed this was to be primarily the farmers. Overall, the Federalists main points of discussion were a strong national government and commercial growth of the nation, along with financial policies that revolved around central banks.
The plan to divide the government into three branches was proposed by James Madison, at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He modeled the division from who he referred to as ‘the Perfect Governor,’ as he read Isaiah 33:22; “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.” http://www.eadshome.com/QuotesoftheFounders.htm
| In Massachusetts Bay, men who owned property could go to a town meeting and vote.