Constitution Dbq Essay

“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

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

Hamilton created a financial system and national bank that solved the countries debt problem. The Anti-Federalists held the opposite views. They were a diverse coalition of people who opposed ratification of the Constitution. The party mostly consisted of farmers who lived in the south. They objected the new powerful central government, the loss of prestige for the states, and saw the Constitution as a potential danger to personal liberties. They believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States lay in the government's potential to become corrupt and seize more and more power until its monarch rule completely dominated the people. Jefferson believed that the Federalists’ acted as monocrats (Doc 5). The Anti-Federalists strongly supported state rights, but were opposed to a national bank because they didn’t want a strong central government (Doc 2). Local control was crucial to Antifederalists’ concept of democracy. The differences in political parties and philosophies led to the opposing opinions on government issues. Disagreements between Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s viewpoints involving a national bank, constitution interpretations, and social differences led to the rise of political parties.

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

The Federalist Party was mostly made up of well-educated people such as merchants, bankers and manufacturers. According to historian Eric Foner, Hamilton’s “long term goal was to make the United States a major commercial and military power,” Hamilton used Great Britain as a model of economic development, and greatly stressed the importance of government aid in manufacturing, trade, and commerce. As stated by Foner, “Hamilton’s program called for the creation of a Bank of the United States, modeled on the Bank of England, to serve as the nation’s main financial agent.” His plan was to create a private back with the goal of creating a common currency. Lastly, Hamilton and the Federalists distrusted the common people and believed that they were ignorant and incapable of self-rule. Therefore, a strong central

In the year 1787, early America, officials and delegates came together to form a constitution that would restore the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was the attempt at creating a government for the newly independent America. But, it soon became clear that the document was not strong enough to govern America. Therefore, delegates who came to be known as Federalists and Anti-Federalists issued major arguments on the ratification of the U.S Constitution. Federalists were individuals who wished to unify the 13 states in negotiation, and

After Shay’s Rebellion and the nation on the brink of bankruptcy it was clear that the Articles of Confederation would not be adequate to preserve the nation. So began the great battle for the balance between order and freedom. The main point of dispute between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists in the battle over the ratification of the Constitution surrounded the question of what powers and rights were required in order to insure the security and liberty of the nation. The Federalists advocated that a strong central government was needed, which was supported by the failure of the Articles of Confederation. However the Anti-Federalists were determined on keeping the sovereignty of the states and by doing so also retaining their secured political freedom.

There are ten documents in “The Making of Constitution”, each document demonstrates the process of forming a constitution. For instance, these documents illustrate the disagreement between the servitude and abolition of slavery, the religious freedom, and the forming a new constitution. In document one, an African American names Cato appeals his emotion toward the bring back of servitude, after he and his family had tasted the sweets of liberty. He claimed that the state of bringing back the slavery is the cruelest act that a man can make, thus he suggests that hanging them would have been more merciful.

Defeating the British in the American Revolution was only the first of many challenges these revolutionaries would face. Important decisions were to be made regarding the direction of the country and its government. Some men, such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, rose to prominence and led the efforts to establish a stable, independent nation beginning with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Although, after George Washington became the first president of the United States in 1790, it was apparent that two political parties were beginning to form and would remain until the end of the War of 1812 in 1815. These two parties had contrasting ideologies, including the distribution of power between the federal government and the states,

The Federalists were led by an individual by the name of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was thought of as an intellectual with a mind that blew many. These Federalists were the first political party of the United States of America. They wanted a strong national

Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies. Hamilton grew into poverty while developing his educated life. When Hamilton was a young adult, he fled to New York and attended Kings College. He soon became an aide for General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Once George Washington was selected the First President of the United States of America, Washington had a close relationship with Hamilton and he elected Hamilton to be the Secretary of Treasury. In 1789, America had a tremendous debt, but Hamilton quickly thought of a financial plan. He had a vision for America and a political view of the constitution. Once Hamilton grew into the political life he became a member of the Federalist

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.

In the summer of 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to create a new government as the one under the Articles of Confederation had failed them. When drafting the Constitution, the framers wanted a Constitution that would favor freedom over equality. A way to interpret the meaning of equality in the context of the Constitution is to see how democratic the Constitution was. The United States Constitution today has been amended many times to give more democratic aspects to the federal government, but this the exact opposite that many of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention thought the federal government should be. The Preamble of the Constitution even says that they sought to establish a Constitution that would “secure the Blessing of Liberty” (P). The framers feared that a more democratic government would allow for the people to get too strong, so instead they favored a more republican government. One is able to see how republican of a system of government the framers sought after by examining how Congressmen and Senators are chosen and who was qualified to vote for them. The Constitution heavily favored freedom over equality because the framers purposefully designed it to favor a representative government, and the design of the U.S. Congress prevented the people from gaining too much influence in the affairs of the federal government.