Pros And Cons Of The Constitutional Convention

The United States Constitution was signed in 1787, in hopes of creating a new legal system that would ensure basic human rights for all citizens. Often, the constitution evokes political discussion on whether or not there should be a constitutional convention. The article named “Re – examining the Constitution by Kenneth Jost (2012), provides the reader with an interesting analysis of the pros and cons of a constitutional convention (“Con – Con”). Citizens who oppose the Con – Con argue that changing the Constitution wouldn’t transition well because of the current political climate, and explain that it has worked fine over the years. On the other hand, citizens who are in favor of the Con – Con, state that the constitution is outdated, and suggest that reviewing it may be beneficial to better suit the citizen’s needs. A close comparison of both arguments reveals that people who support the constitutional convention have stronger reasons regarding the document and are more rational about the issues associated with it.

Before the constitution became the law of the land there was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, and the first form of government established by the U.S. Under the Articles of Confederation the government consisted of a congress of delegates chosen by state legislatures. Congress was also unicameral, or a single house legislature. Each state had the same amount of power regardless of size or population. The powers to make, administer, and enforce laws were all placed with Congress. The government did not consist of a President or executive branch, instead the executive power was spread among several committees of congressmen. The articles granted certain limited powers to Congress. The Congress could not raise money through taxes, therefore it relied on contributions from the states, which was not reliable. Passing laws required approval of at least nine of the thirteen states, and amending a document required approval of all thirteen states. Congress had no power to regulate trade between the states or internationally. There was no national army, so the government relied on the individual states to establish a military.

There are big states and small states, and the small states felt that they were not being represented fairly. This is when the New Jersey Plan was made. There would be a House of Representatives which was based on population. The Constitution state in Article 1, Section 2 that “representatives… shall be apportioned… according to… (population)...” (Document D). There was also the Senate, and there would be two representatives from each state. The Constitution stated “The senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state…” (Document D). This was fight between big states and small states for equal representation and this was a fair compromise for everyone. No one state or person is able to gain too much power this way and everyone is fairly

This worked out to satisfaction of the smaller states and for the larger states they were given a House of Representatives that would consist of a larger body of representatives for each state in proportion to the amount of the people in that state.

Many arguments can be made against each state for the right to send the same amount of representatives. Bigger states would have a voice in the decisions whereas the small states would not. The conflict would

The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia during the spring and summer of 1787, and was charged with replacing the Articles of Confederation with a more effective constitution. The Articles were widely considered an ineffective governing document. Our nation had two constitutions. Although the Articles of Confederation weakened our government, the current Constitution strengthened our central government and established our country to where we are today.

In May of 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, 55 delegates met to discuss a new constitution because their current one, the Articles of Confederation, was not working. They needed a newer, stronger central government that they felt was necessary to keep the nation together. However, they feared tyranny due to their past with the King and all of the harsh treatment he brought upon the Americans before. Such as the Intolerable Acts and how the king took away all of their rights.

In 1787, a convention called the Constitutional Convention was held for delegates from each state to discuss the problems with the Articles and possible improvements. At the convention, delegates debated on topics such as how the states should be represented in the legislature, who should

This meeting is referred to as the Constitutional Convention. George Washington was chosen to preside over the meeting. After much debate, The Virginia Plan was drafted. Virginia delegates wanted a bicameral legislative branch. They argued that a strong national government would collect taxes and enforce laws.

There was a constitutional convention held in Philadelphia in May 1787. Over 50 delegates came from the 13 colonial states. The constitution was made because people needed guidelines amongst other people from other areas. The framers had ideas that they wanted to be included in the constitution. There were many compromises and debates involved in the pre-stages of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation.

The History of the constitutional convention is that it took place in Philadelphia. It began on may 25th to the 17th of September in the year of 1787. The constitutional

The Philadelphia Convention in 1787 was one of the most significant events in the United States history. The Convention happened with a lot of arguments, but the result was incredible - the creation of the United States. Among proposals, the three plans which had the strongest impacts on the outcomes of the Convention were the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan and the Connecticut Plan.

The last half of the 18th century was very important for the United States. During this era, the nation was founded following the Declaration of Independence and drafting and ratification of the Constitution a decade later. The 1787 constitutional convention and ratification debate was very important in the making of the US Constitution. The dynamics, antagonism, considerations, process and the eventual consensus regarding the Constitution can be explained by discrete theories in political discourses. However, there are theories that fit best within this historical context and help better explain the process of the constitutional convention and ratification. This paper will talk about pluralist theory as a theoretical perspective that best explains the workings of the 1787 constitutional convention and ratification debate, as opposed to power elite theory. This will be achieved by looking at the premises of pluralist theoretical perspective, and the workings of the 1787 constitutional convention and ratification and then show how pluralist theory best captures the workings.

The Articles of Confederation, in the spirit of fairness, gave each state one vote. This vote meant that states were equal despite variations in size and population. This was also one of the emotive issues that formulators of the new constitution had to

With the presidency established, a major discussion developed within the Constitutional Commission over the powers of the institution. There were two basic alternatives—a strong presidency with a subordinate parliament, or parliamentary supremacy with a nominal presidency. Advocates of the latter model were concerned about the centralization of power in the hands of one person. They argued that a parliamentary model with elections based on proportional representation would facilitate the development of political parties and allow the representation of various views in contrast to the “winner-takes-all” logic of the strong presidency. They referred back to the parliamentary tradition embodied in the short-lived Armenian Republic from 1918 to