Summary Of The Founding Fathers By John P Roche

Fisher Ames was one of the great founding fathers who helped start the United States of America. Although citizens today may not hear or know much about him he is as much a part of the history of this nation as other more known men such as Thomas Jefferson. Ames was a good man who did not want conflict and enjoyed the simple things in life. This is seen in the following quote: “…in his distaste for publick diversions, and his preference of simple pleasures” (Ames 1809, page ix). All in all, fisher Ames had an interesting background, important views on Christianity and the Bible and how they relate to government, as well as equally important views on government in general.

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The Virginia Plan sparked debate over its legislative representative proposals. The plan proposed representation of the states by population. This proposition favored the larger states. The Jersey Plan also known as the smaller state plan rallied for equal representation for all states. A compromise was finally reached. One house of the legislature would consist of two representatives from each state. This satisfied the small states. The second house of the legislature would consist of representatives based on population, thus satisfying the larger states. The establishment of a fair measure to apply taxation and representation in the legislature was described in the Federalist Papers: The Apportionment of Members among the States. The government would conduct a census that would prevent the states from understating their population for taxation and overstating their population for representation. The “Great Compromise” resolving the issue of representation did not mean that the federalists and anti-federalists had come to agreement on the Constitution.

Madison’s national veto also weakened the Virginia Plan, since the national government’s supreme judgment could only cause resentment by local authorities grappling with purely local issues. To counteract Madison’s bold proposal, delegates from the smaller states, headed by New Jersey’s William Paterson, offered a competing plan, the New Jersey Plan. To its credit, the New Jersey Plan amended the Articles of Confederation by adding a plural executive and a judiciary appointed by the executive branch. The New Jersey Plan proposed proportional representation in both houses of Congress to protect the smaller states. Although the addition of an executive would have strengthened the existing confederation, it resulted in a weak plural head of state. Furthermore, since the New Jersey Plan merely amended the Articles, and since the Articles had never been amended given the necessity of a unanimous vote by all of the states, the Plan was almost certainly doomed to

With the creation of the Articles remained the lack of a strong central authority to resolve disputes between the states. To organize the states for the collective good, including the organization of a militia, was crucial to the development of the Constitutional Convention (Hamilton et al., 2008). The aftermath of Shay’s Rebellion reinforced the fears of national leaders about the dangers of ineffective state governments and of popular democracy out of control. In the climate of economic turmoil and repressions, the Philadelphian convention was conned to prescribe solutions to the Articles of Confederation. Although the initial thought was instructing delegates to propose revisions for the Articles of Confederation, instead, they wrote an entirely new constitution instead (Hamilton et al., 2008)

Of the many plans to structure the government present the two that drew the most attention were the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans. Both of these plans were decimated by members of the convention for various reason. The plan from Virginia was viewed as a structure that would be more beneficial to larger states because it recommended an executive and judicial branches of government in addition to a two chambered congress with all representation based on the population of the state which was less beneficial to smaller states such as New Jersey. While the plan recommend called the New Jersey Plan would be just the opposite of the Virginia Plan since it called for a stronger national government to support the Articles of the Confederation with the ability to tax and regulate commerce between states. The New Jersey Plan also called for a single chambered congress and each state having one single vote. Deliberations lasted many weeks until finally

The Federalist Papers written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay are one of the greatest collections of literature from the time period of 1787 to 1788 when the Constitution was being ratified by the states. This collection of eighty-five essays was written for the states, to help them better understand and grasp a concept of why they should vote for the ratification of The Constitution. Why did the Madison, Hamilton, and Jay write The Federalist Papers and what is there underlying meaning? Who were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay? What was Madison trying to say in regards to the concept of federalism, separation of powers, republics and ratifying the Constitution and why? Each of these questions can be further explored and answered in Madison’s Federalist #51. By analyzing #51, with the addition of #10, clarity can be gained on the meaning behind these essays and there obvious importance to the nation’s history.

In American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, Jon Meacham explores the dynamic relationship between religion and government in America in the hope that contemporary America can learn from the past. The period covered by the book spans from 1620 until Reagan’s presidency in the late 1980s. However, Meacham focuses on the Founding Fathers stances and their continued impact on American politics. More specifically, the book details the conflict over the separation of private religious expression and the more neutral ‘public religion’.

In chapter one, "The Founding Fathers", Schlosser brings to life the post World War 11 era. He talks about the booming economy and the view that anything was possible. He does mention the Ku Klux Klan once throughout this part of the book, but he never mentions the race issues during this time or the presence of Mexican Americans. What was his motivation of bringing up the Ku Klux Klan at this point in the book? And did he use the founding of Taco Bell as an example of the appropriation of Mexico at the time?

Joseph J. Ellis is a well-known historian. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the college of William and Mary, and his masters and Ph.D. at the University of Yale. Ellis is currently a full time professor of the Commonwealth at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

In May 1787, the Founding Fathers, who were made up of 55 delegates from one of the 13 states besides Rhode Island, met in Philadelphia for what would come to be called the Constitutional Convention [BRE]. When they met they intended to fix the consitution that was already in place, which was called the Articles of Confederation. This document had many weaknesses which ultimatly led to its downfall: it only had a legislative branch, so it could not hold trials or enforce laws, it could not raise taxes (it was able to raise money, however to do this the legislative branch had to ask the states for funds), it could not draft an army, so the federal government would have to use state militia, it could not control interstate or foreign commmerce,

By the late eighteenth century, America found itself independent from England; which was a welcomed change, but also brought with it, its own set of challenges. The newly formed National Government was acting under the Articles of Confederation, which established a “firm league of friendship” between the states, but did not give adequate power to run the country. To ensure the young nation could continue independently, Congress called for a Federal Convention to convene in Philadelphia to address the deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation. While the Congress only authorized the convention to revise and amend the Articles the delegates quickly set out to develop a whole new Constitution for the country. Unlike the Articles of

Before the publication of Federalist, Hamilton attended the Annapolis Convention and returned disgruntled. The failures of the Articles of Confederation were evident, yet none of the delegates in attendance proposed worthwhile replacements, frustrating Hamilton. The product of his frustration was Plan For Government. Consisting of eleven points marked by roman numerals, Hamilton outlines the beginning of an American democracy. While none of the systems from Plan for Government make it into the Constitution or are implemented in any way, there are themes that are still prevalent in government today.  Hamilton’s outline of government is for the people, but by the elite (Plan for Government). The

Politics is defined as the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. I think this definition is perfect for American politics. Our government is constantly changing. There are new members of government being voted in, committees trying to get their ideas voted into law, and the Supreme Court is constantly interrupting the Constitution in new ways for our ever changing society. This all is included in the debate and conflict of parties trying to gain a foothold of power in our ever changing democracy. I think democracy looks far different today than in the founding fathers time. I am excited to further discuss my thoughts in this reflection paper.

To solve the emerging challenges, the American States legislatures brought up delegates to the Philadelphia Convention to sign a new form of government into power. The delegates include politicians, ordinary citizens and lawyers. The American States hoped that the convention would the constitution would be efficient to end the disaster – characterised by economic and security issues. Therefore, the condition and the measures put in place led to the development of the phrase “Inventing the American Constitution” aimed at discovery the motives behind the building of the United States Constitution, and the faults that existed within the Articles of Confederation.