The American Political Journey

This book emphasizes the alternative interpretations offered by Americans on the origins of the Constitution. Holton’s purpose with this book was to show that the framers interests involved making America more attractive to investors. In order to do so, they purposefully made the government less democratic with the writing of the Constitution. However, with the addition of the Bill of Rights, one could argue the Framers had at least a slight concern for the American people and their civil liberties.

Chapter one of The American Political Tradition by Richard Hofstadter is centered on the Founding Fathers. The very beginning of the chapter says that the Constitutional Convention was trying to create a government that would pay debts and avoid currency inflation. The Democratic ideas that the Founding Fathers were so against appealed mostly to less privileged classes, and not at all to the higher classes. This chapter says that the Founding Fathers thought that if no constitutional balance were achieved, one specific class or would take over others. Three advantages of a good constitutional government were listed in this chapter as well. One: keep order against majority rule. Two: a representative government. Three: aristocracy and democracy

The American Constitution was questionable from the earliest starting point, as thoughts were separated between backers - an answer for all the country's issues, and commentators - a depravity of its republican standards. The supporters trusted that the Constitution augmented their republican thoughts, adding another level to the chose government, while the faultfinders trust the republicans worked in little political units, for this situation the states. The most effective method to separate the force between state governments and focal government was in this way a principle contention while the Constitution was composed furthermore later in time, remaining a vital issue until today.

This paper is about how The United States moved from it’s inept first attempt at self government progressing, to the Constitution, which took care of many issues prevalent in the Articles of Confederation. The revolutionary concepts exemplified in the constitution propelled The United States onto the world stage. To gain a deeper understanding of this topic, two essays and a book will be consulted concerning what people thought about the Constitution when it was first implemented and how it is perceived today. In addition, a brief history of early American government and how the Constitution came to be will be discussed. Furthermore the resulting Constitution and how it improved upon the Articles of Confederation will be discussed.

The United States Constitution begins with the simple phrase “We the People”. Yet, with three simple words, the ideology it stands for has shaped the entire country (O’Connor et al., 2011). The short phrase signifies that the document, and thus, the government, is based upon the people themselves. The Constitution reflects the culture and ideologies of its citizens. Similarly, state constitutions reflect the people, albeit in a more specific locality. The key differences between the United States Constitution and that of local states are due to the distinctions between the scope and characteristics of the people they govern.

Every state in the Union has created and implemented its own constitution. These constitutions provide the legal framework by which government operates. They also identify the specific role of government, and endow it with certain powers and authority. A constitution also creates a system for how power is to be delegated and distributed through the creation of branches and individual offices. Along with the authority it provides, constitutions create limits on this power of government, and establish checks and balances to further limit the scope of each individual branch and officeholder. Most importantly, constitutions provide unalienable rights to citizens that cannot be refused, or abridged by government. Each state’s constitution is different, however, all of them serve these functions, in order to, create a lasting government that acts in the best interests of its citizenry.

In 1783, the Americans triumphed in the American Revolution, which granted independence from Great Britain. After their victory, it became evident that the new country would need a secure and central government to thrive. The Constitution is a document formed to aid the new republic and ensure that it would become and remain stable. It gives a complete and thorough outline of the rights that all citizens are entitled to have. However, prior to the ratification of the Constitution there had to be many debates and factors that influenced the idea of such a document that would form the basis for the United States. The creation of the Constitution was a result of America’s perseverance through certain political, economic, and social issues of the 1780s. Even through the unfavorable circumstances, America was able to devise a doctrine that would become to be known as the basis for the greatest country in the world; the US

Richard Hofstadter examines the political beliefs of the founding fathers in the first chapter of the American Political Tradition. Ideas thought about by most Americans to be the center of our organization, our founders viewed liberty, democracy, and property, as evil. The composition can be depicted to be vicious as well, because liberty, democracy, and property are linked to the United States Constitution.

In 1860s, due to the fact that southern states desired to maintain the slavery while the North wanted to ban the slavery, then the Union which was leaded by Abraham Lincoln fought with the Confederacy which was conducted by Jefferson Davis, and the Union hoped to achieve a goal that preserved the unity. However,because the South owned a large number of troops, controlled wide geographic extent, and had a powerful government, it was difficult for the Union to defeat the Confederacy thoroughly.Furthermore, the Confederacy`s strategy was that it just needed to defense, fought with the North in its own lands, and waited for northern opposition of the war growing up, then it could convince the Union to stop the Civil War (Goldfield,ed.,The American Journey: A History of the United State, P402).

In the immortal words of Thomas Paine, “a constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates” (Paine 1805). One of the great debates among Constitutional scholars is just what the exact purpose of Constitutions are. Some argue that Constitutions function as expressions of values of the populace at the time. Others theorize that Constitutions serve as tools of social coordination. While both of these theories have merit, at the end of the day, Constitutions primarily function as power maps. Ultimately, they express the power dynamics between citizens and their government, between different branches of government themselves, and between different social groups.

The question posed by both Madison and the Framers in the 85 “Federalist Papers” and Dahl in his book How Democratic is the American Constitution? is how effective the Constitution is at promoting the ideals of a democracy. For Dahl, there are several issues surrounding the Constitution, from its drafting, to its ideology, to its relevance. By analyzing Dahl’s critiques of the Constitution in terms of the parallels that exist between factions and the two-party system, the issue of unequal representation, and the necessity for the Framers to compromise on their ideals to ratify the Constitution, Dahl defined a clear argument based in his general disapproval for the Constitution. However, by combining Dahl’s critiques with potential rebuttals from the opinions and perspectives of Madison and his fellow Federalists, it is evident that both Dahl and the Framers believed that if the constitution was completely successful, then the lives of the American people would be enhanced. While Dahl believed that the Constitution, ultimately, has not fully protected the rights of all persons, he, like the Framers, focused on the particulars of government that must be improved such that the American life is bettered.

Although the constitution was written over 200 years ago, the constitution continues to form the foundation to our modern day america. Nowadays the general consensus is that the constitution is a reliable document that is still relevant to this day. However the trust that we now place in the constitution wasn’t always present. During the time of its ratification there were two political factions ,the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, whose view on the power vested by the constitution clashed. Creating a massive political debate that would shape the future of the nation.

When the Constitution was initially introduced in the United States, it created several disputes all across the nation. During this time, there were two major parties who battled over its ratification. These two parties were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists sought the successful ratification of the document, while the Anti-Federalists were very much against its ratification. The views of both sides were very different and each side established several reasons as to why it should or should not be ratified. We analyze these beliefs in several papers that were produced and presented by both sides. In these documents, many aspects of the Constitution, especially in relation to representation and the role of a centralized government, are discussed. Despite these conflicting views, the essays analyze many similar topics throughout them.

On September 17, 1787 framers in Philadelphia signed “The Constitution of the United States in which it was approved on June 21, 1788 by the ninth state. Once confirmed, along with the addition to the Bill of Rights it developed a mutual standard by which Americans determined the responsibilities and limits of their government. Looking to the Constitution to decide political discrepancies has helped to substitute and preserve a general agreement among people that are otherwise diverse. The Constitution, although two centuries of complications and trials of the American experiment in self-government, is a testament to the cleverness and anticipation of its framers.

Certain interests do not change over time in our society. Over 200 years ago, the prominent concern that led to the framing of the Constitution regarded the establishment of a government that was “for the people and by the people.” The framers of the Constitution, with concern of an over powering central government in mind, provided a basis for the structure of the federal government of the United States. The powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government are laid out strategically in a way that no one branch can have more power than the other. The national concern of maintaining a legitimate government has not shifted since the initial days of the framers. Although the capacity of the government has grown over time, the system of checks and balances that was adapted in the framing of the Constitution allows for the structure and powers of the federal government to remain in order today. Other than providing a structural map for how the government will operate, however, the additional aspects of the Constitution fail to administer practical framework for addressing 21st century interests. This document was written over 200 years ago and it has not been altered substantially since then (Lazare). While certain Amendments have been added to assist the Constitution in staying relevant, such as the abolishment of slavery and the addition of women’s right to vote, there has been practically nothing added to help in applying the framers’ intentions