The U. S. Constitution

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to re-evaluate the Articles of Confederation. The New Jersey plan and the Virginia plan were both proposals to strengthen the national government. Bigger states wanted voting to be based on population and wanted to have two houses of Congress, which is when the founders generated the Virginia plan. However, smaller states felt this was not fair and

Provide the class with the details of the project (location, acres restored, methods used, species benefited if available, etc.). Be sure to integrate what you find with what you are learning in your text and other readings and supplement it with additional research.

There are certain principles in the constitution that the US Supreme court should rely on when it comes to defining the limits of state and federal authority. To define these limits concepts such as implied powers, checks and balances, separation of powers and limited government will be discussed along with the benefit that comes with their implementation in our government. As these concepts are defined along with their implementation into the government I hope to give the reader a firm understanding of these concepts individual importance within the constitution and society.

The US Constitution is made up of three branches, The Legislative, The Executive and The Judicial, each having a part in the US Constitution. The Legislative Branch makes the law and consists of two houses that are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Executive Branch enforces the law while the Judicial Branch interprets the laws. All branches were given important powers but not enough for one branch to dominate the other branches and the government, which can be supported, by the first three articles of the US Constitution.

Two different forms of democracy are representative democracy and direct democracy. Representative democracy is where a set of officials are elected to represent a group of people. In the United States an elected representative would represent a state such as South Dakota. In a direct democracy, there is no middle man but the people represent themselves. Plato possibly the greatest western philosopher took a very interesting take on democracy government. In short he says

We, the People, have for too long ignored the framers intent on the relationship between the separation of powers between the Federal and State government. The abdication of responsibility for protecting the 10th amendment, not only by our elected officials but by citizens as well, deviates the subtle balance of power in our nation to a detrimental state. The United States of America is just that, united States, that have the power to legislate for their constituents any laws not delegated to the Federal government inside the Constitution. With the overreach of the Federal government using the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, enacting the 17th amendment, and using the “power of the purse” the 10th amendment stands as a former shadow of itself being regulated to a pawn piece in political maneuvers to show voters that individual State Senators still hold sway in protecting State’s rights. We should adhere to the original intent of the 10th amendment the State’s rights, which include everything not enumerated by the Constitution in Article I, will not be diluted or taken away by a central planner whose bureaucracy and laws could end in tyranny if ignored.

In the 1700s when the United States had detached itself from British rule it was then seen as a plutocracy. The U.S established as a democracy; a government of the people and by the people. However, this establishment was in favor of the rich, educated, and powerful and anyone who was categorized or known as elites and it has remained in favor of these people ever since. Yes we can say we have witnessed variations and seen a semi-democratic rise in the past two centuries, but we have remained a plutocracy hidden behind the word that people use to cover its true identity, democracy. Those like the framers, the public opinion role, interest groups, and money all portray our hidden plutocracy.

The United States, is still ruled by an unjust ruler like King George III. The way he ruled was filled with tyranny, which is the overruling of an individual or group. King George and other tyrants were people with too much power, making the colonies and anyone under their rule an utter nightmare. Luckily, we don’t have this because of the Constitution, which protects America from tyranny. A constitution in general is a set of basic principles that determines the powers and duties of a government. The Constitution was written in May of 1787 in Philadelphia because they (the framers of the Constitution, which are the people who construct the Constitution) felt the so called “United States” was no longer united due to tyranny and wars being caused because of it. The problem that the men had with creating the new Constitution is the one that already existed before it, the Articles of Confederation, were not working for the new nation.: the Articles of Confederation, which wasn’t quite working out for the United States. The Articles of Confederation were made in 1777 which was supposed be the foundation to declare the establishments of the government after America declared independence from England. The problems with the Articles of Confederation were as follows: There was no court system and there was no chief executive. James Madison’s big worry about framing a new Constitution was that it would be another form of tyranny, such as tyranny by the few. An example of tyranny by

The creation of the U.S. Constitution consisted of a series of conflicts and compromises. The competing interests of the central players that created the U.S Constitution had to focus on achievable goals rather than their own political interests. The political process can be conflictual but the process matters. It is essential to implementing decisions in our government, which provides order and our general welfare. Some conflicts that can be seen in the creation of the Constitution are political theories and economic interests. Those compromises made were decisions in balancing majority rule versus minority rights, allocating power between large and small states, as well as national power versus state and local power.

The United States of America has previously experienced failure every now and then. With trial and error, the country has learned to correct its ways and move toward(s) perfecting itself. Realizing the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation is a prime example of the U.S. learning how to better itself. Subsequent to the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of the United States was set as our new and improved framework of government. Possessing knowledge on how America, although strong, is still progressing, the U.S. Constitution holds certain ways allowing the United States government to adapt to changes over time. Judicial review and the Elastic Clause are crucial principles of the document that permit America to do so.

Let take a look at some of the compromises and challenges the Founding Fathers had to overcome when they set out to rewrite the American Constitution. The government built upon the Articles of Confederation was failing and change was needed.

According to Clark, Golder, and Golder in order for a country to be considered a democracy the following conditions must apply. The first condition states that the chief executive is to be elected. The second condition states that a legislature is to be elected. The third condition states that there must be more than one party competing within the elections. The fourth and final condition states that a variation in power under undifferentiated electoral rules has taken place. (Clark, Golder, & Golder, 2012, p. 152). These conditions allow for theorists to define their perceptions of democracy and dictatorships. These four conditions can be found within the lecture presented by Tarek Masoud.

Democracy relates to a political system that equates to one person holding one single vote in the decision-making process. As a political system, its proponents deem it as a fair and just way as the whims of the majority are preferred over the desires of the few. It becomes necessary to comprehend how democracy works to be able to effectively understand the principles and assumptions behind it. Majority of the countries in the world relate to a democratic system with differing variations depending on the resident country’s constitution. However the basic premise is that people in a country vote for their preferred candidate and the one with the most votes becomes the leader of the particular country. It is the same

It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of eligible voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society.[14] With its emphasis on notions of social contract and the collective will of the eligible voters, democracy can also be characterized as a form of political collectivism because it is defined as a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.[15]

There are multiple definitions of democracy, yet some of the common aspects of democracy are considered to be universal adult franchise, right to personal freedoms and liberties, and leaders of the executive competing against each other in an