...Should There be Another Constitutional Convention? The Articles of Confederation was he first federal “constitution” to be upheld in the thirteen colonies. Unfortunately, under the Articles, Congress was given no power over the states so that the country could grow into an actual functioning society, though there were certain things that they did have control over, such as create war and peace time, conduct foreign affairs and etc. But under the Articles, “But Congress could not collect taxes and enforce laws directly; it had to rely on the states to provide money and enforce its laws. . .”(Dye 61). Essentially, the states did what they felt was right beneath their own respective state level government. “No respect is paid to the federal authority. Not a single state complies with the requisitions[submitted by Congress]” (Nardo 18). The Founding Fathers were disturbed by the utter discord the nation seemed to be in. Deciding that enough was enough in May of 1797, twelve of the thirteen colonies delegates, 55 delegates, gathered together in the State House of Philadelphia to, originally, fix and tweak the bugs out of the Articles of Confederation. But instead of fixing the Articles, James Madison decided that it would be better to scrap the whole document and create a whole new federal constitution. James Madison was intent on drafting a new constitution that would create a stronger, central government: The Virginia Plan. “. . . he by no means wanted that government to be so...
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...Bill of rights- list of basic individual liberties that government could not abridge Virginia passed the first in June 1776 Western land problem- Northwest ordinance – created the Northwest Territory it passed on July 13 1787 Newburgh conspiracy- plan by continental army officers to challenge the authority of the confederation congress, happened b/c congress could not meet financial obligation to the military Shays’ rebellion- uprising that occurred in Massachusetts in 1786 – 1787 occurred due to aggressive tax and debt collection Three fifths clause compromise between delegates from south and northern states, in 1787 it stated how slaves would be counted when determining states total population for constitutional purposes. Antifederalists- group of individuals that oppose ratification of the new constitution. Against the constitution drafted in 1787 Federalist papers collection of 85 articles written by alexander Hamilton, James madison, and john jay. It promoted the ratification of the US constitution Haitian rebellion 1791 was a slave revolt in the French colony and which left to the elimination of slavery there and founding of the republic of Haiti Sedition act 1918 during ww1 made it a crime to print or write disloyal/profane language about the form of US government Tories is an American colonist who supported the British side during American Revolution. Defenders of the king Robert Norris Boston massacre took place in 1770 street fight that began when patriot...
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...USSO 10100 Prof. Gillooly 03/06/2015 The Significance of the Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers, is a compilation of 85 articles, advocating the ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States. These series of articles were published by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay between October 1787 and May 1788. The overall intention of the Federalist Papers was to explain the advantages of the proposed Constitution over the prevailing Articles of Confederation. The Federalist Papers impacted the ratification of the Constitution by making some of their most important objections, including the significance of having a Constitution, acknowledging to the disagreements made by the Antifederalists, and defending conflicting arguments made against the attributes of the executive and judicial branch as specified in the proposed Constitution. Before the ratification of the Constitution, the central government under the Articles of Confederations was very weak and in jeopardy of falling apart. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, who were Federalists believed as well that the Articles of Confederation was too weak to maintain a powerful central government and needed to be restored by the U.S Constitution. The fundamental goal of the U.S constitution was to secure the rights of the U.S citizens and for the federal government to strive for the common good of the individuals. The Federalist Papers illustrates how the federal government is divided into three distinct...
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...Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of the document. As adopted, the articles provided only for a "firm league of friendship" in which each of the 13 states expressly held "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." The People of each state were given equal privileges and rights, freedom of movement was guaranteed, and procedures for the trials of accused criminals were outlined. The articles established a national legislature called the Congress, consisting of two to seven delegates from each state; each state had one vote, according to its size or population. No executive or judicial branches were provided for. Congress was charged with responsibility for conducting foreign relations, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, settling boundary disputes, establishing and maintaining a postal service, and various lesser functions. Some of these responsibilities were shared with the states, and in one way or another Congress was dependent upon the cooperation of the states...
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...Constitution Timeline Tammie Johnson Grand Canyon University: POS 301 June 12, 2013 Constitution Timeline There have been many great event and documents that have made a significant impact on the evolution of the United States Constitution; such as the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Federalist Papers (1787-1788). Each of these events/ documents has changed the way the American people view the government and their responsibilities. The Magna Carta of 1215 is a document that forced the hand of King John of England and reduced the king’s power over the people who lived in England so that they could form a parliament to set the basis for the rights of English citizens. The objective behind this document was to help the people to rein in the king while trying to persuade him to regulate by the long-standing English laws that were in place before the Normans came to the country. The document consisted of thirty-seven English laws that were used to demonstrate to the people of England that the dominance of King John of England could be restricted when put in a written grant. This document played a key role in the history of England because it marked the beginning of a constitutional government in that country (Alchin, 2012). The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was drafted as an agreement among a group of settlers a board the Mayflower in November of 1620 in an effort to set forth fair and equal laws that would...
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...disadvantages to both the individuals and public order. There are many laws that exist in America and they are in place to keep people of America safe. Individual rights exist to give individuals their freedom, and that identical freedom can be the foundation to cause people to take advantage. People feel they are safe in their everyday lives. Public order is what keeps the world safe from mishaps. The ultimate life is to have freedom and of course everyone wants it; however people can take advantage of that desire and privilege regardless of who they are. Individuals are given rights which protect them from being mistreated from anyone, such as government officials, although most of the rights are given to keep people from being mistreated from the Justice System. The bill of rights was established to help protect the citizens of America. “The bill of rights is devoted to defending the rights of people who are accused of committing a crime. The rights that do that are the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth amendment’s. These rights give people the “right to due process of law, fair trial, and freedom from self-incrimination, cruel and unusual punishment and being charged twice for the same crime.” National Constitution center, (2008) Individual rights are our freedom to do what we want and to...
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...The U.S. Constitution: The First of Its Kind I still remember being in an eighth grade U.S. History class back in my junior high years. One distinct memory of that course, perhaps the most memorable of all the projects we had, came in the first month of the school year, in the curriculum’s first unit: the founding of the United States as its own nation. As the textbook timeline approached 1787 we prepared ourselves for a daunting task: memorize and recite the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution. We as students would wait anxiously as, one by one, each of our peers would step up to the front of the classroom and begin to recite from memory. Few people could recite the Preamble smoothly, but for those who stumbled, we all seemed to remember perfectly the first and last chunks: “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” and “…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” To us back in eighth grade, that missing middle section was just a group of words to be more-or-less forgotten the next day. To our forefathers, however, that middle section was vital in creating the basis for the supreme law of the United States. Much like my peers and I in the eighth grade, our forefathers who assembled 226 years ago were faced with a daunting task for the state that they were in. At this point in our history, America was a newborn in the world, only eleven years of age. Now left without the common cause that the Revolutionary War...
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...C. The Division and Separation of Power The constitution was 4,000 words and focused on the federalism/division of powers and the system of checks and balances. Federalism/division of powers is the relationship between the Congress and the states. The system of checks and balances was to prevent a governmental branch from dominating the other branches. For example, the president can veto the laws, but two-thirds of the government have to approve the objection. The president is able to be suspended and removed from office if he committed crimes. D. The Debate Over Slavery The people who was at the Constitutional Convention were slave holders as well as those who wanted to abolish slavery. Slavery was never mentioned in the Constitution, but it was legal. ⅗ of the slave population represented would be considered in the state’s representation and electoral votes. South Carolina’s delegates was finna acting influential bout slavery in order to prevent they slaves from being finessed. They would do this by threatening to secede if the Atlantic Slave Trade became...
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...The drafters begin with the assertion that they are not by any means exaggerating the potential dangers that abolition imposes upon their institution. They held claims that emancipation would, “prostrate [their] industrial pursuits and to destroy [their] social system.” Plainly spoken, Mississippi knew abolition would kick the chair out from under their society’s structure and punch a deep hole in the fabric of their economy. While the assertions are reasonable, they are morally wrong. Morally considering the ideas of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” set forth in the constitution. Moreover, this secessionist document charges that emancipation advocates “...negro equality, socially and politically…” When the drafters of the Declaration of Independence wrote of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” they did not specify race. The Declaration of Causes of Mississippi Secession when viewed objectively presents forthright and reason-based arguments; but fails all moral...
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...The Articles of Confederation was an agreement between the founding thirteen states that established the United States of America. While the Articles of Confederation had its flaws, it did serve an important purpose at the time it was written. Some of the strong points include: the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, defined territories, and establishment of an adequate temporary government. At the time, the American colonies had suffered under the long tyranny of England’s King George III and the American colonies’ primary goal was to establish a government in which its people would be protected from such domination. The Articles of Confederation did this, claiming very little power over individual states and people. Furthermore, in the Articles of Confederation territories and rules between states were explicitly laid out, with states gaining an understanding of how they played into the federal government. Lastly, the Land and Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 respectively were established in the Articles of Confederation. The Land Ordinance defined the general practices of land surveying and land ownership provisions. This ordinance was considered a success, in that may people were able to purchase and secure land with very little trouble. The Northwest Ordinance required some of the original states to give up land near the Ohio River. This land was later used for the development of five new states. Furthermore, the Northwest Ordinance abolished slavery...
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...In the book Shay’s Rebellion by Leonard L. Richards the author clearly supports that the Shay’s Rebellion of 1786 and 1787 fundamentally changed the American nation towards a stronger national government. Richard’s new found set of data allows for a more detailed and accurate depiction of the Shay’s Rebellion than any other before stated version. Richard’s explains the use of this data to observe the participants of the rebellion, the causes and the outcomes all in a socioeconomic stand point. The book Shay’s Rebellion by Leonard L. Richards is about the subject of the armed uprising in Massachusetts that occurred in the summer of 1786 through the winter of 1787, called Shay’s Rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion was started by a western Massachusetts farmer named Daniel Shay who was a...
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...HISTORICAL ESSAY #1 Confederation and Constitution The Articles of Confederation was agreed to by Congress on November 15, 1777 and was ratified and in force on March 1, 1781. By the year 1787, this new government had fallen short of the expectations of the people it was intended to govern. The weaknesses in The Articles of Confederation were numerous and had, in the thinking of many prominent men of that time, failed and would lead to a state of anarchy. There was such a sense of urgency to amend it that there seemed to be an atmosphere of panic among many of our Founding Fathers. John Dickenson and fellow members of the 2nd Continental Congress, weary of monarchy rule, had created the Articles of Confederation as a listing of twelve specific Powers given Congress by which to govern. Legislation required nine votes to pass. Each state had only one vote and this was problematic to the larger states, as their problems, more often than not, were based on a larger population and it was not unusual that the smaller states didn’t understand or want to pay for the solutions. Some lesser acts did not require nine votes to pass, but simply a majority of those present. Acts of Significant Consequence did require nine votes. The trouble with all of this was that even if nine votes could be achieved, there was no enforcement of law to be implemented by Congress. Congress could make law but not enforce it. It could charge states for their share of national...
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...The Articles of Confederation provided an effective form of government to a limited extent inasmuch of many causes. What I imply by this is that, there are two opinions: support and refute, each have a great responses. The Articles of Confederation did mark a turning point in the U.S Constitution by eliminating the articles form of government and building a actually new form of government. In my opinion I believe that The Articles of Confederation were ineffective because of many reason that is why it only took place for ten years, One reason for this is that it had no National Supreme Court which wasn't much a framework just a friendship. Another reason is that the articles set up a “government” that consisted of a one house body of delegates...
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...Canada Constitution vs Unites States Most countries around our world for the most part have a constitution for people to live by or another resource laying out the freedoms for the citizens for the countries. A Constitution of course is the foundation for one’s country that he or she lives in. The constitution or other government rules lay the foundation for the government as well as the citizens that reside in the country. This is especially true for the lands of America and the Monarchy of the providence of Canada. Both nations citizens live by the rights of each constitutions everyday even though in some cases our rights are not always treated as a nation of free people should be. Of course the United States and Canada have different freedoms than other lands but, these freedoms and rights for both countries were not easily achieved wars were fought and to many people died for the cause on both sided of the wars for the lands. The United States constitution was written in 1787 between May and September after the American colonies citizens won their independence from the British rule of the king and queen. The men who wrote the constitution were called the framers, they met and discussed what would be in it which some of the things were not put in it and the articles. There were 55 Framers of the constitution. Among them some familiar names as George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin franklin, alexander Hamilton which he invented the first national bank for the United...
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...Our land lost fertility for agriculture, no trading ports and had to pay Pennsylvania for their ports. The Article of confederation required each state for own military, but the Delaware state had few men to defend along their open coastline. To solve all problems state officials organized the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Compared to Markey’s convention the actual meeting lasted 3 months, there were great compromises and some misconceptions to be neutral. Many difficulties were faced during the convention, the most important one was that delegates were benefitted for their state and not as a whole for the nation. For example, Virginia during the convention proposed for a standing army for their own cause in which many delegates opposed due to financial problems. Although Virginia resolved the problem by announcing each individual state's debt as a debt of the nation and also allotted congress to control for this new set up. That’s what the original constitution convention did for a proposal to be implemented regardless of the state’s economic situations; they believed this would allow them to be...
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