...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...
Words: 1254 - Pages: 6
...believe that our constitution allowed slavery to go on due to these advantages. To combat this, the federal government enacted 3 compromises in order to slow the growth of slavery in America. These compromises were the 3/5th’s compromise, the foreign slave trade, and the ability to re-capture slaves who have crossed state borders (Fugitive Slave Clause). These compromises were the first steps to getting slaves rights; although it may seem that these compromises didn’t help slaves, it was the first time they were given rights across the country. The first compromise was the 3/5th’s compromise and was put into effect in 1787. Southerners looked for House of Representatives...
Words: 1228 - Pages: 5
...major flaws, limitations and discrepancies were mounting. These gave way to the Articles being scrapped altogether and a new governing document being written called the U.S. Constitution. Many have called the Articles of Confederation America's first failure at government. Unification The articles of the confederation was a weak attempt at best, by a new country to try an unite itself and form a government of its own after overthrowing the British tyranny of the previous decade. Under the Articles of Confederation each state had the right to make its own rules and laws, separate from the central government. There was no taxing powers given to Congress, Congress had no power over interstate or foreign commerce. Each state had one vote in Congress, regardless of the states size or population. That in itself was a problem for the larger states who had bigger populations, who were expected to contribute more but still only had one vote. Any amendments to the Articles must have a unanimous approval for amendment. Congress had only specific powers that it could not enforce because each state could ignore the laws made by congress with no penalties due to the fact that there was not a judiciary. The Constitution alleviated many issues that the Articles of Confederation created. The Constitution created a centralized government that was...
Words: 1602 - Pages: 7
...thirteen states to enact laws and thirteen out of thirteen votes to make amendments to the Articles. The problems with the Articles and with our ongoing controversies between states force us into many difficult situations and we delegates have come to a mutual agreement. One thing all thirteen of us share in common is our need for change. Slavery, slave trading,...
Words: 1149 - Pages: 5
...The folks who wrote the United States Constitution were some of the most capable people around to craft such a document. However, to make this document perfect would have been an impossible task. Some major changes would occur in the US and in the world, which no one could have expected. In the very beginning of the 1800s, there was a transfer of political power between the Federalists and Republicans, this was essentially a change in the principles of government, which the people wanted. Secondly, democracy around the world was revolutionized during the two centuries following the creation of our constitution. Lastly, many new constitutions were created including a new British constitution, which our constitution was heavily modeled after. Furthermore there were three major immovable limitations to what the constitution could be....
Words: 613 - Pages: 3
...The Constitution is important to America because it was the document that had founded our government. It was the basis of what would form the United States. It outlines all of our rights as citizens and gives a complete list of all the things we can do, and the rights that we have. The Constitution is the most important document ever crafted in American History, it had developed the representation of the Great Compromise, it had addressed the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, and it addressed the complaints in the Declaration of Independence The Great Compromise was an agreement amongst the nations with the Connetticut delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Elsworth. The delegates had decided that the American government would have two houses in Congress: The senate where each state has two Senators, and the House of Representatives where each state has a number of Representatives based on population,in other words, a bicameral system. The Great Compromise provided that membership in the House of Representatives would be in proportion to the states population and members would be elected by all of the voters in the state. while the membership of Senates would be equal. The Articles of Confederation were the original document in the United States that had served as the Supreme law and sought to combine the disparate colonies under a single governmental entity until the Constitution had replaced The Articles of Confederation completely. Established during the revolutionary...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...In the United States Constitution, compromise was used many times and that is why we are living in this nation today. One of the many compromises was the Great Compromise, which involved Roger Sherman proposing different representation in the two-house legislature. He wanted the Upper House (the Senate), to have two members in each state. Sherman also wanted the Lower House (the House of Representatives) to have the same number of seats based on the state’s population. The Virginia Plan was created by Edmond Ralph and James Madison; it required a strong government, which meant that bigger states had an advantage. This plan also included three branches: Legislature, Executive, and Judicial; therefore, all the power would be split and...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
... University of Phoenix How the Constitution addressed the complaints in the Declaration of Independence: The United States Constitution was established to help set-up the first form of government, in the year 1787, and the Bill of Rights was later added in the year 1791. The Constitution was established for the common good of all people. The Constitution and Amendments were written to fix the problems stated in the Declaration of Independence which was written in the year 1776. The United States Constitution reflects and supports the idea of the Declaration of Independence. Many different problems from the Declaration of Independence needed to be fixed through the Constitution.”He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good”. (Declaration of Independence) The King of Great Britain refused to set laws for the common good of all people. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government. So according to the first amendment, the people’s common good is protected by Congress. There were several economic problems said in the Declaration of Independence, for example:” the imposing of taxes on us without our consent.” (Declaration of Independence) Colonists were extremely angered by the fact that...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
...A lot of precedents set by British law uphold fairness within the legal system and make decisions through articulate analysis and reasoned judgment, which American courts should value in their own cases. One example of American courts following British law is in the case of Somerset v. Stewart. (Week 12 Day 2) Somerset was freed and slavery was ruled as not supported and that no one could be enslaved in England and this influenced American law and eventually ended slavery. American courts looked into the Somerset case and led to their questioning of slavery and freedom in the U.S. While none of the amendments are directly correlated to the British common law, the ninth amendment does provide a clue as to the view of the framers of the Constitution in regard to following British common law. The ninth amendment recognizes unenumerated rights and acknowledges legal principles inherited from British law. (Week 9 Day 2 ppt) This principle supports the consideration of British court decisions and legal precedents set by American courts as part of the general historical and legal framework that has shaped the American legal system to...
Words: 1306 - Pages: 6
...argues that our founding fathers were democratic statesmen in which created a constitution that supports not only our nation but as well as the people. He says that the Philadelphia Convention where a nationalist reform caucus that created a compromise that was acceptable to the people and helped increase national interest. He also notes that under the articles of confederation the founding fathers where able to get every state to appoint delegates to Philadelphia, the central government under the articles were component states in which that the members of congress were chosen by state legislatures in all but Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in which consisted of a bicameral legislature. Each state would be represented by the number of inhabitants which means that states with a large population would have more representatives than smaller states. Smaller states opposed this plan and eventually proposed their own plan. The New Jersey plan proposed a single chamber in which each state, no matter what the population size is would have only one vote so that way it would be fair for smaller states. With these two plans both...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...Convention in Philadelphia be called “miraculous”? The Constitutional Convention has many reasons that it was called “miraculous”. The few that I found interesting were that in all world and all the time, these men were put together on this earth to form a new union. In our homework, it stated that the likely hood of these men being all together at the same time with such a small population was miraculous. Also, these men could compromise and reach agreements on topics that not all of them normally would agree on. Also, these were very intelligent men, for some intelligent men it is hard to compromise on what they feel is right. It was miraculous that they could agree. 2 What role does public virtue play in limiting the abuse of governmental power? Our government depends greatly on public virtue. Our government is from the people of this country. The constitution was written by the people, and was accepted by the people, and it is changed by the people. When the government starts to do things that the people don’t like. The people have the right to change it. We hold elections for electing the officials that we want to run...
Words: 769 - Pages: 4
...The United States Constitution was the first form of government. The Bill of Rights came later but proved to fix many problems. The United States Constitution and Amendments were established to fix the problems stated in the Declaration of Independence. It is amazing to say The Constitution is not only the nations but the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. The famous phrase “We the People” is one of the first fixes between the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. These three words affirms that the government of the United States will serve its citizens and the people are what matters to the government. The Constitution is still in forced to this day, because it successfully separates and balances our government. The United States Constitution not only supports but truly reflects the idea of the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution addressed the many complaints of the Declaration of Independence. The US Constitution created a government of three branches—executive, legislative, and judicial, granting unique powers to each branch. “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good” (Declaration of Independence). The king of Great Britain rejected and refused the idea of setting laws for the common good of the people. The king never had the interest of his people at heart. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom...
Words: 782 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 2326 - Pages: 10
...The U.S Constitution was established by the America's national government which was made to garuntee certain rights for the citizens. It was etablished for the common good in all people. The Constition was signed on September 17,1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, presided over by George Washington. The document had a lot of work and editing to be done to it before it could effective. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution had a lot of simularities. One would be that they were both laws of the United States. The differences were what each document presented and all the flaws that needed to be fixed or removed from the document. The Constitution had to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the complaints that were in the Declaration of Independence, then it had to make a decision on the Great Compromise.The Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781 and in 1789 it was replaced be the Constitution of the United States. One of the main reasons it was replaced because of such strong need for a federal government. At the 1787 convention delegates pushed for a federal government with three branches which included executive, legislative, and judicial. Along with the branches they wanted to make sure to have system checks so no branch gained more power then the others.The Articles of Confederation were considered to be weak. Some of the reasons included that it allowed only one vote per state, didnt give Congress any...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 2073 - Pages: 9
