...Historical Essay: Confederation and Constitution By History 405 Professor Aimee James January 26th, 2015 Historical Essay: Confederation and Constitution Confederation and Constitution As Colonial America moved from civil disobedience to open war with Britain, the States, at the behest of the Colonial Congress, started drafting constitutions and in the process “became laboratories for constitutional experimentation” ( Keene 120). The need to ensure a strong union and to ensure that it was strong enough to deal with both internal and external issues drove the colonies to send delegates to Albany to draft the Articles of Confederation. Ratified in 1781, the Articles of Confederation framed a new United States of America. The Articles of Confederation did not create a national government, “but rather a firm league of friendship” (Keene 121). Ultimately a fear of recreating the issues that were driving them from British rule shaped the Articles of Confederation and created a weak government with little power. It setup a national legislature called Congress where each state had one vote. It had no power to levy taxes, regulate commerce or otherwise interfere with the States. It could create money and declare war or peace. Notably any changes or amendments required a unanimous vote of Congress and “because of its weaknesses, Alexander Hamilton and other delegates called for a convention to be held in Philadelphia to improve and amend the Articles” (Articles of confederation 2014). The...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |The Magna Carta is the first document to challenge the king, |One of the most important influences was the habeas corpus: due process of law. This| | |protecting the people from feudal abuse (Whipps, 2012). It |was written in the middle of the Magna Carta, which came over to the “new world” | | |helped influence some key ideas into the U.S. Constitution. |with the pilgrims (Whipps, 2012). | |Mayflower Compact |This article was drawn up on the mayflower because of the |This was in a way the first constitution since there was not a government set up yet| | |mutinous speeches that had come about because of where they |when the pilgrims arrived. It attempted to establish temporary government in the new| | |were going to settle. In a way this was the first constitution,|world (history). ...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |The Magna Carta was signed between the Barons of Medieval England and King John. The |The Magna Carta established the right of due process and provided a basis of higher law that could not | | |Great Charter was signed at Runnymeade near the Windsor Castle and was an attempt by |be altered by executive mandate or legislative acts ("Magna Carta: Cornerstone Of The U.s. | | |the Barons to prohibit the King from abusing his power over the people ("Magna |Constitution", n.d.). | | |Carta", 2000-2012).. | | | |The Magna Carta consists of 63 clauses, many of the clauses address the English legal |Magna Carta: Cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved from | | |system. It states that every man shall...
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...LatishaDollison HIS/115 Mr. Randy Shuler Constitution Paper University of Phoenix 3/29/15 America is glorified as a land of freedom. As a country we have certain rights and Privileges gained simply by the fact that we are American citizens. We are also fortunate that these rights are protected through what is called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These Documents protect our truths and rights as a citizen. This wasn’t always so. There had to be a Time before the Constitution and in that time it was a verbal war between those for it an against. The people who were for the Constitution were called Federalists. These people Understood that the Constitution that was being debated was highly important if not essential to the form of government the people desired. They were well organized men and women. Surprisingly they were less than half the population. Because of their organization and determinism they did end up winning the verbal war and the constitution was accepted and Ratified by all the states eventually. The Federalists procured victory over a long period of time however. It was a slow ongoing war. They were fighting against many people and sometimes almost whole states. The Process was laborious and harsh. It was back and forth and George Washington stated in his letter to Henry Knox, “Under the circumstances enumerated in your letters, the favorable decision, which has taken place in that State, could hardly have been expected. Nothing less than...
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...Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. Documents | Summary | What was its influence on the Constitution? | Magna Carta | This was a human rights law establish in the 13th century. “To no one will we sell, to none will we deny or delay, right or justice. | No person shall be deprive of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law. It serve as a basic grounds for common laws when representatives of the young republic of the United States formed their constitutional draft. Source: By David M. Rubenstein www.arhives.gov | Mayflower Compact | This was an agreement providing temporary government for plumouth colony. | It created the first American settlement that was based upon social contract. Source: Columbia electronic encyclopedia,6th edition. 7/1/2010. | Articles of Confederation | This was an article of confederation and perpetual union between states. | Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and confederation expressly delegated to the united states in congress assembled. Source:”The article of confederation,2009 . November,1777. | Northwest Ordinance | This was the confederation for the government of western territories ceded to the united states by the states. | It divided the region into numerous territories. It also set the form at which subsequent western territories were created and later admitted into the union as states and marks the...
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...According to the US History Scene website, the Articles of Confederation gave the states full ruling power over themselves on any matter that was not explicitly mentioned by Congress; and that was where all of the Articles of Confederations’ problems began. Because the states had so much self-governing power, there were problems with economic disorganization, legislative inefficiencies, and a lack of central leadership (Brackemyre, n.d.). The US History Scene website told me that there were three main organizational problems. First was the fact that they could not levy taxes to raise funds. The states were permitted to create taxes to pay for their self-government, and to pay the government the fees owed, but the government itself was not allowed to create taxes to pay off the military and other debt incurred during the Revolutionary war. This was a problem because even though the states were supposed to pay the government monies based off of their land value, often it was not paid. Next was fact that the government had little control over trade. The only control granted was in regards to the Natives, and only then if it did not infringe with the states. The government dealt with foreign treaties (as long as they were not trade related), and the states had complete control over all things trade related (except treaties). This caused problems because each state did what was best for them, and there was no unity as a country. The third and final problem was that there was no universal...
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...Revolution Ideals Argument America was officially independent on July 4, 1776 by the signing of the Declaration of Independence. After America won the revolution there was a very weak national government that was based on the ideals of the revolution. The Articles of Confederation failed making America vulnerable to collapse. The constitution was then written using the same ideals of the revolution, which were the rights of the people, the enlightenment, and the want to be an independent country. The Constitution took these ideals and used them to make a strong successful national government. One ideal reflected by the constitution was the rights of the people of the United States. This ideal had been an ideal of the people ever since the...
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...of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |The Magna Carta was a set of laws generated by the barons of |When the thirteen US colonies became independent from Great Britain in 1776, it | | |England and the Archbishop Steven Langton of the Catholic |needed to set a central government to pass laws and enforce the laws. During this | | |Church to limit the powers that King John possessed during the |time many British settlers followed the great Britain law that was put in place by | | |12 century and of any king thereafter. The Magna Carta came |the Magna Carta. In 1789 the United States Constitution was ratified and many of the| | |into law on June 15, 1215 and marked the beginning to a |Magna Carta laws were introduced to the foundation of what is the United States | | |constitutional England where the laws were promised to be good |Constitution. Such laws as that of no man should be punished...
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...Influences on the Constitution Marlene Monarrez HIS/301 December 3, 2012 Instructor: Andrew Van Ness Influences on the Constitution Table |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta | Issued by King John of England in 1215 when Englishmen went to the colonies they were | The Magna Carta gave Englishmen certain human rights, | | |given charters that guaranteed them and their heirs would “have and enjoy all liberties and |freedom of religion, reform of justice system and regulated | | |immunities of free and natural subjects.” The document clearly stated that no free man could|officials. The Magna Carta limited the king’s power and created | | |be prosecuted by any means other than the law of the land. |what we know today as parliament. | | |The Magna Carta had been the very first document which proclaimed personal liberties. The | | | |Magna Carta was forced upon an English Emperor by a team of barons. This had been the first |This was used as...
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...single penny in national treasury. Besides, Congress was granted a coercive power upon the states. For example, if there was any threat or opposition toward the federal authority, the power of the federal army might seem helpful. There would not be any actual battle, but the fear of national power by states would keep them accountable. Unlike the wide power of modern Congress, the law enforcement ability of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was so tenuous that it had no chance to act directly upon people, only states did. Moreover, its influence upon the states was not significant either. There was no respect but contempt for the national government. For financial, logistic, recruiting issues, Congress could pass laws, but implementing them was the decision of the states, which either accepted or rejected the national government’s recommendations and requisitions. The Congressmen did not even trust the others;...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. Documents Summary What was its influence on the Constitution? Magna Carta Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an English charter, originally issued in Latin in the year 1215, translated into vernacular-French as early as 1219,[1] and reissued later in the 13th century in changed versions. The later versions excluded the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority that had been present in the 1215 charter. The charter first passed into law in 1225; the 1297 version, with the long title (originally in Latin) "The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest," still remains on the statute books of England and Wales. The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties, and accept that his will was not arbitrary, for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today. Magna Carta was the principal document forced onto an English King by a group of his matters, the feudal barons, in an effort to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was followed and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular...
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...Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. Documents | Summary | What was its influence on the Constitution? | Magna Carta | Issued by King John of England in 1215 when Englishmen went to the colonies they were given charters that guaranteed them and their heirs would “have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects.” The document clearly stated that no free man could be prosecuted by any means other than the law of the land. ReferenceAll About History (unkn) The Magna Carta. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/ on June 6, 2011. | This was used as a template 575 years later in the Bill of Rights toward the fifth amendment. The fifth amendment guarantees “No person shall… be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” | Mayflower Compact | Drawn up by the 41 adult males from the Mayflower, the new settlers from Plymouth created a contract with fair and equal laws, for the “general good”. The Mayflower settlers knew from previous attempts without some type of government they would fail. It allowed them to practice Protestant instead of the Church of England and other liberties without command. ReferenceFeatured Documents (unkn) The Mayflower Compact. Retrieved from http://www.allabouthistory.org/mayflower-compact.htm on June 6, 2011. | The Constitution was created on the same bases as...
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...concord were the most important causes to begin the American Revolution in 1775. Although In 1776, the thirteen colonies declared their independence, they had to fight for their independence and get their freedom from British rule. The Nations faced a weak political system after the revolution which led to many serious issues and problems. The thirteen colonies were agreed by what called the Articles of Confederation during the war. Even though the Articles of Confederation was done to create the congress, the central government was not recognized by the Article of Confederation. Moreover, the courts and the law as well was not created. The weakness of the system was obvious after the ending of the...
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...of Government Paper University of Phoenix July, 26 2010 Branches of Government Former President Thomas Jefferson once said, “Government are instituted among Men, deriving their just Power from the Consent of the Governed.” Since the second continental congress declared America’s independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 the United States government has sought to realize the fundamental principle on which our nation was founded. This was the start of the government we now know and still honor today. As our school children say every morning in class, as our founding fathers wished for us, that all people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This paper will answer a handful of questions such as; what were the reasons our forefathers divided the government into the legislative, judicial, and executive branches? How are the three branches of the U.S. government supposed to interact? Is the system successful? Why or why not? Are the branches balanced in power? How was the conflict between supporters of a strong federal government and champions of states’ rights characterized then as opposed to now? How could things have been designed more efficiently, if at all? Our founding fathers divided the government into three separate branches was because they planned to implement a democratic government that would work to serve the citizens and not regulate them. In other words, the founding fathers wanted to devise an organization where...
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...Documents | Summary | What was its influence on the Constitution? | Magna Carta | The Magna Carter gave the colonist the belief that they had the same rights and opportunities as the Englishmen. The 5th amendment derived from the Magna Carta(http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/) | The Magna Carta helped inspire the 5th amendment guaranteed proceedings for the law of the land(http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/) | Mayflower Compact | The purpose of the Mayflower Compact was to set up a government that the colonist can live by in their settlements | The Mayflower Compact served as the main foundation of the US Constitution. It basically laid down the basic laws that are present in it. . | Articles of Confederation | | | Northwest Ordinance | | | Declaration of Independence | Helped form the USA and separate from British power. The declaration of independence set up the rules for the new country | This gave the people the right to be free and to equals | Philosophers | Who was this? | How did his writings influence the Constitution? | Thomas Hobbes | Hobbes is the founding father of political philosophy(Hobbes, Thomas (1998 [1642]) On the Citizen, ed & trans Richard Tuck and Michael Silverthorne (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) | Hobbes basically said that each individual has the right everything. | John Locke | John Locke was considered one of Britains greatest Philosphers and the father of Empiricism...
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