...Why was the Constitution a controversial document even as it was being written? The United States Constitution is the very foundation that the nation has been built upon, but its birth was not easy. The framers of the Constitution divided over many key issues relating to it and often argued at length over the creation, ratification, and implementation of this imperative document. Since the Constitution came into being it has been the epicenter of Civil Rights reforms, questions of state sovereignty versus national supremacy, and recently it has been looked to for questions about universal healthcare and what may or may not constitute a marriage. Currently the oldest “living” Constitution in the world; interpreting the United States Constitution is still a controversial endeavor, and I posit that the compromises that influenced its genesis are what made this document capable of standing up to the test of time. Almost immediately after American leaders recognized that the Articles of Confederation had spawned a weak and unresponsive government debate began over how to fix the problems the nation had encountered. Delegates from all but one state met initially to discuss revisions, but instead of rewriting a troubled and ineffective document they decided after much debate to completely restructure the government based upon a wholly new Constitution. With participation from multiple interests one of the first issues they encountered was state representation; with delegates from...
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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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...The Nigerian Constitution in 1960 There appears to be a consensus among the rulers of Nigeria that the country's Constitution needs review. The review is, in fact, going on and there is not much I can do about that. However, if given the balance of power in the country, a review is the only constitutional development possible at this stage, I would then pay attention to the general character and form of the Constitution rather than its specific contents, which ñ with regards to the power and welfare of the common people no mere review can change appreciably. I am therefore limiting myself to the general features of the present Constitution. But let me first make some clarifications. The Constitution of a sovereign state is, in essence, the basic law by which the ruling blocs of that state say it will rule the citizens of the state. The Constitution is the will of the ruling blocs as limited but only limited by the struggle of the people. This clarification on the essence of a Constitution also applies to every structured organization, except that an ordinary organization is not sovereign, in the sense that it is bound by external laws (usually those of the state), in addition to its own laws. The sovereignty of a particular state is expressed and asserted by the fact that it is bound only by external laws and obligations to which it has subscribed. Otherwise that state is not sovereign. The Nigerian Constitution, the one promulgated on May 29, 1999 and currently in operation...
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...DBQ: How did the Constitution Guard against Tyranny? Did you know that the constitution was actually kinda written on accident? Originally 55 wealthy, white, males came together in Philadelphia in 1787 to fix and make corrections to the Articles of Confederation. They specifically needed to fix no chief executive, no court system, stronger government, and many more things. This meeting was later called the Constitutional Convention. With trying to fix all these problems, they all agreed on one thing, no tyranny. Tyranny is a cruel and oppressive government or rule. An example of this would be king George. He was not giving the colonists their unalienable rights. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in many ways. These include federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and The Great Compromise. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through federalism. Federalism is the federal principle or system of government. James Madison wrote about federalism. He wrote about it because he wanted to get people to ratify the constitution. Doc A is an excerpt from Madison’s Federalist Paper 51. Federalism guarded against tyranny because as Madison put it “Liberty requires that the three great departments should be separate and distinct” (Madison, Federalist Paper #47). The evidence says it all. We MUST have the three departments...
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...HIS/115 US HISTORY TO 1865 Professor David Glauber Concerlo Cuthbertson 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...
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...Historical Essay #1: Confederation and Constitution Anthony Snow DeVry University 08/01/2015 HISTORICAL ESSAY #1: CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION As with anything in this world there are always strengths and weaknesses when people are comparing two different items, as no one item can be a perfect solution; there are always compromises. The same happens when we are comparing the Articles of Confederation and the New Constitution of 1787. Both of theses two solutions each have their own strengths and weaknesses. First we have the Articles of Confederation that when written gave each state a lot of individual powers, and because of this was one of the main reasons for the New Constitution, and I want to show how these two solutions are different, and how the New Constitution uses some of the same concepts that make up the Articles of Constitution. I would first like to take a look at the Articles of Confederation, and explore some of the strengths and weaknesses that came as a result of adopting it. The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777. One of the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was that although it was able to produce a confederation of sovereign states, it was also responsible for weakening the central government, as the Articles of Confederation gave almost all of the power to the individual state governments. With the individual state gaining more power, the national government found it extremely difficult...
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...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...
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...\@ "M/d/yy" 2/9/14 A Discussion about Framed A Précis of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance In Framed: America's 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance, Sanford Levinson evaluates the current standing of the Constitution. He sets aside what most people would think of as ‘constitutional law’. He is not interested in discussing topics of major debate, calling them the ‘constitution of conversation,’ but rather, wishes to discuss those topics which have already been, for the most part, settled, aptly called the ‘constitution of settlement.’ Topics such as whether Congress should be a bicameral legislature, or whether judges should be appointed for life, or whether the electorate should be able to vote on constitutional amendments. Topics that are not questions of interpretation, but rather, questions of the wisdom of the structural decisions of the Constitution itself, most of which were made way back during the Philadelphia Convention. His purpose in doing so is not so much to answer questions, but rather to ask them. He seldom gives his own positions on the questions that he asks - more so, he wishes to open up the public’s mind about such questions. In order to do so, he seldom uses expert jargon, preferring to explain himself as much a common man (or woman) would. His point throughout the entire book is not to chastise the Framers of the Constitution, but to explain how while decision made back in 1789 were sound in logic, they may...
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...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...
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...US History to 1865 Paper By: Nicole Riedy HIS/115 January 6, 2014 Instructor: Amy Obszarski Constitution of the United States During the 1700’s men such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson came up with a group of laws that they thought would benefit the people of the Americas. There were a few complaints with the Decoration of Independence that the Constitution was able to address and at the same time the Constitution was able to identify and address weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. There are many reasons as to why the Constitution evolved but it served well for the United States. The Great Compromise was a formal agreement for both large and small states to have two representatives in the upper house for each state. The Connecticut Compromise or as it is most likely known as The Great Compromise, was written in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention by Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman. The Constitutional Convention set up it to where each state would be able to have their own congressional representation and legislative structure. The Great Compromise also required that each state be represented by two representatives within the upper house and that representation in the lower house be equal between all states. This congressional congress session went on for seven long weeks and was almost ruined or destroyed by the issue of representation. The states still argues that they were providing more of a contribution to the financial and defensive...
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...John Roche’s article on the writing of the constitution shows that the founding fathers were more democratic than what is commonly believed today. The principles of the Constitution were not based to preserve elite power, but on the different state interests. The founders were acting on the behalf of the people that they represented. Even though the founders each had their own agenda’s, they had to compromise in order to form the constitution. It was Madison’s Virginia plan got the group moving toward a new document that preferred national power and authority to punish states. Although he initially got approval for his plan, smaller states did not agree and Madison had to relax his nationalist point of view and ended up compromising. Even...
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...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...
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...In the time between 1850 and 1861, slavery became a major conflict within the American government and its citizens. In determining whether the Constitution is a source of disunion in the United States, it is important to look at different angles of interpretation. Morally, interpretations of the Constitution influence the rights and wrongs of slavery and the laws along with it. Socially, principles and provisions of the Constitution allow for the states to grasp rights, but also allow others to limit them. Politically, viewpoints from political figures on the Constitution bring forward ideas and opinions on laws regarding states’ rights and disunion. By the 1850s, the Constitution became a factor in the failure of the Union due to the opposing...
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...The United States Constitution Jasmine T. Collins HIS 115 2/16/14 Thomas Deering The United States Constitution The United States Constitution was the first form of government. The Bill of Rights was later added. The United States Constitution and Amendments were established to fix the problems stated in the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. The 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. The Constitution has remained in force to this day, because its framers successfully separated and balanced government. The United States Constitution supports and reflects the idea of the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution also addressed the complaints in 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 refused to set laws for the common good of the people. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition...
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...Constitution Paper Alexandra Davis Bourda HIS/110 March 9, 2015 James Halm The Constitution has addressed many problems in the Article of Confederation and Declaration of Independence. Some took more time than others but they got fixed either way. As you know every problem comes with a solution. If the problem did not have a solution then things would be different in today’s world. The weakness that the Constitution addressed in the Articles of Confederation were Congress did not have enough power under the Articles. They could not raise an army, collect taxes, regulate trade between states or foreign trade, and force states to follow laws. The way they address it was that the constitution gives congress enumerated powers. Enumerated is a power that is specifically listed. An example for it is that congress has the power to raise taxes. Another way the address the problem was that the constitution also gives provides the congress with wiggle room. General welfare clause says that congress has the power to make laws that provide for the well being of its citizen.. Necessary and proper clause – congress has the power to make laws necessary and proper to enact enumerated powers. The other weakness was that the states had more power in the national, central, federal government. Federalism - The US constitution divides power between the Federal/National government and state government. Some powers are given specifically to the federal government (declare war and make treaties)...
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