In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was just written on September 17th. During this time, the common man was still under the power of the Articles of Confederation, a weak document that loosely connected the 13 former colonies. Although the Articles didn’t give the United States of America the strong centralized power that it needed, opposers to the new Constitution would argue that the Constitution took away the rights of the common man and gave that power, that the individual once had, to the federal government. Although this statement is correct, the federal government’s newly given power was used to protect the fundamental rights and liberties of its citizens and create a powerful government in the hopes that it would benefit …show more content…
Under the Articles, taxation was targeted at the average American, farmers. While the wealthy merchants, politicians, and lawyers were making the most money but didn’t invest all their money into farmland, unlike the farmers, who had all their money tied up on the land they owned. This caused dispute because the farmers, who owned more land but had less money, were getting heavier taxes than the elite, who had more money but didn’t invest it in their land. Another point that proves the fact that men were less equal in 1787 than in the future was because of slaves rights. Although slaves rights were barely existing, the Constitution recognized the abolitionists in saying that Congress would have the ability to abolish slavery in the future. This was clearly a step up from the government's idea of slavery in 1787, which was that slaves were a money making property and shouldn’t be recognized as anything more. Slaves and the common farmer were not even eligible for the liberties of the wealthy educated man, they were treated unfairly and unequally. Clearly, in 1787, American equality was very dismal in comparison to the coming years as the Constitution was
After America shocked the world by defeating Great Britain in the War for Independence, the new nation needed a document that established their governments- state and national. After failed attempts with the Articles of Confederation, which gave the state governments too much power, the Constitution was eventually drafted. This contract established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for the citizens. The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention, in Philadelphia, conducted by George Washington. Said authors of the Constitution intended this document to rule our nation for eternity, yet a widely debated topic in the political science world, is whether or not the Constitution is still relevant in today’s
Following the affects of the weak Articles of Confederation set in place in 1777, a change in government was in order after the articles had proven their inability to control or tax the American people. The creation of The Constitution began a new era in American Government and set a new formation of laws and separation of power. The transition from the two very different systems of government was a turning point in American history and led to the type of Government we have to this day. After the Revolutionary War and America’s separation from England, it was now up to the American People to decide the kind of government they wanted. After winning the war, the last thing that they wanted, was to have another government that would abuse the
The ratification of the US Constitution in 1787 sparked a ferocious and spiteful debate between two large groups of people, those who supported the ratification and those who did not. Both sides were very passionate about their ideas yet they were so divergent, as one believed that the ratification could create a more powerful, unified country, while others worried about the government gaining perhaps too much control. The supporters and opponents equally had various strong reasons in their beliefs regarding the ratification of the US Constitution, the most common for the supporters being that the current government was heading badly, and a ratification would fix all the mistakes made originally and set the course for a successful government. On the other hand, the biggest concern for the opponents was that the ratification would give the government too much power, and there would be no controlling force to keep the government in its place.
the founding document of our nation’s laws and government. Within its texts, the Constitution outlines the operations and existence of all three branches of government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, as well as their functions and interdependence. The constitution also includes the Bill of Rights, and all other amendments that serve as a basis for any law created in our country at either the federal or state level. While semi-extensive, the main rights we share are those from the bill of rights, which
The Confederation were, generally, insufficient in managing real national dangers and issues of the time. Without the ability to duty, they couldn't raise the income essential pay our $4 million Revolutionary War obligation, nor would they be able to raise an Army or manufacture a Navy with which to secure the outskirts or American shipping. It took a supermajority of 9/13 to pass a national law, which happened infrequently, and a consistent 13/13 to embrace a correction and change the Articles themselves, which was truly its deadly blemish. The majority of that being said, the focal government under the Articles of Confederation did pass critical enactment like the Land Ordinance of 1785, which made a state funded educational system financed
Imagine a country where every way you turn your head there’s horror. Different currencies, inflation, debt, just dreadful. Now imagine that same country making a document that changes it all. There's happiness, smiles, and rainbows. Everyone is just very jovial. That’s what the constitution did for the U.S. When the constitution was written in September, 1787 the government was under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was our first national government but, it was terrible. The central government had no power and, the states had all the power. Our country couldn't operate. The constitution saved us for many reasons, some of which, it provided a system of checks and balances, it gave us a national
From the Articles of Confederation to the creation of the Constitution, people were divided as to whether or not the central government should have more power. In the Articles of Confederation, Anti-Federalists, such as Patrick Henry, believed that tyranny would pursue if the government was stronger than the states and did not want to repeat what happened with Parliament and the king. However, the Federalists, such as George Washington, thought that the states would be able to defend themselves from rebellions, like Shay’s Rebellion, and the government could keep the states organized with trade and economy. This debate is similar to the debate of the Constitution’s ratification. With the U.S Constitution, the opposers, such as Mercy Otis Warren, thought that “the executive and legislat[ure] [were] so dangerously blended that they give just cause for alarm…”
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Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall argues that because of the dire effect of ‘patriotism’, many look past all of the issues and immoral mistakes hidden in the Constitution. He believed the system was flawed and useless considering slavery, and refused to praise the document. Marshall says, “To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, we hold as fundamental today.” (Remarks of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall 1). Marshall claimed the American system of government was flawed because no political structure should need amendments, war, and transformation to realize it’s fundamental principles. Within multiple statements, the Founders may have preached equality, but to act upon such a principle. Professor Finkelman also believed that the Constitution protected the ideals of slavery, which made it survive much longer than it should
The Constitution placed a great deal of power back into the hands of a strong, central government much like that of a monarchy. “The extraordinarily powerful national government that emerged from Philadelphia possessed far more than the additional congressional powers that were required to solve the United States’ difficulties” (Wood 151). The U.S. government was extremely revolutionary though, in the way that it viewed and handled sovereignty. “Unlike the British in relation to their House of Commons, the American people never surrendered to any political institution…their full and final sovereign power” (Wood 160). Throughout the entire American struggle to establish a suitable government, the citizens maintained their ability to influence policy in a way that the British never could.
The Constitution has protected the positive liberties of citizens in the United States of America. However, it is vital to ask the question: How does the Constitution affect governance today? Considering it was written over 225 years ago, by the Founding Fathers who had no perspective on what problems the United States would be facing and what affective governance would be needed for those specificities. It was designed for a nation that was composed of 4 million people and out of that number, 700,000 were slaves. In fact, those who were free, 95% were farmers. Currently the United States has approximately 319 million people Positive aspects included in the Constitution can take form in a plethora of ways, ranging from extensive social
As it developed into a nation, based upon the firm foundation of the Constitution, the United States government has continued to adapt in order to live up to its promise of liberty and equality for all individuals. The Federalist Papers, written between 1787 and 1788, give today’s citizens a remarkable look into the framing of our government more than 200 years ago. Through the Bill of Rights and seventeen subsequent amendments, the Constitution has been changed over the years to solidify America’s promise of liberty for all its citizens.
The creation of the United States Constitution can be traced back to those individuals and historic events that spurred a necessary change in the specific role government should play in society. Historical study tends to myopically direct the credit of the United States Constitution to the Founding Fathers when in reality; there were
The framing of a new Constitution was a period full of debate and disagreement between two groups, the Federalists and the Antifederalists. The Federalists were wealthy and well educated people; diplomats, farmers, and merchants involved in world market that believed in a central government that could regulate trade. On the other hand, Antifederalists were mostly common man, middle farmers, and artisans less involved in the world market. They feared a strong central government that might add up to their tax burden. This paper will contrast the Federalists and Antifederalists by primarily discussing their standing position during the framing and ratification of the Constitution, their opposing views on separation of powers and the Bill of Rights.
The introduction of the federal government and the constitution implied that the people would have to obey the rules of the ruling body so that they would forego some of the freedom and rights that they enjoyed in the past. On the other hand, restoring power to the people implied that the government would not become successful. However, the government had to become implemented, and the people had to obey the law (Brauch, 2009). The American citizens were not satisfied with the changes and always looked for ways through which they could have some power which they could use in making their lives better. However, after the establishment of the constitution, the only power that the American citizens acquired was the democratic rights and their involvement in the national decision making of the president of the