Why was the Constitution a controversial document even as it was being written? Established in 1787 The Constitution was a controversial document because it was a document that could both solve the nation’s hardships and warped the Republican foundation. The Constitution on one hand would give the people a voice and the other would control the nation through a monarchy system. One of the controversies that arose from the creation of the Constitution was the question of management of commerce. As the exporters of raw materials the southerners were afraid that a government ran by a monarchy system would raise taxes on raw materials and destroy their economy. This would make the southern states according to Bruns “nothing more than overseers
David O. Stewart’s The Summer of 1787: the Men Who Wrote the Constitution provides an un-biased historical account on how the constitution came to be. The book begins in post-revolutionary war America under the failed Articles of Confederation to the constitutional convention and through the ratification process of the constitution. It provides the readers with an in depth look at the hard ball the founding fathers played to create a government that could deal with a violent rebellion, mass debt, and the states conflicting goals. The goal of The Summer of 1787 the Men Who Wrote the Constitution is to enlighten readers on how the constitution came to be by illustrating how the founding fathers personalities affected the process by providing a deeper look into these key figures personal life’s and how their experiences shaped their political views.
US Constitution Essay: How does the Constitution guard against Tyranny? “Imagine if the Constitution of the United States of America wasn’t even a thing.” There would be so much chaos happening in our country. So much back and forth movement of disagreements, war, people dying because of no homes, food, water, or a leader. Tyranny would then come up a lot if there were no Constitution.
The Constitution of the United States of America all started at the Philadelphia Convention. Called by Alexander Hamilton, the purpose of this convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation. The reason for this is because the central government under this document was very weak, for rebellions were very difficult to put down (such as Shays’ Rebellion), Congress lacked the power to tax and have a standing army, and the state government was extremely overpowered (when compared to the central government). During the convention, the framers realized that this document was almost impossible to revise; it would be much easier to start from scratch. Without official permission from Congress, the framers began to rewrite an outline for the
We established this this country in the first place with strong state government just for that reason, to avoid a central tyranny.” (p. 65). The South looked at the North as a tyrannical government. The North on the other hand looked at the South as trying to tear the country into two. The Union army fought to keep the country together as one, because if the South would win the war it would have split the country into two for good.
The issues that precipitated the Constitutional Convention were the fact that “ … the framers sought to create a new government capable of promoting commerce and protecting property from radical state legislatures and populist forces hostile to the interests of the commercial and propertied classes.” The delegates were empowered to revise the Articles to meet the country’s needs, but they took it into their own hands and created an entirely new constitution. In my opinion, the Constitution of 1787 was legitimate in the social sense but was not legitimate by legal standards. The only reason that this new constitution was accepted was because it was what the United States needed at the time so the majority of the citizens agreed upon keeping it.
(Document 1) Even our 1st president said that the Articles of Confederation were garbage. He added that “We have probably had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our confederation.” Which meant that they were being too nice when creating the government, which would lead to a atrocious layout of the country. But as a response for all the criticism about the Constitution, the Massachusetts Constitutional Ratification Convention, held in 1788, went
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but there was a grapple for its ratification that went on until about two decades after the ratification. Members of Congress believed that the first government of the United States or the Articles of Confederation, needed to be adjusted while others did not want anything to change. After the Revolutionary War, the people did not want a strong central government, because it reminded them too much of what they were trying to escape from. Under the Articles, each state had their own laws, and the need for a new Constitution was desired by many. The Constitution of 1787 created huge debates, arguments and splits in the nation that lasted for several year after its ratification between people who
The Shay’s Rebellion, as well as economic depression in the United States, opened doors for protests and questions regarding the effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation. The question of whether a powerful central government was necessary to provide citizens fundamental rights caused deliberation among officials. After years of debate, the Articles of Confederation was overturned, resulting in the establishment of the United States Constitution. The Constitution, perceived as a supreme document, served as a solution to the defects of the Confederation. In 1787, the same year the Constitution was ratified, an essay was written, presumably by Robert Yates.
Flaws Embedded into the Constitution When the architects of the constitution wrote about what should institute a fair and just nation with some overarching principles, they simply couldn't anticipate all the contemporary problems the nation faces today. They had no way of knowing the dramatic social reforms to come that would include movements like LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, and Feminism. The framers attempted to solve this conundrum using the concept of a “living document.” They made it so that future generations to come would be able to make amendments to the constitution in order to keep up with their generation’s wants and needs. However, perfection was far from achieved and the result was a flawed political document.
America’s founders created the constitution in order to create unification and order in the United States. However, there have been controversy surrounding the interpretation of the constitution, this has caused debate over many issues within the country. These issues and the lack of wartime policy within the constitution directly lead to the Civil War, which was one of the worst alterations this nation has faced. The Missouri compromise, the Dred Scott decision, and Bleeding Kansas were controversial issues surrounding the constitution that directly lead to the Civil War.
The Constitution is not an elitist document because of the equal benefits provided to man, the need of social classes, and the check of power. The Constitution is not an elitist document because the founding fathers made it for the good of all mankind. “They did not believe in man but they believed in the power of a good political constitution (Hofstadter 55).” This quote shows this document was needed to protect all men, not just the estates of the fathers.
The new constitution, a document granting the framework for a new democratic government, replacing the Articles of the Confederation. This new document gained approval from some of the citizens, but also raised questions and concerns from others. There was a constant back and forth between the two groups on whether or not the constitution should be ratified. This editorial provides historical background on the issue and expresses my opinion on which side I would’ve chosen.
The ratification of the constitution occurred between 1787-1789. Just prior to this, the colonists had defeated the French and Indians in the Seven Years War (a.k.a. French and Indian War), and immediately following the victory the British ended their salutary neglect towards the colonies and began to tax the the colonists in order to pay for the war. These events sparked a chain reaction that saw the colonists declare independence and defeat the British in the Revolution. This brings us to the constitutional convention whose task was to design a government for the people, by the people.
DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal
The idea of the Constitution was brought up after the failures of Articles of Confederation. The founding fathers had a meeting on what improvements should be made to the Articles of Confederation. But the meeting eventually ended up in creating the United States Constitution. This took place at Constitutional