Conflicts in America Americans tend to disagree on many issues ranging from equality to who is sovereign over what. Politics and government aide in the resolution of some issues, or at least aide in creating peace amongst individuals, groups, cultures, and the States. Most of the tensions today in the United States can probably never be fully resolved because there will always be an opposing viewpoint or a favoring viewpoint to conflicts. A majority of these opposing viewpoints come from a majority and a minority populous. One of the biggest issues faced in America today is the degradation of the Constitution and the idea of who is sovereign over what because many individuals don’t share the same viewpoints on this issue. The issue of sovereignty dates back to before the Constitution was even ratified when Great Britain tried to be sovereign over a new land that was overseas. As the tension between Americans, then still Brits, built between colonists and the Crown, the crown eventually sent German …show more content…
The main struggle on ratifying the Constitution came from the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists disagreeing on sovereignty. The Federalists wanted a strong, sovereign, central government and were wholly in favor of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists opposed of a sovereign central government arguing that a strong central government would erode the sovereignty of the States and the common person, eventually taking away a person’s rights and liberties. Anti-Federalists would only agree to ratify the Constitution if a Bill of Rights was in place before ratification – and while Federalists disagreed on the notion of a Bill of Rights, they eventually allowed it because they agreed that a dual soveriengty (which forged a relationship between the States and the National Government) was better than no
The debate was during the ratification of the Constitution. The anti-federalists believed that it gave too much power to the federal government. While both sides agreed that something different from the Articles of Confederation had to be created, many were uncomfortable with how far the Constitution went, and worried that the states would lose their sovereignty. The Federalists supported the Constitution, because they believed that the nation could only succeed with a strong national government.
This hypocrisy was largely debated while constructing the new constitution in 1787. The largest debate was how democratic the new regime would be. While both the federalists and antifederalists wanted to prevent tyranny, the federalists wanted to prevent “excessive democracy.”
There are countless Arguments both for and against the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. Some of the main arguments of the Federalist include that a strong National government offered protection for the people’s rights, the government would benefit from a 3 branch system and a system of checks and balances needed to be created. Some of the main ideas of the anti-federalist were that the National Government would have too much power, a Bill of Right needed to be added, the constitutions effect of the government would be too tyrannical, and that the federal court system would be too powerful. Considered the Father of the Constitution, James Madison was detrimental in the creation In the US Constitution.
Lectures Lecture 14 “Questions to Consider #1”: Why did the Anti Federalists object so strongly to the Preamble to the Constitution? The Anti-Federalists objected so strongly to Preamble to the Constitution due to the fact the Preamble establishes powers for the three branches of government, states’ relations, mode of amendment, debts, national supremacy, oath of office, and amendment ratification. This group felts as though when the federalists wanting to create a strong central government would not be strong enough if the Preamble was not put into place. Lecture 14 states, “Anti-federalists suspicious of central power fought the new Constitution tenaciously…..
Overall, the British government was a tyrannical rule in which the ruling and decisions were all up to one person, King George III. Since the United States had previously already had to go through a terrifying event that was the British government, the Anti Federalists wanted to learn from their mistakes and avoid a government that would possess unmanageable power which would lead to corruption within the system and oppression for the people under the rule. Secondly, the Anti Federalists had also debated that there was a lacking of a Bill of Rights, which would protect the freedom of the people and make sure that the government would not overstep boundaries. With the current path that the Constitution was following the Anti Federalists feared the downfall of the United States, with all three of the branches of the new central government threatening all of the beliefs and ideals that the Anti Federalists had followed. Not only was there a lacking of power and representation for the people in the state there was also a lack of representation in the Central government for the people in order to speak out against the ratification of the constitution.
ome may argue that Ellis is wrong, and that there is continuity between the American Revolution of 1776 and the Constitution. They may argue that the founding fathers did in fact, “bring forth a new nation” in 1776 which did not change much when the Constitution was ratified. This nation of sorts may be characterized by its disjointedness, and its unity in its desire to stay that way. As Ellis pointed out in the beginning of his book, the states “regarded themselves as mini-nations of their own.” This would be supported by the fact that in the last two Supreme Court cases detailed above, there was serious opposition from people who saw the Court’s decision as an encroachment on state’s rights.
The debate over the Constitution created much tension throughout the new country. From problems with the Articles of Confederation, western expansion, Shay’s rebellion, problem’s at the Constitutional Convention, slave trade, and the start of the War of 1812 all created tensions over the Constitution but nothing that the greats minds of the time couldn’t handle. Initially, the Articles of Confederation were the first written constitution of the United States, drafted in 1777 and ratified four years later by Congress (Lecture). The Articles of Confederation provided for a government by a national legislature but left the crucial power of monies, as well as all final power to make and execute laws, entirely to the states (US: A Narrative History,
The Federalists of the convention were in favor of the ratification of the Constitution. They believed that the national government must be strong in order to function and to control uncooperative states, which could protect the rights of the people. They also believed that the Constitution and state government protected individual freedoms. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists opposed a strong central government, particularly a standing army. They believed it threatened state power along with the rights of the common people.
Hence Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights as a way to get the Constitution ratified and for people to really see a needed change. The Bill Of Rights which lists specific prohibitions on governmental power, lead the Anti-Federalists to be less fearful of the new Constitution . This guaranteed that the people would still remain to have rights, but the strong central government that the country needed would have to be approved. The 1804 Map of the nation shows that even after the ratification of the United States Constitution there still continued to be “commotion” and dispute in the country.(Document 8) George Washington stated that the people should have a say in the nation and government and everything should not be left to the government to decide.(Document 3) Although George Washington was a Federalist many believed he showed a point of view that seemed to be Anti-Federalists. Many believed that The Bill of Rights needed to be changed and modified and a new document’s time to come into place.
The new constitution couldn’t please everyone. Some people liked it but some didn't. The two sides were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were in favor of ratifying the Constitution, whereas the Anti-Federalists were opposed to it. They would have debates about ratifying the Constitution.
Not long after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the American citizens began to disagree about how the United States should operate. They were conflicted about how much power the federal government should possess, as stated in Chapter 10 of History in the Making, which says that “at heart, Federalists and Republicans disagreed about how much power to vest in the central government or, conversely, about how capable the people were in governing
The Federalists wanted a strong central government. The Anti- Federalists claims Constitution gives the central government too much power and, and they worried about the new constitution will not give them any rights. That the new system threatened freedom; Also, threatened the sovereignty of the states and personal liberties; failed to protect individual rights. Besides, some of famous peoples such as " Patrick Henry" and artists have came out against the Constitution. Although the anti-Federalists were unsuccessful in stopping the passage of the Constitution, their efforts have been responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of
There was a division among the people as to whether or not individual rights should be included in the Constitution. The Anti-Federalist did not want a strong centralized government. Others wanted the guarantee of a written document that protected the freedoms they had fought so hard to earn. The Bill of Rights was designed to protect the right citizens believed belonged to them.
They felt the Constitution would create a system of federalism, a system in which the national government holds significant power, but the smaller political subdivisions also hold significant power. They felt the country needed a strong central government so that it didn’t fall apart. The Ant-Federalists were on the opposing side, they felt the Constitution granted the government too much power. They also felt there wasn’t enough protection of their right with an absent Bill of Rights. Another concern of the Anti-Federalists mainly came from the lower classes, from their standpoint they thought the wealthy class would be in main control and gain the most benefits from the ratification of this document.
The Anti- Federalists claimed the Constitution gave the central government an excessive amount of power, and while not a Bill of Rights the folks would be in danger of oppression. Both Hamilton and Madison argued that the Constitution did not want a Bill of Rights, that it might produce a "parchment barrier" that restricted the rights of the folks, as critical protective