I am but a humble farmer from rural Virginia and I do not wish to spout ideas and sling political jargon as the bankers and lawyers of the North do about the state of our constitution. Instead I am making my appeal to the people of this new nation, imploring them to think about the good of the whole country rather than just the large cities. It is my belief that limited government is the best government. But I will also recognize that our current government clearly needs more power after the rebellion of the Massachusetts farmer, Daniel Shays. With that being said, after the formation of the constitution I am implored to bring some of the issues it contains to light. If the ratification of the constitution is to occur, the framers must consider an addition of a Bill of Rights, reconsider the means of representation for the citizens, and reassess the power given to the federal government. …show more content…
We need to guarantee the basic rights of the citizens of this country. These rights would not limit the rights of the people, but set a base line of what they are already guaranteed. With the broad powers that are being proposed for the federal government, individuals need protection of their rights. The Federalist will argue that a Bill of Rights would be redundant and therefore unnecessary, because of the powers of the government will be limited and specifically assigned. They think since there will be no power assigned to the government that could restrict the liberty of the press, that no restriction could occur. There was no power given to parliament to tax the citizens of the United State of America, but that did not stop them from enforcing them. There can be no moving forward with a constitution without a Bill of Rights. The powers of individual state and liberties of the people must be
Here enters the idea of amendments. These flaws threatened but also aided the readiness for democracy in the United States. The constitution still allowed slavery, it founded what we now know as the electoral college, protects the president from popular majority, gave state legislatures more power, gave congress more power than any other democratic colony, and didn’t limit the judicial branch. Now when they created this constitution, they didn’t realize at the time that some problems would come with it, but in realty, these flaws help make the constitution stronger. As problems arise within certain aspects of the constitution, the farmers made it so that amendments could be made in order to fix whatever needed fixing.
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.
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, one said “every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken”. That reverence for our Nation’s long standing constitution still stands strong because of the hard work of the 55 delegates that argued for their beliefs in creating a new government at the Philadelphia Convention (Wilson et al. 27). The framers of the Constitution fervently contested what form the government of our nation should take and the impact of their debates are displayed throughout the framework of the document. The main concerns
The Federalists believe that there is no need for a Bill of Rights to be written in the Constitution. Unalienable rights, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, and all rights and responsibilities were already spelled out in detail in the Constitution. By creating a Bill of Rights, it would put too much power in the hands of the states; which would just create another confederacy type of government with little power to act. If each state had its own government, they would be very weak and they would probably be eliminated within a year.
Us federalists believe that the Constitution is fine as is. The constitution does not need a Bill of Rights that will only limit the rights of people rather than protect them. We believe the constitution is required in order to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution gave us. Many influential figures also take our side in this situation such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, as well as James Madison. To go along with many of this nation’s leader supporting our point of view there are also many others that feel the same way.
Lastly, the legislation declared that fugitive slaves "escaping into any state or territory of the United States may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service", and that even if in the free territories, "slavery and involuntary slavery in the punishment of crimes" was permitted. While the compromise seemed to address the issue, it only went on to slowdown the war that was soon to come. Although the agreement incorporated in the Missouri Compromise maintained the balance of slave and non-slave states in the territories added to the Union in The Louisiana Purchase, the issue over slavery's expansion into new territories arose again following the Mexican War. The question of whether new territories
The Civil War The Civil War was the deadliest war in American history with over 600000 American deaths reported. This war was fought to keep the Confederate States from leaving the Union. The Union won because they had a telegraph system and had more resources. The effect of the Union victory has had a large impact on society.
The U.S. Constitution is a Living Document Since society has changed dramatically between the eighteenth and twenty first century, the U.S Constitution should be considered as a living document because it is not applicable in today's society and therefore in need of some changes in order to fit into today’s society. When our founding fathers wrote the constitution they did not have in mind all the technological advancements the U.S. will one day have. Such as the internet, television, radio, and so on. Other’s will say that if the constitution was considered a living document then judges will take advantage and manipulate the constitution to their benefit, but they don’t realize that people already manipulate the constitution. There were laws that contradicted the constitution like the Judiciary Act of 1789, which contradicts Article III of the Constitution in the Marbury v. Madison case.
The Second Amendment protects the right of people to keep and bear arms. This amendment was a controversial among different people in the government. It was between letting the people keep their weapons or to not let the people keep their weapons. This amendment was important to the framers of the Constitution because it provided the country with a well-regulated militia. The Second Amendment states "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
A bill of rights is necessary to hold up the constitution and the people's rights as it will be used in future generations. Yates then goes on to explain, “It's not true, that a bill of rights is less necessary in the federal Constitution than in the State constitutions...being the most recent will replace every other agreement that went before it. Since it's a plan of government ratified by the people, it will be superior to all other governments that went before it. “ Being more recent than any other agreement, the federal constitution will replace all other agreements in use before it, making it even more important to establish a bill of rights. It is important to design a bill of rights in our current constitution, seeing as it will replace
Publius provides a convincing case for ratification by thoroughly addressing the Anti-Federalists’ two primary concerns including a potential consolidation of government, and the dangers of hastily ratifying the Constitution The Federal Farmer outlines his concerns with the following statements: “The plan proposed appears to be partly federal, but principally however, calculated ultimately to make the states one consolidated government. The first interesting question, therefore suggested, is, how far the states can be consolidated into one entire government on free principles” (111). This would manifest in blurred lines between the three branches of government.
They Did It ! Recently a decision was made that will change America forever. On August 18th Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment, therefore granting women the right to vote in all states. This decision with certainly be met with both support and opposition from many.
Angela Davis Once said “Well for one, The 13th Amendment to the constitution of the U.S. which abolished slavery, did not abolish slavery for those convicted of a crime.” Although the amendment was desperately needed it made more problems for the U.S.The thirteenth amendment was about abolishing slavery. Many people had different opinions about this amendment. The amendment affected our nation dramatically. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution says that, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Right now a debate is occurring about whether not we should ratify the Constitution. This is an important moment in our country's history because this is the moment where we could unify and become a government or we could disapprove of the Constitution and have troubles between the country. The Articles of Confederation were not very credible because it gave the states too much power; which were too weak. The debts were not getting payed and the country was in great trouble. The Constitution would let the power will lie with the wealthy men, and not give the power to the states to raise money to pay off debt; the country will still remain in debt if we ratify the Constitution.
Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights” the author is trying to secure the unalienable rights of the people. In the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution it states, “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.” This Amendment gives power to the individual by prohibiting Congress from making new laws that will interfere with the freedom of speech of the people. The Preamble Constitution also reduces the power of the Federal Government by stating,” Secure the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” By saying this, the Constitution weakens the Federal Government by barring the government from making laws against these rights in not just the present but the future as well.