It should be the thought of any person capable of reason that the Federalist argument regarding the system of government is one requiring the utmost consideration possible. Those that argue against the ratification of the United States Constitution are arguing in favor of a document in need of too many corrections to be practical when a replacement is ready to take its place. The Articles lasted this young country through the War for Independence but they are unstable and now is the time to replace them with a basis that will provide America with unity, strength, and balance: exactly what this Constitution will provide. Under the Articles of Confederation, this nation will become weak and be ripe for the picking by the empires across the sea. …show more content…
This faction believes the government should remain as is, with the states in a dominant position. They insist on keeping the federal government decentralized and are suspicious against power consolidation with anti-federalist Richard Henry Lee saying, “In the new Constitution, the President and Senate have all the executive, and two thirds of the legislative power. In some weighty instances, (as making all kinds of treaties, which are to be the laws of the land,) they have the whole legislative and executive powers. They, jointly, appoint all officers, civil and military; and they (the Senate) try all impeachments, either of their own members or of the officers appointed by themselves.” The anti-federalists insist that a bill of right is a necessary addition to the constitution and likely will not approve of the document until one is added. The existing state constitutions have Bills of Rights in place in order to protect the rights of the people and this faction believes one is required on a national scale as well. An additional quote from Lee reads, “All wise and prudent people, in forming constitutions, have drawn the line, and carefully described the powers parted with and the powers reserved.” The anti-federalist belief behind the Bill of Rights is to protect against future tyranny by clarifying what powers the government does and does not
As seen in the earlier paper, the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation played a significant role in the development and progression of the United States of America. Although the Federalist were involved in the transformation as well, one must also have an insight as what was occurring during the time of the switch. As one knows now, both documents relate to one another, and were intended to service America and protect the people’s freedom by imposing the law. The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, because it was not stable, it limited the power of Congress, and limited the National government.
The Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses as well as positives. From the pros side we have Josh DiGiorgio and Jacob Chrispim. From the cons side we have Grayson Jons and Lexi Rosmarin. We will start with the cons.
Before the Independent War, each state already had its own laws. Speaking from a certain perspective, each state could be seen as an independent country. After America won its independence from the Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, the new country needed a mechanism to unify the thirteen states to form a government. The Articles of Confederation was the first national constitution that was acknowledged by the thirteen American states that was submitted to the Second continental Congress on July 12, 1776. It was sought to be the solution to group the thirteen states to be a country.
The Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1777 by the Continental Congress and in its basic sense, acted as a place-holder government which was much like the one already in place pre-revolution. It turned out to be quite weak due to lack of power when it came to the regulation of trade, draft troops, and taxes. When suggestion of ratification to the Articles of Confederation arose, all thirteen states had to agree to do so. However, there were vast disagreements between the smaller states and the larger ones. The smaller states won the disagreements.
The Articles of Confederation, the first governing document in American history, only allowed for one branch of government, Congress, which could lead to one group of people having all of the power, possibly not allowing for representation of all of the social classes. This upper class tyranny was exactly the problem that the colonists had fled from in England, and they were afraid that these issues would continue to plague them in America. This fear led to a very weak central government, whose extremely limited power stunted the development of our young nation. Later, when writing the Northwest Ordinances, Jefferson proposed the idea of having three branches of government, and a system of checks and balances between the three to ensure
I am Jonathan Dayton, hailing from New Jersey, and I am a Federalist. I am here today at the Constitutional Convention to discuss the pros and cons of the our nation’s governing documents. I will be speaking in favor of a constitution rather than articles of confederation. Speaking as a Federalist, I see some flaws in the Articles of the Confederation. One feature of the Articles of Confederation is that the power of voting would be in the hands of the people.
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…..
This past week, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia. They addressed the problems of the weak central government that exists under the Articles of Confederation. Both our fellow Federalists and the Anti federalists, were present at this meeting. The Anti federalists are continuing to fight against the Constitution, claiming that they don’t want a bigger government than the States. However, they do not have a set plan like us.
Behind ever great country there is a strong central government. To a country that just took its independence from an empire, there should be a document to allow a strong central government and rule of law. Powers should be divided equally among the branches of government. First, I summarize the main points of the Articles of Confederation. Then I will focus on the cons of the Article of Confederation and was it the right decision that America should have relied on this paper or should they have had a constitution?
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.
Did you know that the president doesn’t get to create anything that the Supreme Court doesn’t approve of? I am a Federalist. I am living in the 1700’s in the brand new United States of America. Federalist, like me, believe in different rights and different ways of life than an Anti-Federalist. A federalist is a person who supports the Constitution.
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
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.
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 constitution and the Bill of Rights have made drastic changes in how this country has developed over these short years. The people on both sides of the arguments have their own opinions. The antifederalists are not use to equal rights. They want one ruler and no equality. The federalists want the