Us Constitution Dbq

Since its inception in 1787, the U.S. Constitution has been considered as the oldest and most influential document. It laid down the principles and foundation which helped shape U.S. as a nation, and the more than one hundred countries that used it as a model for creating their own Constitution (Constitutionfacts.com, n.a.). But the circumstances during its creation were critical. The American War of Independence (1775-1783) against Great Britain had ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris that gave sovereignty to the U.S. in 1783. However, four years later, the United States was still not yet quite united. It was under a confederation-where the states remained sovereign and independent, and the powers of the central government rests on the approval of member-states. A transformation of its political system to federalism -where central government is essential in uniting and leading all member states was believed to be imperative by some head of states. Therefore, the existing Articles of Confederation at that time had to be changed (History.com Staff, 2009).
Having just emerged from the American Revolution that started as an opposition against the British government's taxation, there was much caution and fear about the power of a US federal government and what rights each state have. This created numerous

Anti-Federalist (West). Cognizant of the sensitivity of the US political situation at that time, Alexander Hamilton led the Federalist Party, initially in secrecy, to promote the ratification of a new Constitution. Together with John Jay and James Madison, under pseudonym Publius, a series of 85 essays known as "Federalist Papers" were published in The Independent Journal, The New York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser. The papers aimed to promote the merits of the Constitution. They (in particular Federalist Paper No. 84) also argued against the need for the Bill of Right as being restrictive (Constitutionfacts.com,