Essay On Did The Constitution Establish A Just Government

Did the Constitution establish a just government?

A just government is one that shares its power with its citizens and allows them to have equal representation. The goal of the framers of the U.S Constitution was to establish a just government that differed from the oppressive British monarchy; but was also more efficient than the Articles of Confederation. To achieve their goal, they developed a constitution that allowed direct citizen participation through voting for house legislators (Article 1 Section 2) and equally represented all citizens in the senate (Article 1 Section 3). However, citizens are not given so much power that they can change the government without thorough cause. The framers succeeded in creating a just government through

State representation at the national level was a challenge for early government; some states supported New Jersey’s plan for representation, calling for each state's population to be represented equally, while others supported the Virginia Plan which stated that the population should determine the amount of representation each state should have. This dispute was solved by the Great Compromise, dividing congress into two houses: the house and the senate. The House reflected the Virginia Plan, allowing states to be represented accordingly with their population. In contrast, the Senate called for two representatives of each state regardless of that state’s population. With this compromise, no legislation could pass without the approval of both the house and the senate, giving them equal power. This made the constitution just because it allowed for equal representation for every state without giving large states too much

People did not want a super authoritative government like they had with England, but the Articles of Confederation’s failure proved that strong federal government was necessary. To prevent the new national government they were implementing from becoming too powerful, they developed a system that prevents it from infringing on the people's rights. For instance, if a bill passes both the house and the senate, the president has the power to veto the bill and send it back to congress (Article 1 Section 7). However, if congress votes on it again and ⅔ of each house vote for it, the bill will override the president’s veto and be signed into a law. The supreme court can check this power too, as they can get rid of laws too if they are not in accordance with the constitution. This system was ingenious because it prevents one branch of the government from using (and abusing) too much power. As Federalist No 51 states, “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself”. The constitution is just in this way because it limits the government's own power, which prevents it from being able to become