When the delegates of the 1875-1876 Texas Constitutional Convention came together, their main priority in drawing up a new constitution was to restrict the amount of power the state government had over Texans. After Texas suffered thought the corruption that occurred under the previous governor, Edmund J. Davis, the delegates wanted to ensure that a similar situation would never happen again. The first step they took towards that goal was writing a bill of rights, which would be the first article of the constitution. This article ensured that the people’s rights would be protected from the government such as “guaranteed liberty of speech and press, the right of the accused to obtain bail and to be tried by a jury, and the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.”
The Bill of Rights was passed by congress on September 25, 1789 and was ratified on December 15 , 1791. James Madison and George Manson contributed to the bill rights. In the website, “Bill of Rights Institute,” the “Bill of Rights of The United States of America (1791)” explains the history of the Bill of Rights. At first 17 amendments were agreed on at the house but only 12 out of those 17 were approved. From there , only 10 were passed after being sent to the rest of the states.The bill of rights was created because of a conflict between the Anti-federalists and federalists.The federalists agree that a bill of rights was required.
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but there was a grapple for its ratification that went on until about two decades after the ratification. Members of Congress believed that the first government of the United States or the Articles of Confederation, needed to be adjusted while others did not want anything to change. After the Revolutionary War, the people did not want a strong central government, because it reminded them too much of what they were trying to escape from. Under the Articles, each state had their own laws, and the need for a new Constitution was desired by many. The Constitution of 1787 created huge debates, arguments and splits in the nation that lasted for several year after its ratification between people who
“Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a bill of rights, because the people and the states kept any powers not given to the federal government.” (http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/). This quote means that anything the federal government does not control, the states would control. An example of this would be the Tenth Amendment, which is anything that is not controlled by the federal government went to the control of the state. The southern states pre-civil war favored this amendment because it gave them the control they wanted over slavery. The concept of slavery being taken away as a right led to the Southern states seceding, becoming a “country” of their own. They felt the North was not listening to them, and ignoring their rights clearly listed as an amendment. This amendment was included to gain the Southern states ratification of the constitution which ultimately led to the Civil War. The state having this type of power caused the Federalists to feel a bill of rights was redundant, but Anti-Federalists did not feel that it was written clear enough. They were not reassured. A bill of rights was added to ensure that the federal government would not have too much power over
The United States Constitution was constructed from a set of rules, also known as amendments, which were written with the great intention of securing the basic rights of all United States citizens and as such, it serves as an outline for the laws of the land by dictating the powers of the people and what is acceptable under the watch of the United States government. These rights are considered a privilege afforded to the people and should be exercised as indicated within the document.
The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 written by James Madison. The Bill of Rights was written and added into the Constitution in order to protect the rights of the citizens. The Bill of Rights was added into the Constitution by a compromise between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists. Federalists were citizens who supported the new Constitution. While Anti-Federalists were another group of citizens who were scared to have another king or a abusive government, basically did not support the Constitution.But the funny thing is that the Anti-Federalists insisted on adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. With the Bill of Rights, come amendments Amendments are what make our Constitution modern.
In 1787 there was a constitutional convention which composed a new structure for our American government. (Study.com 2003) During the convention the delegates weren’t able to decide whether the people or congress should elect the president, thus creating the Electoral College. (Study.com 2003) The Electoral College is an arrangement between the majority vote of Congress and qualified citizens for the election of the president. (National Archives and Records Administration) In other words, it’s an indirect system for electing the U.S. President by using Electoral votes or an Indirect Democracy. This process created a balance between the power of Congress and the people.
The Federalist Papers were, and still are, very important to American History. These series of essays, mostly written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, were published to persuade Americans to ratify the new constitution. The new constitution would replace the Articles of Confederation, what the American’s had been living under at the time. The constitution highlighted an issue that the articles did not; empowering the central government like never before. Allowing the central government to act in the interest of the United States. The main point of The Federalist Papers and the Constitution was to unify America. The Federalist Papers outlined what American’s can expect from the new constitution. Between 1786 and 1787 they were used to educate American’s about the constitution and they are used for the same reason today.
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights which was written by James Madison. He wrote The Bill Of Rights in response of calls from several states for greater constitutional protection of individual liberties. The people who signed the declaration made a promise to protect the people from the government. The colonist wanted to keep their rights because they had a fear of a tyrannical government. People believed and were taught that The Bill Of Rights came from the desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution. Evidence shows that that’s not really the case, there was some desire to protect the rights but mainly it was because of the American fear of a new government.
Before the U.S. Constitution there was the Articles of Confederation. The document could declare war, negotiate treaties, and control foreign affairs. It couldn’t enforce laws, tax, and raise its own army. What the Articles Of Confederation lacked was a strong central government. Alexander Hamilton called for a constitutional convention in 1786, and it took place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787. The meeting was to discuss improvements on the Articles of Confederation. It lead to them discarding the first document and creating the U.S. Constitution. Many, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and John Adams, built the U.S. Constitution. With seven articles in the new document, the following was also put into it. People were
One of the main conflicts for ratifying the Constitution was on how it would guard against tyranny. The Constitution is a document which states how the government will work. The Constitution had some flaws but it wasn 't until after it was made that they amended it and added the bill of rights. The Constitution guards against tyranny by limiting the power of the government using the Bill of rights, Separation of powers, and Checks and balances.
on September 17,1787 the delegates assembled to sign the constitution they had created. They agreeing of the compromise happened by this. First the Great Compromise appointed a committee suggested what would later be called the great compromise. the compromise is a settlement of a dispute by each party giving up some demands. Sherman 's Compromise proposed different representation in tow house legislature. in the upper house the senate each state would have 2 members. the states would be equal in representation. George Mason of Virginia defended this idea. Most of the delegates believed that the constitution carefully defined government powers and provided enough protection of individual
From 1787-1790 the ratification of the American Constitution became fight between two different political methods of judgment. America 's best political personalities accumulated in Philadelphia to discuss shared opinion in a legislative structure. The Constitution itself did not say political groups, and it was expected that none was going to emerge. Be that as it may, this was soon demonstrated wrong when the level headed discussions between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists in 1787 and 1788 blend into a two gathering framework. This soon prompted a changeless component in American approaches. In ahead of schedule times, gatherings of individuals framed interim get together and voted together either for or against a particular approach.
The amendments that were ratified on December 15, 1791 were also known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is the fifth version of the constitution to be changed, it contains the first ten amendments that are important and vital to our lives. Though there are two that are the most important to the people and ensure their safety. The second amendment is one of the important amendments, because this is where people have the right to have gun with them at all times. This right has been debated for years and even today they still are. It is important to society because it is guns that people carry out in public, it can be misused into taking a life away or it can be used for the purpose it was meant for of saving lives from any evil that
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. Through these two pieces of evidence we are able to see that the Constitution does favor individual rights by its limiting of the Federal Government’s power and its securing of individual