Early American history consists of many debates amongst the writers of the American Constitution. Mainly due to the fact that the United States was a new territory and citizens had many fears in mind. The controversy over what exactly would be entitled into the document that would become the rule of the land was not nearly unified however, the men all agreed that the Articles of Confederation needed to be abolished by guidelines of better foundation. “Yet they were ‘neither fit for war nor peace,’” Spoke Alexander Hamilton. It was obvious at its surface that the Articles of Confederation were not going to carry out a strong independent nation for generations and generations to come. The new nation had many concerns for the developing nation; of which all needed to be addressed in the most unbiased way possible so that the thirteen inhabiting states would approve the replacing document with no overbearing controversy as to delay ratification. …show more content…
This issue was presented to the Federal Convention during the summer months of 1787; the idea of representation. How would each state be represented within the Legislative branch; by population size or equal representation? Also, how would slaves be counted within representation, if at all? These are the questions addressed during the convention regarding representation. The question of representation kept the delegates entangled in debates for weeks to come. One argument was just to remain under the representational aspect of the Articles of Confederation which declared, “…the states were equally represented in a unicameral Congress by delegates appointed by the state legislatures.” The remaining delegates believed that the articles were flawed in every aspect, including representation and there should be a new way of proceeding with representation of the states in the Legislature.
fter the Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolution and recognized the United States of America as an independent nation, the Founding Fathers were made responsible for creating a government for the United States of America. They initially founded the Articles of Confederation, a weak government, out of fear of a strong, powerful one like Great Britain. Shortly after, however, the Founding Fathers noticed that the Articles of Confederation were failing. An enduring issue that connects to this time period is the enduring issue of conflict because the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were the root cause of many conflicts between and in the states, as shown in Documents 1 and 2. Documents 1 and 2 both summarize the major flaws of the Articles of Confederation and the many conflicts they sparked.
During the 1700’s-1800’s while Philadelphia served as the nation’s temporary capital, the U.S. Congress met problems and threats to the nation that tested the endurance of the Constitution and the republic it framed. Domestic issues of finance, taxation, sectionalism, Indian affairs, and slavery divided the delegates into bitter political camps and international relations fomented disagreements as well. Congress during this decade forged a government that remained intact, despite expectations to the contrary from the prevailing monarchies overseas. To handle the heavy load of business, Congress created the first standing committees—commerce, banking, taxes, and the national debt. Certain southern delegates threatened that their states would
As the Constitutional Congress were creating America’s new government from scratch, a problem came into their hands. They couldn’t decide whether to have equal representation or representation proportional (corresponding in size) to each state's’ population. Each of them either favored smaller or bigger states. Such as the Virginia Plan, this plan favored big states because it stated that the bigger the population, the more representatives they get. On the other hand, the New Jersey plan favored smaller states because it stated that no matter how big or small the population is, they get an equal amount of representatives.
In May of 1787, fifty-five delegates from eleven of the thirteen American states came together in Philadelphia. The goal that they had was to fix and improve the current government created by the Articles of Confederation, which had been occurring since the year of 1781. The Articles created a weak alliance among the states. There was nothing that the national government could do about the taxes or regulate commerce. The delegates whom attended the Philadelphia convention had came to agreement that there were issues in the Articles of Confederation that needed to be fixed.
Although the ‘New World’ declared independence in 1776, by 1787 the United States of America had yet to agree on a constitution that would satisfy the varying needs of each existing state. One of the major debates was over whether the new legislature would give each state representatives based on that state's population or if each state would have equal representation. The larger states desired more influence with proportional representation, but the smaller ones feared that their views would be encroached on if such a system were put into place. The proposal came from Roger Sherman, a Superior Court Judge of Connecticut, who had previously been a delegate during the independence debates of 1776.
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
One state, big or small, would only have one vote to decide. I believe this is fair in these circumstances because that way the smaller states could not be outvoted by the larger, seemingly more powerful states. Lastly, the Congress is checked and balanced by the states and people. The states were afraid of a strong national government, because the congress might be able to control the people. To ensure their protection, they made Congress weak, with little
After the countless debates, the Great Compromise was what the convention would come into agreement with representation by population in the House of Representatives “The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative. ”(add footnote) The smaller states were pleased with equal representation in the Senate “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senates from each state and each Senator shall have one vote.”(add
The Revolutionary War ended and now the Articles of Confederation are showing how weak they really are. On May 25th - September 25th 1787, delegates led by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton came together to fix the Articles of Confederation, but ended up creating a whole new document. That Document was the Constitution. After that, the whole country was debating whether the Constitution should be ratified. Based on the sources, the Constitution should have been ratified because the country was in economic distress, the nation was vulnerable, and the authors wanted the best for the country.
Claim A: Under the Virginia Plan, the population would determine representation in each of the two houses of Congress. Claim B: Delegates from less-populous states wanted to amend the Articles of Confederation to protect their equal standing, which would preserve each
The faintness of the articles of confederation brought conflict between the two sides in a scenario where the Federalists argued that the ratification of the new constitution would be beneficial to the country while the Anti-Federalists opposed their rivals’ stance ("The Federalist Papers - Congress.gov Resources -", 2018). However, the major issue of the debate concerned the annexation of the Bill of Rights in the constitution. On the one hand, the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, believed that the inclusion of the Bill of Rights was not necessary since the government and not the people were limited by the constitution ("The Federalist Papers - Congress.gov Resources -", 2018). On the other hand, those opposed to the constitution such as John Hancock argued that failure to include the Bill of Rights in it meant that the government would be stronger, therefore threatening the sovereignty of the individual states ("The Federalist Papers - Congress.gov Resources -", 2018). Anti-Federalists also debated that the system created by the new constitution would threaten the liberties as well as fail to protect the rights of
Three of the four delegates from Massachusetts fully supported a strong national government because they had experienced firsthand the problems and conflicts that rebellions create, especially without assistance from a national government. The fourth delegate from Massachusetts also knew the issues rebellions could create and agreed that a stronger national government was needed to prevent such problems, but he argued that a bill of rights was also needed to protect the rights of the people. All of the delegates at the convention had heard stories of the events that had been occurring in Massachusetts and, fearful of similar rebellions in their own states, many changed their perspective of a strong national government, arguing that one was necessary to keep the peace. These fears are what led to such drastic changes in the powers of the national government compared to the Articles of
Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.
The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.
In the creating of the US Constitution, the creators hit many roadblocks. It was difficult for the state delegates to decide on much, especially because they were biased and in favor of their own states. The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan were two examples of the disagreement of representation within the states in the legislative branch. The New Jersey Plan was in favor of equal representation throughout the states. The Virginia Plan was in favor of population representation, meaning the larger states would have more representation than the smaller states.