Some people say that the Constitution is good; some say it is bad. The people who opposed the Constitution were referred to as Anti-Federalists. The most common reason that they did not support the Constitution is because they thought it gave too much power to the government. I am here to inform you about all the reasons that the ratification of the Constitution was good. First, you will need to know about how it all happened. In May of 1787, representatives from the states gathered in Philadelphia at a Constitutional Convention. This meeting was organized to improve the Articles of Confederation, which previously acted as a National Government. Some major characters that attended this meeting were James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and George …show more content…
Many Federalists and Anti-Federalists began to debate whether the Constitution was good or bad. When it came to representation, there were also differences of opinion in the various regions about whether slaves should count towards the state’s population. The people in the south wanted this so they would have more representatives and therefore more power in Congress. The Northern states did not like this idea and wanted the number of slaves to only determine taxes, not representation. After a lot of debate, the delegates voted on the Three-Fifths Compromise, which would allow three-fifths of a state’s slave population to be counted for representation. Governor Morris from New York state spoke against the Three-Fifths Compromise at The Convention. He was saying that the southern states that had slaves were basically poor and miserable and the states that did not were prosperous and happy. He felt that slaves should not be counted as property, and that they should be free …show more content…
This is known as the separation of powers. The central government was divided into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch was responsible for making and passing laws. It was made up of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The legislative branch also approves treaties, declares war, grants money and confirms presidential appointments. The executive branch consists of the President, Vice President and all of the departments that help run the government. The executive branch carries out all laws that are passed by the legislative branch. The executive branch also commands the armed forces, makes treaties and conducts foreign policy. The judicial branch consists of all of the national courts and is responsible for interpreting the laws, punishing criminals and settling disputes between the states. The judicial branch also reviews lower court decisions. These three branches of government are a checks and balance system for each
Ernie Law Zink 3° US History 15 September 2016 DBQ Essay When the delegates met in 1787 they aimed to fix the national government. The previous governmental charter, the Articles of Confederation, failed because it was just too weak and wasn’t getting the job done. Under the Articles of Confederation, there was no court system, no chief executive, and there was no particular way for the central government to force states to pay their taxes. By creating the Constitution, it would build a stronger central government and would be able to hold the nation together.
As leaders of the nascent nation entered the Constitutional Convention of 1787, they aimed to unify the country under a set of common laws and values. During this process, the delegates were divided on the topic of slavery, in terms of how it would affect the way states were represented in Congress and how states were taxed by the national government. After many proposals, the delegates arrived at the three-fifths compromise, which valued slaves as 3/5th of free persons for the purposes of representation and taxation. If a true compromise is an agreement in which the parties involved make equal concessions, then the three-fifths compromise was not a true compromise because it favored the South by giving it disproportionate power in the national
The executive branch enforces laws, the legislative branch passes the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. The purpose of the separation was to guarantee that no branch has more power to dominate over the
Understanding the Structure and Powers of the Three Branches of the United States Government Darnisha Dor National Government: POS 1041 Professor Charles A. Goulding April 27, 2023 The government of the United States is a complicated organization meant to protect democratic values, with authority divided among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Legislative Branch, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, enacts legislation and supervises the government budget. The Executive Branch, led by the President, oversees law enforcement and the federal government. After that, the Judicial Branch, led by the Supreme Court, interprets laws and judges whether they are constitutional.
In 1787, Rutledge stated that “the true question is whether the Southern States will or will not be changed to confederate otherwise… the Southern States will not be confederate at all”. This quote shows that the issue of slavery was a significant factor in the formation of the Constitution and that the authors were willing to compromise on the principle of equality to form a cohesive union. It is important to note that the Constitution did not explicitly mention slavery, but it did include clauses that protected the institution. The Three-Fifths Compromise, for example, counted each slaved person as the three-fifths of a person to determine representation in Congress. This compromise gave Southern states more representation in Congress, which allowed them to maintain a balance of power and protect their interests, including the continuation of
It was May, 1787, when representatives from all over the country came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. George Washington was chosen to run these meetings, as they all believed he was trustworthy, he could have an unbiased opinion, and also that he could keep their secret. Their secret being the meetings and the discussions that took place here. They kept it unknown by the media and people so that they could say as they please without unwanted pressure. They created these meetings with the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, on account of much needed to be done.
As a result, a compromise was agreed upon. Three fifths, or sixty percent, of a state's slave population would be represented in Congress. This came to be known as the “Three-Fifths Compromise”. A second issue raised during the writing of the Constitution, was whether the government should given the power to regulate slave trade.
to make the Articles of Confederation work. George Washington didn’t like this idea of revising the Articles at first, but the news of the rebellion made him change his mind. After he agreed to attend the convention, it took on greater significance. The meeting took place in Philadelphia in May 1787, with fifty-five delegates that had occupation such as planters, merchants, lawyers, physicians, generals, governors, and a college president. Taking Thomas Jefferson’s place from Virginia were Edmund Randolph and James Madison.
After fighting for so long and hard to secure independence from the British rule, the young United States of America needed to come together to form a strong nation. Having literally sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to free themselves from the tyrannical oppression of an over-powered central government, the people wanted to ensure that they would not be trading one for another. There needed to exist a means to effect a measure of equality and security for the newly founded country. The Constitution aimed to do just that.
One of the compromises made in the Constitutional Convention is the three-fifths compromise. In this compromise, the southerners wanted to add slaves to the population of the state they lived in. If slaves were included in their state’s population, that state would be able to add more representatives in the House of Representatives. Northerners did not agree with that statement because slaves did not have the right to vote. After the delegates compromised, they agreed that only three-fifths of the slave’s population would be counted into the state’s population.
The United States federal government is comprised of three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Within the judicial branch there is the federal court and the state court. The job of the court is to interpret the laws and hold the people accountable for the laws that were passed by the legislative branch. Additionally, the Judicial Branch settles legal disputes, determines punishment for breaking the law, and protects the individual rights of each state.
Three Branches of Government The legislative branch can check governing parties and override presidential vetoes with a two thirds vote, investigate the executive branch, ratify treaties, and the ability to impeach. The legislative branch has full control over the executive branches spending and funding. The Senate has the ability to approve presidential appointments and approve treaties. The legislative branch checks the judicial branch by creating lower courts, the ability to impeach judges, and the Senate appoints all judges.
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, on May 25, 1787. Most of the delegates were from the upper classes of American society. The most famous delegate, George Washington, was “unanimously elected president” of the Convention (Cassel, 1994. P. 119). Originally, the delegates intended to revise the Articles, however their debates resulted in a whole new constitution.
The Executive branch executes laws and is the president. The Judicial branch judges laws and is the Supreme Court. The Legislative branch creates laws and is the House of Representatives and Senate. James Madison said in Federalist Paper #47 Document B, “the accumulation of all powers...in the same hands...may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” This helps protect from tyranny because the Separation of Powers prevents all power from being in the same hands.
In addition, the executive branch was responsible for enforcing or vetoing laws passed by Congress (in addition to its other powers). As for the judiciary, it is responsible for interpreting federal laws and the constitution and for overseeing the decisions made by the federal and state courts. Before when it was unable to address economic and boundary disputes, the judiciary under the constitution was able to address a wide range conflicts. Above all, these three branches of government share equal power to prevent one form of government from becoming too