US Constitution Longevity The United States Constitution is not just a document. It is an omnipresent artifact of the past and ongoing history for the nation it governs. Passionate arguments were abundant during the drafting of the document on what it should entail and what should be left to interpretation. The Constitution not only served to appease many people at the time of its ratification, but it stays standing as a thriving and dependable document capable of change to serve the people as they see fit. For this document to be ratified and take effect, however, first there had to be the Great Compromise, a system of checks and balances, and even a way to change the Constitution so that as the society it governed evolved, it could as well. The Great Compromise is the single most important component that lead to the ratification of the Constitution. There were two different …show more content…
In order to get the Anti-Federalists to accept the Constitution, they demanded their rights to be explicitly stated. The Federalists argued that if they listed rights, people would find loopholes and exploit them, but the Anti-Federalists were persistent and would not ratify without written and protected rights. This lead to James Madison promising that a bill of rights would be added as amendments to the Constitution (@brinstitute). These first ten amendments set a precedent for modifying the Constitution and we keep that same system today. The Constitution is ever changing to accurately govern the people of America. In conclusion, for the United States Constitution to be ratified, there had to be the Great Compromise, a system of checks and balances, and even a way to change the Constitution so that as the society it governed evolved, it could as well. It was formed by years of collective knowledge and experience, and it continues to protect the American citizens from threats to
The Constitution DBQ The Constitution of United States is regarded by many as an important document, for it gave the common people the power to form a government the way they want. Yet, despite all the benefits that it brought to the American people at the time, people also had some concerns about the Constitution such as: it is creating a Central government that is too powerful, only white men that owns property are allowed to vote, not everyone in the nation are treated equally, etc. When the Constitution was first being drafted, Representatives from each state hoped to add terms that would benefit their own states—this lead to a heated debate on how the Constitution should be formed.
Supporting the Constitution Do you ever think about how thankful you should be that you live in America? Well you should be thankful. America gives people freedom. It was a good idea for America to ratify the Constitution. The government we had before the Constitution was called the Articles Of Confederation.
A constitution, by any definition, is a set of guide lines put in place for the citizens and governments of a country. The United States Constitution provides the basic rules and principles of how the country is managed. Without any sort of constitution United States citizens would be in an utter state of complete chaos due to a lack of government. With its new interpretations, and constant state of change, this “living document” was, and continues to be, an essential part of our countries founding. One article tells of the detailed hardships our Founding Fathers endured while creating such an important document.
When we look back at our history there were a lot of decisions that had to be made when trying to figure out how to bring together a strong constitution. Our founders had a lot of strong opinions that had to be talked about when trying to reach a conclusion. There where challenges and compromises that had to be faced when trying to ratify the constitution. We all know that the constitutional convention meet between May and September of 1787. As we were already taught in class, there was a weak central government under that articles of confederation that had to be changed in order for everyone to agree upon.
It took the convincing of the Anti-Federalists to explain how the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and did not state the rights and freedoms of the people, therefore lacking a Bill of Rights. The Federalists agreed to a Bill of Rights, and later the Constitution was ratified with nine out of thirteen votes on June 21 of 1788. Soon after the Constitution was ratified, the separation of powers was understood in the United States government. The separation of powers separated each branch of government.
The Outcry The Constitutional Convention proved to solve the paradox of democracy because it created a strong government that balanced its powers equally. The “Great Compromise” is an example of how to address the minority rights and majority rule without resulting in anarchy or tyranny. The Government should use more compromises that will benefit both the minority and the majority equally. The Constitutional Convention took place because “the Articles of Confederation proved to be too weak to govern its citizens” (History).
Hence Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights as a way to get the Constitution ratified and for people to really see a needed change. The Bill Of Rights which lists specific prohibitions on governmental power, lead the Anti-Federalists to be less fearful of the new Constitution . This guaranteed that the people would still remain to have rights, but the strong central government that the country needed would have to be approved. The 1804 Map of the nation shows that even after the ratification of the United States Constitution there still continued to be “commotion” and dispute in the country.(Document 8) George Washington stated that the people should have a say in the nation and government and everything should not be left to the government to decide.(Document 3) Although George Washington was a Federalist many believed he showed a point of view that seemed to be Anti-Federalists. Many believed that The Bill of Rights needed to be changed and modified and a new document’s time to come into place.
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, is one of the most influential documents ever created and has continued to stay relevant for over 200 years. The Constitution was proposed in order to replace the ineffective Articles of Confederation, which previously held the newly freed states together. The main goal of the Constitution was to unite the states together under a strong national government, outlined within the document. Between 1787 and 1788 when the Constitution what ratified, two main political groups arose with opinions in regards to the Constitution. They were the Federalists and the Anti Federalists.
The Great Compromise which was founded at the Constitutional Convention wasn't formed without trouble. Many of the delegates that participated in the convention were wealthy landowners and lawyers, who owned many slaves. They failed to notice the diversity that excited within the nation. As they talked how to repair the Articles of Confederation, issues would arise that would create continuous debates amongst each other. One of the issues that would arise would be the nature of the new government.
It protects the rights of people, and the states and sets up a system of checks and balances between three co-equal branches of government so that no one specific branch can become too superior. After Massachusetts and other states ratified the constitution, all 13 of the colonies approved and believed that this document would serve as a model and achieves a good balance between the rights of states and the rights of the federal government, one that has resulted in a relatively stable republic for more than 200 years. Ever since the Constitution was created, America has thrived and prospered across
The Constitution, a document written and signed in 1787 by the Philadelphia Convention, was created after many of the country's leaders at the time had become dissatisfied with the structure of government created by the Articles of Confederation. The intention of the Constitution was so it could withstand the drastic changes of the forever improving U.S. Government. Throughout Richard Stengel’s work, “One Document, Under Siege”, there is a common theme stating that the Constitution is a living document that could withstand conflict and opposition. For a start, Richard Stengel uses many examples throughout his work to prove his point, that the Constitution was a living, breathing document, and that it was the intentions of our Founders to
It guarantees several fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, religion, and the press, as well as the right to bear arms and a fair trial. The Bill of Rights has been entical in protecting individual liberties and limiting the power of the government. The Constitution, adopted in 1787, established the framework for the US government and its political system. It created a federal system with three branches of government, each with its own powers and responsibilities.
The new constitution, a document granting the framework for a new democratic government, replacing the Articles of the Confederation. This new document gained approval from some of the citizens, but also raised questions and concerns from others. There was a constant back and forth between the two groups on whether or not the constitution should be ratified. This editorial provides historical background on the issue and expresses my opinion on which side I would’ve chosen.
Each party present during the drafting of the Constitution had their own ideas about what it should accomplish. As a result, it was very difficult to formulate a document that appeased all groups and parties, who often voiced their opinions of how it should be written. The U.S. Constitution was the father of many worries concerning the rights of the people, the role of government, and the balance between the aristocrats and poor, the government and the people. The Federalists, or supporters of the Constitution, were not completely satisfied with the task they were given. They were supposed to revise the old Articles of Confederation, but they felt like it needed to be completely rewritten.
DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal