In the early years, after winning independence from Great Britain, the American colonies set up their government in accordance with their first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. This means that the majority of the power laid in the hands of the states and Congress, “the only institution of national authority” (Brinkley 151) at that time, had very little power. This distribution of authority was the manifestation of the American’s fear of a strong, central government. However, as time passed, more and more people came to agree that the national government was too weak and needed to be strengthened.
The framers of the United States constitution decided to give more power to the federal government than the state government, the framers did this because they didn’t want to create a government with tyranny in it, they also did this to create new ideas for the states. The framers did this because they simply didn’t want the government to have complete control over the people, instead the framers wanted to have the people to have a government just not a complete power one. The framers wanted the people to be able to choose what kind of government they had, what kind of leader they had, they wanted to the people to have a choice. Some problems that the articles of confederation had is that that the articles limited the government significantly.
For this reason, a new form of power and governance was taken into place. The constitution focused on giving equal power to congress and the people. The Bill of Rights was established for the people, congress was divided into
After the American Revolution, the colonies needed to reconstruct a new, fresh government. America, however, was extremely restrictive with giving the central government any forms of power after the hardships the colonies faced being under the British government and Parliament. The colonies did not want to undergo another period of unfair taxation and regulated systems. Thus, America’s first government, The Articles of Confederation, gave the central government immensely few granted powers. After an eight year period, the majority of America knew that they needed a new form of government.
Before the constitution was ratified, the Articles only possessed a legislative body which could only make laws and not enforce them. To counteract this, executive power, or the power to enforce laws, was given to the executive branch in article two section one. The national court is created in article three where judicial power is given to the Supreme Court and all inferior courts. Finally, the bicameral legislature made it so that representation in the lower house of congress was based on population and in the upper house, each state received two votes.
Did the Constitution Establish A Just Government? In July of 1776, soon after the Declaration of Independence was signed, The Second Continental Congress was faced with the arduous task of creating a piece of legislation that would help govern their nation successfully. They drew concepts from the Enlightenment including, but not limited to, the idea that the governments main goal was to protect the natural rights of citizens and that the government received all its power through a social contract. These ideas enabled them to draft the Constitution of 1787, which is the basis of modern American government.
The Constitution united the states in a more structured and governed body, while allowing the states to have some individually, and protected all rights of people specified in the Bill of Rights. The main fear in the constitution was that the central governing power in federal government would create a tyrant, something the colonists feared from their experience as being part of the British empire. Because of this, the founding fathers divided all the powers in the federal government into branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch is in check with the others, and makes it extremely hard for the country to fall into
The American government that we know today, had many troubles when it first came together when the Constitution was first ratified in 1788. There had been many failed attempts at creating a new and successful government, such as the Articles of Confederation the first plan for the new American government. This proved to be very unsuccessful because the states held all federal power, while the national government had very little. In order to please both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalist, each party agreed to the Constitution with the addition of the Bill of Rights. Documents like the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the above documents are heavily influenced by the writings of John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu,
IDENTIFY and EXPLAIN the SIGNIFICANCE The United States Constitution established a new government with features that have contributed to its longevity. In addition, these features defined its national government, relationships, people and the states. There were three key features of the new Constitution of 1787 that were clearly new additions to the power of the national governments over the states or over citizens of the United States are the separation of powers, the limit of democracy, 1.One key feature that was clearly a new addition to the power of the national governmet was..
While the Constitution put more power in the hands of a national government, a Bill of Rights consisting of a series of amendments was promised to give rights to individuals and the states. The agreement to add the Bill of Rights in the final Constitution persuaded Antifederalists to accept the ratification of the American Constitution as it gave power to the people and the states, albeit it was limited power, but it was power nonetheless. Amendment 10 in the Bill of Rights states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people,” meaning any power not given to the federal government in the Constitution nor prohibited by it, is given to the people or states. Additionally, the concept of the separation of powers emerged from the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Separation of powers introduced the idea that the national government would have limited authority.
Overview: The Articles of Confederation written by the second continental congress, came in effect on March 1, 1781, was the first constitution of the United States. The articles established a weak central government which led the states having more power and creating conflict. The Articles of Confederation lacked the power of trade and commerce, states had separate currencies, and even different militias. Although the Articles of Confederation were scraped, it became a learning point and the basis of our constitution that has lasted over 200 years and counting.
These authorities that the national government should have, were all up to the states to decide under the Articles. With the taking away some of the states rights in the Constitution, Anti-federalists feared that this would leave the states too weak, resulting in more problems. Under the new Constitution, many powers that were now in the government 's hands are: the power to levy and collect taxes, the power to regulate interstate commerce, the government set up a national court system consisting of district, circuit, and a supreme court, the government could enforce laws, there was now a house based on population, and a senate based on equal representation (two votes per state), to amend the Constitution, a ⅔ vote of Congress was needed, and a ¾ vote of the states were needed, and a majority rule was needed to pass bills. These new powers and abilities of the national government helped to create a strong, new
Did you know that New Hampshire was the first of the original 13 colonies to declare independence from Great Britain? Actually, New Hampshire has always been a unique state. In some cases it seems like the rest of the nation follows New Hampshire's example. It is very interesting to see how the founding, formation, life, and laws have shaped New Hampshire into what is has become over the years. New Hampshire was originally founded in 1623, only three years after the pilgrims landed in New World and began the Plymouth Plantation.
By writing a new constitution, the farmers were able to address the problems which the nation faced under the Articles of Confederation. The most important issues were addressed by the establishment of a stronger national government that was selected by the citizens. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, were each state maintain its own sovereign rule, each state was represented equally in Congress through the representatives elected by its citizen. Therefore, power was no longer placed in a single institution such as the states or one overall governing body, but rather in the hands of the people. This government had the power to tax, regulate trade and commerce, and coin a national currency with a majority vote versus a unanimous vote.
Established on September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed rights for its citizens. The Constitution also represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism that the United States of American stands by. This means that the Constitution regards to the American citizen as something that is held to deserve meaning the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. It also means its citizens come first in order of importance. The Constitution represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism by stressing liberty and inalienable rights as central values, making the people as a whole sovereign, rejecting inherited political power, expecting citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption.
