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Ap Us History Dbq Research Paper

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As tensions in Great Britain grew economically and politically, the American colony declared themselves an independent nation. Gaining their independence was significant, however, keeping it would be the challenge. The Americans knew a stable federal republic was essential to remaining independent, thus they created the Constitution. Although, the creation of the Constitution and the equality it ensues a controversial issue, the Constitution did not fulfil the job it was designed to do. The document did not establish a fair government. The Articles of Confederation was the first standard government created in the United States, yet unsuccessful. The Articles failure made it clear that a new government was needed to secure the nation. The …show more content…

Equality for people was the purpose of America becoming an independent nation, and the constitution disregards that in the case of slavery. The framers of the Constitution refer to slaves as "persons" or "persons held to labor or service." The language use in the document implies an attempt to mask the actual cruelty/brutality of slavery. Not only were they attempting to hide the true conditions of slavery, they protected slavery by the taxed importation of slaves, as well. The framers of the constituion saw slavery as something positive in the economy, without seeing it as morally wrong. Finally, the Constitution in 1787 was not very democratic. America was limited to their natural rights. Only white, male citizens had the ability to vote and very few actually did vote due to other restrictions required by state. Overall, the Constitution did not establish a fair government. The document lacked equality in all different aspects. The Constitution gave the United States a strong, central government, but that didn 't make it fair. White males were the only exception in the Constitution, the only person with natural rights that were thoroughly protected. As far as natural rights go, the Constitution protected slavery thus defeating the purpose of becoming an independent nation: to have

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