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. Federalists were supporters of a strong central government that included certain measures to limit the power of the masses, such as the electoral college. Since their ideas so harshly contrasted with those expressed in the Articles of Confederation, they decided to draft an entirely new Constitution that would satisfy their ideas and goals for government. However, even though they wanted to limit the extent to which the government was truly democratic, they still needed the support of …show more content…
In the Federalist Papers 10, Madison argues that the most knowledgeable and virtuous citizens believe that the government is too easily changed and too directly influenced by the people. He wants the government to have more power over the people and for it to be ruled by the minority party, such as himself. This is suspect to suspicion, as many of the people involved in the writing of the Constitution were part of that minority that they believed should possess more power than the common people. Both Howard Zinn and Charles Beard think that one of the main purposes of the Constitution was simply to benefit the wealthy, aristocratic upper class both financially and
Following the French and Indian War, Great Britain had began tightening is control on its colonies in the north. The tightening of the British control worsened their relationship with the colonies because the imposing of taxes and acts had taken a toll on their pockets and daily lives causing an American revolution. After the French and Indian war, Great Britain’s control over the colonies tightened because they believed that since they had supreme legislative power over the colonies they could impose taxes on the colonists to help pay the debt after the war (Document 1). One of the many acts imposed in the colonists was the stamp act.
In February 1789, George Washington was elected to govern the United States. Washington felt it was important to watch his every move and judge every stride very carefully. There was definitely method in his madness though. Along with internal problems (like the Native Americans) beginning to arise, trouble was toiling across the Atlantic as well. In France, the need for a revolution and a change in powers was bending the country out of shape.
APUSH SAQ 1.) The reason that this confederacy was established was to maintain and keep important traditions alive in these 5 later 6 tribes in the state of what is now present day New York. Some of the goals of this confederacy were to, improve trade, strengthen alliances with neighboring tribes against foreign nations, share agricultural techniques, capture land, and improve trade. In terms of how successful they were, overtime some tribes established alliances with European nations causing tension among the confederacy, however this confederacy did improve the alliances between these tribes. Overall in terms of land, they weren’t really successful as we can see now in present day U.S.A 2.)
Having a weak government was unacceptable for the Federalists, so they pushed for a strong central government. Popular figures who supported this side were: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. According to Scofield, P. (2011), the Federalists Papers were written by the pseudonym Publius to spread the idea of ratifying the Constitution,“Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers”. The best way to distinguish a Federalists would be their want of a strong government, and they admitted that giving up individual rights were worth keeping the country united. Publius plainly states that it was “undeniable” that the people “cede” some of their libraries for the good of the
When talk of the Constitution arises it is understandable that colonists were weary of a government that would have that much power after they worked so hard to break away from Great Britain. The Federalists firmly believed that the Constitution would strengthen the Federal union and not give too much power to the central
The United States gained its independence in 1776. After that, the United States struggled with numerous tariffs and compromises that can be arguing to be the cause of the civil war. With the gruesome acts of slavery in the south, it show that the north and south have been fed up and was begin to tear apart. The rise of political parties contributed to numerous political beliefs and ideas.
As the Great War raged on, people began fleeing their war torn homelands. Immigrants flooded into the United States at a breakneck pace. The way of life for all civilians was dramatically altered as their husbands and baby boys were shipped overseas to fight. Immigrants that were thrown into the fray of the developing United States faced the most drastic change to their lives during World War I.
In the 19th century china and japan were under pressure when the west opened up foreign trade and relations. The industrial revolution created a wide gap between them and the west and left them behind in technology and the military. They both signed unequal treaties that forced them to open their ports and cities to foreign merchants. Both country's reacted very differently and this will be the topic of this essay.
During the time period of the late eighteenth century the United States were seeking a new governing platform that would support the ideals present in the American Revolution. Principles such as freedom, independence and natural rights were among the driving forces in shaping the constitution. Throughout the creation of the document many disputes occurred, the Federalists wanted a strong central government with unchallenged authority while the Anti Federalists fought for personal freedoms and decisions to be made at a state level. Correspondingly once the Constitution was completed The Anti Federalist opposed to it. They complained that the new system threatened liberties, and failed to protect individual rights in addition to their claim
During the ratification of the debate of Constitution of the United States, there were two groups that played a major role during the time. Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution. They were mostly conservative wealthy landowners or former loyalists. Some of the well-known Federalist during this time were George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. Anti-Federalists on the other hand opposed the ratification of the constitution, and they were in favor of the Articles of Confederation since it was less government and the states still maintained their sovereignty.
At the time the Constitution was created, the number of Anti- Federalists compared to Federalists was relatively the same (Doc A). Because of this, both opinions were well represented at the Constitutional Convention. When the constitution was ratified, in some ways it may have seemed that it was based mostly on the Federalists’ beliefs. However, it
This broke people up into two groups: Anti-Federalists and Federalists. The Anti-Federalists were those in favor of strong states’ rights. They disliked the Constitution because they believed that there was a chance that Constitution would destroy the freedoms the colonies fought for. They were scared of tyranny, especially pertaining to the fact that under the new Constitution, the national government, or Congress, would be able to make decisions without even asking for the states’ permission.
In the 18th Century Federalist and Anti-Federalists went head to head, after the Constitution was created it had to be ratified by the states. There were a number of people at the time that did not want the federal or national government to hold power. These people were the Anti-Federalist, and they wanted sovereign and independent government. The Anti-Federalist had many strong members such as Patrick Henry and George Mason that were afraid if the Constitution was ratified they would lose their power. On the other side the Federalist wanted the ratification as they wanted a large nation.
The Federalists favored a strong central government and a subordinate state government. They also trusted that a well-educated group of elected officials would act in the best interest of the nation (Document 3). However the Anti Federalists favored the Articles of Confederation, and the weak central government that came with them. Because of their experiences with the brutal King of England, the colonists feared the national government would become too powerful and begin discrediting the individual rights of the colonists. Although the Federalists succeeded in ratifying the Constitution, a Bill of Rights was implemented as a safeguard against
In other words, they decided to dump the Articles of Confederation and formulate the Constitution. The Constitution started a new era of government, it provided the equality and balance that the people hoped for. The Constitution was guarded against tyranny by federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances and equality for big states and small states. The division of power between central government and state government is also known as Federalism.