Essay topic: Explain why Hamilton and Madison called for a Constitutional Convention in 1787 and discuss the proposed plans. Discuss and describe the struggles and the many compromises that were reflected in the final version of the U.S. Constitution. How and why does the Constitution divide government power among three branches? America needed a new organization to keep it from falling apart, however America also feared a strong controlling government. Each state was so independent that they all had their own constitutions ,consisting of a bill of rights guaranteeing certain freedoms and legal protections to the state’s citizens, and their own currency. Each state's’ money was valued differently from state to state, and the money was often …show more content…
The Articles of Confederation was America’s first constitution and at the time it seemed like a great alternative for a government. These Articles of Confederation put the Congress at the highest power in the nation. The Congress had the power to conduct foreign affairs, maintain armed forces, borrow money, issue currency, and establish a postal system. However, the lack of power given to the Congress, to avoid too much power, made it hard to do their place in government. The Congress has no power to tax, which meant that it had to rely on the states to collect and forward taxes, which the states were reluctant to do, leaving the central government short on money. The Congress had the power to pass laws however not unless nine states voted in favor of it. Any attempt to change the Articles required a unanimous vote of all 13 states. These strict voting requirements made it difficult for the Congress to accomplish much, and even when the Congress managed to pass laws, it could not enforce them. Unlike the state constitutions, the Articles did not provide for a chief executive or for courts. If a state decided to ignore a law, the Congress could do nothing. There was also no executive branch which resulted that it was almost impossible to coordinate the work of the national government. The congress also could not force the states to meet military quotas, which resulted in no standing army. It became clear that the Articles had some serious flaws and actions would be
At this time, Congress had delegated powers which gave them specific powers that were extremely limited. Such limitations have Congress no power to tax or any power over interstate or foreign commerce. The Articles of Confederation also said that only the states were sovereign. This meant that only state governments had a direct impact on the people. Also, under this governing document congress consisted of one body and each state had a single vote.
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.
-Define what limited government means -Explain why delegates at the Constitutional Convention believed the concept of checks and balances were so important -Identify one way in which each branch of government can check the power of the two other branches of government You may find the organizer that I gave you entitled “Structure of the Federal Government” will help you answer this question. You should turn in prewriting with your essay This essay focuses on answering what a limited government really means, ______, why the delegates at the constitutional convention believed in the concept of checks and balances,_______ and lastly one way in which each branch of government can check the power of the other two branches which is ______ and _______. Limited government means that no one person or group is in charge. America is a great example.
At the Constitutional Convention, our founding fathers met to reconstruct the Articles of Confederation, not knowing that they would create the United States Constitution, an entire new format of government. They wanted to create a government that was powerful yet restricted in certain ways, in order to create equal representation for all people. Three main compromises were made at the Constitutional Convention. These compromises were The Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the addition of the Bill of Rights.
A large shortfall in the Articles was the lack of governmental organization. There was no central court or judicial system to interpret national laws or set precedence. There was also no executive branch to enforce laws that had been passed by Con-gress. Even Congress itself was seen as ineffective in their process of passing laws.
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were created to hold the United States of America together during times of war. In the Articles, the founding fathers granted most governmental powers to the states, leaving only those necessary for the war effort – primarily the declaration of war, the creation of peace treaties, and the conduction of foreign relations – to the federal government. In this system, individual states were given precedence over the entire nation – an aspect that led to its downfall after the Revolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation denied the federal government the ability to issue taxes and tariffs – a power so necessary to the new country’s success, and yet so feared by its forefathers. They supported
Due to the many weaknesses of the Articles the convention that was held to revise the articles ended up throwing away the Articles of Confederation and starting all over again. A weak congress was one of these weaknesses. “The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments” (Library of Congress). The main problem with the Articles of Confederation was that it failed to give power to the federal government. The new states needed to unify under one constitution and they needed to establish a soverign central government.
The central focus and purpose of the content I will teach in this learning segment is to demonstrate to my students how the Constitutional Convention shaped America into what it is today. Another central focus of this content is to discuss how much freedom and responsibility citizens should have. b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your learning segment address ϒ facts and concepts Key terms: Articles of Confederation, Shay’s Rebellion, Consitutional Convention, 3/5 Compromise, Virgina Plan, New Jersey Plan, The Great Compromise, Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and The Consitution.
The Articles of Confederation was written when the United States was a fairly new country, and from the people wanting to create a different government from the king of England. Although this document respected individual rights, it was too loose of a document that could drive the country to success. After revising what they had created, the founding father of the us the created the us constitution. It was more strict, but still valued peoples rights.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 also solved major two internal conflicts within the nation. One was between Federal Government and State Government while the other was among the branches within the federal government. Because the Framers feared the national authority would grow too powerful, they designed it to be divided into three branches, which check and balance the power of each other. The establishment of the Supreme Court was a protection of the minority while two other branches utilized power from the majority population. Therefore, this could reduce the growth in power of the federal government, keeping the state government safe.
The Articles of Confederation had a very weak central government so the rights of the people would be secure. The Articles of Confederation was ratified by
Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.
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
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States that served as the first constitution. The Articles had first been introduced by Richard Henry Lee in the Second Continental Congress. Although the Articles of Confederation has made its contributions throughout history, the Articles, however, did not last very long and had been proven inadequate from the very start. I agree with this statement based on the examples and analysis of the Constitution I will soon provide. The Articles of Confederation were written during a time when the American people feared a strong national government.
The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. Such flaws would eventually lead to the Constitution and the repeal of the articles, for the Constitution was a measure to fix the problems of the articles with a stronger government that allowed them to impose taxes and and implement new laws for a more effective government.