If anyone was to do even a little research about the United States in 1787, one would find that the states were not very unified and life was not easy. Men like, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and George Washington had one thing in mind, to reunite the United States. The book, A Brilliant Solution by Carol Berkin, very clearly depicts the obstacles and adversity that the men attending the constitutional convention had to overcome. Due to a plethora of factors, the men attending the constitutional convention encountered many complications during the convention, ranging from travel issues to a lack of power to even do anything necessary to change the “United” States. The book shows this by describing the story of the men as a “story of anxious …show more content…
This was encountered when the men began to decide how the powers would be separated in the federal government, beginning with the executive branch. This branch posed many problems and brought great conflict. So much that the men had to move on to the legislative branch before coming back to the executive branch. Through all of this separation of power, the men were trying to avoid tyranny. Again, this was the greatest concern among the men. They had to find the perfect balance for the executive branch. They could not give them too much power or else there would be an opportunity for tyranny and the possibility of another monarchy, but on the other hand, the branch had to possess enough power to do something and make a change. The problem faced with the articles of confederation was a lack of power and this cannot be fixed with more lack of power. Pinckney said, “How far do you intend to go in reducing the power of the states?” (Page 69). This shows that there was a balance that had to be found. Some of the topics they debated on where topics such as the president 's salary and how to prevent against sectional favoritism. The largest topic, however, was on how the president should be elected. One of the first struggles the men encountered was on who should elect the president. There were two sides, the supporters of the legislative branch electing the president and the supporters of popular vote. After much heated debate, and leaving the subject of the executive branch and returning to it, an idea was proposed. This proposal goes to the roots of our nation as it was made in compromise of the two most popular standing ideas. This proposal was the electoral college. This gave the votes to the electors who chose how their state would use their electoral votes. The votes were based on the size of each state. The popular vote is incorporated as the people vote for who they would
The meeting was to discuss improvements on the Articles of Confederation. It lead to them discarding the first document and creating the U.S. Constitution. Many, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and John Adams, built the U.S. Constitution. With seven articles in the new document, the following was also put into it. People were
David O. Stewart’s The Summer of 1787: the Men Who Wrote the Constitution provides an un-biased historical account on how the constitution came to be. The book begins in post-revolutionary war America under the failed Articles of Confederation to the constitutional convention and through the ratification process of the constitution. It provides the readers with an in depth look at the hard ball the founding fathers played to create a government that could deal with a violent rebellion, mass debt, and the states conflicting goals. The goal of The Summer of 1787 the Men Who Wrote the Constitution is to enlighten readers on how the constitution came to be by illustrating how the founding fathers personalities affected the process by providing a deeper look into these key figures personal life’s and how their experiences shaped their political views.
From 1787-1790 the ratification of the American Constitution became fight between two different political methods of judgment. America 's best political personalities accumulated in Philadelphia to discuss shared opinion in a legislative structure. The Constitution itself did not say political groups, and it was expected that none was going to emerge. Be that as it may, this was soon demonstrated wrong when the level headed discussions between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists in 1787 and 1788 blend into a two gathering framework. This soon prompted a changeless component in American approaches.
“The Framers of the Constitution and the ‘Genius’ of the People” written by Alfred E. Young is an article which was originally written in a newspaper called In These Times. In his article he explains the process the delegates went through at the constitutional convention and how revolutionary this moment in our history was. They were the first to form a totally new form of government and to do it in a way that didn’t involve much dispute. Delegates were originally called to revise the Article of Confederation but instead they decided to frame and entirely new document, the Constitution. The Framers wanted to create something completely unlike the monarchy they came from.
The U.S. Constitution signed September 1787, not only unified America as one nation, but it also enriched America’s core structure of government on a national scale. One cannot ignore the significant disunion that existed during the time of the Articles of Confederation. Due to the fact that the states were allowed to act like independent countries, Congress had insufficient power to make and enforce laws or collect taxes. Both the national government and individual states had acquired a substantial amount of debt due to the cost of the American Revolution and needed the means to pay for it. The main source of government revenue became tariffs imposed by each state.
“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.
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.
The Founding Fathers desperately feared that a breakdown in the federal government would result in civil war. Their conflict also draws attention to how well these Founding Brothers tended to know one another. Hamilton and Burr had worked together on the battlefield and in the early legislation halls, all of which is true of most of the figures Ellis speaks about. He also introduces the crucial themes of his book: the importance of compromise, the centrality of the specific relationships in the early Union, and the strict expectations that these Founding Fathers had for one another. Finally, Ellis 's research in this chapter reveals his desire to uncover factual
Following the recent presidential election of Donald Trump, many individuals have been up in arms over whether or not the Electoral College is a fair way to elect the President of the United States. When Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote, yet Donald Trump became president, there were many questions brought up, as to why the Electoral College is still a running system. The Electoral College was made at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, by the Founding Fathers of America. The Founding Fathers held many meetings to decide on a fair way to elect the President. They thought of using a popular vote, but soon realized it would cause too many problems.
They were to contradict what the anti-federalists were writing about the newly proposed constitution. That is why they were so crucial during this point in time. If these men had not come together, there is a possibility that the constitution would not have been passed. The men decided to explain what each part of the constitution meant in great detail. They did this so every American knew what the constitution truly stood for.
Madison began discussing the most famous Federalist papers by saying that one of the most grounded contentions for the Constitution is the way that it sets up an administration well-appointed for controlling the violence and harm created by factions. Madison characterizes groups as gatherings of individuals who assemble to secure and advance their exceptional monetary hobbies and political feelings. According to the text, Madison has only two ways to control a faction. The first was to remove its reasons and the second way was to control its outcomes.
[the three branches] should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #51, 1788). This quote by James Madison shows that the Constitution basically separates powers of each branch, and gives each the right to stop the other if they feel that something isn’t fair or equal without creating a ruler or making one branch the strongest. With the concept of checks and balances, the founding fathers were able to stop soft tyranny, and keep government in a balanced and equal
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.
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
Contrary to popular belief, the United States has two constitutions: the Articles of Confederation and the present day constitution. So, what happened to the Articles of Confederation? The Articles of Confederation failed for many reasons: the reluctancy of the individual states to surrender their powers to a national government, the impotence of Congress to tax the colonies in order to pay off war debts or pay veterans of the American Revolution, the inability to back up the currency coined by Congress, the institution of multiple currency as states began to coin their own money, and the lack of power to regulate trade and commerce among the states or foreign nations. In addition, the Articles of Confederation limited the executive and judicial