Constitutional Differences Between Virginia And Kentucky Resolutions

Are you a Federalist or an Anti-Federalist? The proportional representation of the people and the government in the pursuit of equality and happiness is thoroughly explained through the Anti-Federalist party. Jackson Turner Main wrote, "to them, the man of 'federal principles' approved of 'federal measures,' which meant those that increased the weight and authority or extended the influence of the Confederation Congress." By stating this he intended to provide the explanation and root of the problem; the egos of both parties, especially federalists were a constant wall blocking the parties from a resolution The Anti-Federalists were composed of many differential elements.

These resolutions were issued in 1978 in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They asserted the right to overrule the federal government. These resolutions give states more power than the federal government. 55. Election of 1800 Jefferson and Burr tied in the number of electoral votes and then Hamilton supported Jefferson, which eventually won him the election.

According to those states, they all think slavery should be allowed in their region. Convinced that their way of life, based on slavery, was threatened by the election of Abraham Lincoln, those seven states of the deep South seceded. Jefferson Davis felt like the election was the final straw in secession or as he put it, “ the last feather which you know breaks the camel’s back”(Doc 7 Jefferson Davis). This meant that the election made the decision clear to the Southern states.

Hence Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights as a way to get the Constitution ratified and for people to really see a needed change. The Bill Of Rights which lists specific prohibitions on governmental power, lead the Anti-Federalists to be less fearful of the new Constitution . This guaranteed that the people would still remain to have rights, but the strong central government that the country needed would have to be approved. The 1804 Map of the nation shows that even after the ratification of the United States Constitution there still continued to be “commotion” and dispute in the country.(Document 8) George Washington stated that the people should have a say in the nation and government and everything should not be left to the government to decide.(Document 3) Although George Washington was a Federalist many believed he showed a point of view that seemed to be Anti-Federalists. Many believed that The Bill of Rights needed to be changed and modified and a new document’s time to come into place.

The Virginia plan was suggested by James Madison. He proposed that America adopt a new “national” government, consisting of an Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches. It was a bold and vague statement that was very different from the already existing Confederation. The delegates,

The Articles of Confederation structured the first government of the thirteen states. The thirteen states included: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. However, Rhode Island did not vote to revise the Articles right away. Therefore, the proposals of the Constitution continued to be declined by the other states due to not having a balance on votes. When Rhode Island finally sent a representative to the Constitution Convention, the Constitution was approved.

The convention cited the nullification doctrine, which stated “a state could declare any federal law that it deemed unconstitutional to be inapplicable within its borders.” (pg 128 blue book). President Jackson responded by rejecting the South Carolinians’ argument making federal law impervious to state government actions and resting the responsibility to defend and maintain the Union in the executive branch. Abraham Lincoln would later invoke this action to fight the Civil War against the rebelling

But Virginia’s representatives had other plans on how to solve their country’s problems. Each state would get one vote for each decision to be made in the meetings, no matter how many representatives they may have (other than Rhode Island, who sent no representatives to the meetings.) As I said before, Virginia had other plans to solve their country 's problems. This idea was written and proposed by James Madison, one of Virginia’s representatives.

The North had been pressuring the South for years at this point, but it had not yet done anything significant enough for their actions to be considered offensive. The governments of the southern states had begun to assemble an army. In South Carolina “the state legislature prepared to arm a defense force of 10,000 men” (Dew, 25). The thought of secession was one not focused upon the defence of the confederate state, rather the focus was upon the revolutionary aspect of it. In the document, the “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union,” they compare their leaving the union to the thirteen colonies leaving the control of the British Crown.

The Federalist No. 10” is a persuasive argument written by James Madison in an attempt to ratify the Constitution. He wrote a series of documents called the Federalist Papers under a pseudonym to convince others to approve of the Constitution. He says that factions are not good for America, neither is a pure democracy. Madison provides extensive arguments and remedies for the problems he is addressing. James Madison is attempting to ratify the Constitution by analyzing the way to deal with factions, comparing a republic to a democracy, and by comparing a small government to a large government.

The whole discussion was based on Madison's terms. Delegates took the Virginia Resolution as well as Madison's proposal as their starting point for a new start on a Constitution. Roche describes the reaction to the program of the Convection as ‘interesting', some of the delegates were surprised and others were skeptical but not one of them

Final Exam Part I: QA1 :Defects and Vices of the Articles and The Suggested Resolutions Madison in his Vices asserted defects in the Articles of Confederation left Congress beholden to the states. The structure of the Article made it difficult to pass legislation as it required nine colonies to pass a law and all thirteen to amend the Articles. Specifically, Congress lacked the ability to tax, effectively regulate trade and had no enforcement powers. These defects allowed States’ to encroach on federal authority and created a lack of concert among the states. Examples included the States’ disregard of Congress’s requisitions for money and troops to fight the Revolutionary War.

“The lack of… nationality, I believe, is one of the great evils of the times…” Senator John Sherman stated on February 10, 1863. The United States had been split into sections from the beginning, and it created a lack of unity and togetherness. In Document A, the reader can acquire from the reading that South Carolina (and later many other states) seceded from the Union because of states’ rights. Document A states that an amendment (specifically the

Madison sticks to Jeffersonian ideals when he opposed the International Improvement Bill of 1817, because the power to regulate commerce is not specifically given to the federal government in the Constitution. In the message he wrote to Congress, He illustrates that this authority belongs to the states, which is an act of strict interpretation of the constitution. It also indicated the problem of sovereignty between states and the federal government. In fact, this action directly opposed that of the previous president Thomas Jefferson in regards to the Embargo Acts. Jefferson uses loose interpretation to say that the federal government does have the power to regulate commerce, while Madison complies with his party's beliefs of strict constructionism.

The Anti- Federalists claimed the Constitution gave the central government an excessive amount of power, and while not a Bill of Rights the folks would be in danger of oppression. Both Hamilton and Madison argued that the Constitution did not want a Bill of Rights, that it might produce a "parchment barrier" that restricted the rights of the folks, as critical protective