Preview

Constitution Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
962 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Constitution Essay
Essay 1
The Constitution of the United States created the form of government known as federalism. The national and state governments each have specific powers and functions, while also sharing some of the same powers. The Constitution made the agreement that any laws passed under the constitution would be the supreme law of the land. Three separate branches were created; the legislative, executive, and judicial. **********The new Constitution resolved the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation to the extent that it created a new system of government that was equipped with the necessary powers needed to implement changes through compromises, the passing of laws, and the levying of taxes.
During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss the difficult problems the new nation faced. The Framers decided that in order to facilitate change within the nation, the Articles of Confederation needed to be replaced with a new plan for government that would give the federal government more power to implement the changes necessary for the progression of the nation. The next step was to devise a plan for the government that would be accepted by the people of the nation. A series of compromises, known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the Great Compromise, were created. The Virginia Plan, created by James Madison, included an executive branch, courts, and a bicameral legislature where representation in each house of Congress would be based on each state’s population. This plan enticed delegates from heavily populated states such as, New York; however, the small states feared a government subjugated by the large states would give them no say. The New Jersey Plan, devised by delegates from the smaller states, included a unicameral legislature in which states would have equal representation. Within this plan, Congress had the power to set taxes and regulate trade, which were powers it did not have under the Articles of Confederation. The

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary: The new structure of the government had the basic laws and rights. In all, there were the main three function of the confederation. The legistaive, an executive, and a judical branch made up the national government. The constitution also separated the control each fedral government had. Lastly, it protected Americans liberties.…

    • 185 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    When fifty-five delegates from eleven of the thirteen states met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 (four years after the Revolutionary War) for a Constitutional Convention, one of their biggest concerns was to establish a government that did not create any kind of tyranny. Tyranny is the abuse of power by one supreme ruler, like a dictator or king. Tyranny can also happen if a few people (such as several generals or religious leaders) seize control of something or if the majority denies a minority’s rights. The abuse of power can lead to the destruction of a whole country. For this reason, the Framers of the Constitution decided to create a new constitution to replace the existing Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, there was no court system, no chief executive, and not even a way for the government to force a state to pay taxes, which made the government weak. The new constitution needed to be strong so that it could hold our nation together, and yet limit the authority of individual groups to prevent tyranny from happening. The framers decided to use the Constitution to guard against tyranny with four methods. These methods were giving states a more equal representation in Congress, Federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The government’s inability to tax and raise an army, as well as their lack of central power, led to what became known as the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Founding Fathers met to fix the problems with the Articles, but ended up drafting the Constitution instead. During the convention, several different plans were discussed. The first was the Virginia Plan, written by James Madison, which suggested the existence of both an executive and legislative branch. The legislative branch was to have two houses of Congress, each with representation based on population. In contrast, the New Jersey Plan was to have a unicameral legislative branch with equal representation for each state. With the help of Benjamin Franklin, the Great Compromise was created, which combined the two plans. It called for three branches; including a legislative branch comprised of two houses. The Senate was to have equal representation from each state, while the…

    • 6730 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is understood that the US Constitution was written to form a more centralized form of government, a federation, which could protect and regulate the rights of the US citizens. While the Articles of Confederation was avoiding this type of government affected by the British experience, the constitution encouraged it. The main difference between these two documents is the balance and centralization of powers. How did the constitution change the role of national government in the life of US citizens?…

    • 1180 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    U.S Constitution DBQ

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Federal Government showed to be ineffective under the Articles of Confederation. The Government lacked power, with large state governments showing to be superior. The U.S Constitution proposed a new form of government. With the addition of three separate branches of government, being, legislative, executive, and judicial, the Constitution also created a stronger Federal Government, weakening state governments. As southern states with larger populations were against the ratification of the Constitution, northern states consisting of fewer, more wealthy people, supported it. Federalists and Antifederalists took sides, prompting debate over a solution to the issue. The writings of the U.S Constitution produced major concerns at the center of the Constitutional Convention as the future of America had to be written.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order to assuage this issue a representative of a large and small state presented proposals that of what they believed the representation should be. The Virginia Plan or large states plan was proposed by Edmund Randolph, and written by James Madison. This document recommended a bicameral legislature whose membership was determined by the size of that states free population. The lower house would be elected by the people and the upper house was to be chosen by the members of the lower house. An executive would be chosen by the legislature for an unspecified term and would not be reelected. A judiciary branch would consist of supreme courts and lower courts implemented by the legislature. The Virginia Plan put more power into the hands of the larger states. Each government would make specific powers to check and balance the other, making the branches…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of these is the Virginia Plan, also called the Large State Plan, which advised that the representation in a bicameral legislature be proportional to property or population. The other is the New Jersey Plan, which called for equal representation for all states regardless to population in a unicameral legislature. Had the Virginia Plan been adopted entirely, large states would always have a dominant voice over the smaller states. On the other hand, if the New Jersey plan had been adopted entirely, bigger states with bigger needs would never prevail. When the delegates began to discuss this issue, they willingly agreed that a bicameral legislature is necessary for the new national government. They differed widely, however, in the representation of the two houses. Bitter debates followed until, finally, the compromise of equal representation in the House and proportional representation in the Senate was reached. In Henry Steele Commager 's article, "The Constitution, Was It an Economic Document?", he remarked that the framers "feared the powers of the majority, as they feared all power unless controlled" (141); the compromise of the representation of the houses underscores exactly this point because it prevents an absolute body majority which would prove to be fatal to the country had they had a malevolent intent. Furthermore, the compromise effectively appealed to all states and therefore…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Constitution was enacted to replace it on 1788. Sovereignty of states no longer existed as the Constitution became the supreme law of the land that everyone had to abide by. The only thing that the Constitution had in common with the Articles of Confederation was that they were written by the same people, the same delegates that formed the Second Continental Congress. The fear of tyranny no longer overcame the Framers of the Constitution as they established a strong central government. There were three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judiciary, with a system of checks and balances so that one branch cannot accumulate power. There was also a bicameral legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Whereas the Articles could only request states to pay taxes, Constitution had the right to levy taxes. There was also a court system created to handle disputes. Congress became from powerless to a very important part of government as it gained rights to regulate trade/commerce and raise an army. Prior to the Constitution, each state received 1 vote, but Constitution changed that so that Senate received 2 votes and the number of votes the House of Representatives received were based on the population of that state. Unanimous consent was now required to ratify new laws, and amendment of the Constitution required the consent of three-fourths of all states. The Articles of Confederation were also much less organized in that states were given the right to coin money, which caused problems when currency from one state mixed with that of another. The Constitution fixed this issue so that only United States had the right to coin money. Another example of the disorganization of the Articles was that the term to be in legislative office was only one year, but with the Constitution, it was 2 years for Representatives and 6 years for Senates. Members were now elected by popular vote,…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although the Articles of Confederation gave the state more power but this was not enough because the congress did not get enough power. The country was in need for a stronger Federal government;in which, it was not present in the Articles of confederation. The lack of power for the national government and the congress led to the creation of the United States Constitution. The constitution created the executive branch, and federal courts. This makes the constitution better than the Articles of confederation because the Federal court system was created to ensure that law was followed throughout the country. The creation of executive branch is another advantage of the constitution.…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States (U.S.) Constitution is the source of all government powers and provides limitations on the government that protect the natural rights of U.S. citizens. Prior to its creation, the 13 original states comprising the U.S., were united under the Articles of Confederation. These articles entrusted a Confederate Congress with the authority to wage war, mediate disputes between states as well as set weights and measures. However, the Confederate Congress was completely funded by individual states, did not have the authority to raise funds itself and all decisions required a unanimous vote of approval from all states. It was far from a perfect government. These limitations along with the historical tendencies high ranking officials have toward greed and abuse of power rendered this Congress ineffective, spawning a collective desire for reform. (Whitehouse.gov, 2017) In 1787 delegates from 12 of the 13 states convened in Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. Their goals were to design a government that could provide fair treatment to its citizens, keep peace amongst the individual states as well as with outside nations, defend our country from enemies, and to set a standard for living comfortably, well, and free. To achieve this, the government was split into three separate branches and power divided amongst them.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    How was the Constitution used to establish our government? Articles 1, 2, and 3 setup 3 branches, the Judicial Branch is 1 of those branches. Its job is to interpret laws and the constitution, there are many powers the Judicial Branch has given to them by Act 3 of the Constitution. One of the most if not the most important power is Judicial Review, this gives the Judicial Branch the power to rule whether a law passed by Congress and signed by the President is unconstitutional.…

    • 1647 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    as you might think. The Constitution gets most of its ideas from past documents. Without these other documents, we would not have the same constitution we have today. Without these documents, we would have a second Articles of Confederation. Without these documents, our country would be completely different.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the heels of the revolutionary war and the failed attempt of a national government (The Articles of Confederation), the leaders of the United States set to make a stronger, centralized government, with dual sovereignty between the national government and the states. The rules of this governing body would be laid out in a document called the Constitution. Although most leaders supported the constitution they did not agree on many aspects of it. Out of the disagreement two groups emerged, the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist. The Federalist supported all aspects of the constitution and a larger national government, while the Anti-Federalist opposed ratifying the constitution and supported a smaller national government and more sovereignty to the states. This disagreement led to a fierce debate between the two groups that still resonates today. This essay will examine the primary…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the creation of the Constitution it gave people rights as a US citizen and stet the foundation of how the government would move there for. The Constitution change the requirements of ratification from an unanimous vote from each colony to nine vote to…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1787 when the U.S. government was frail under the Articles of Confederation there was a debate on whether to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Those who supported the ratification were the Federalists, and those who opposed were known as the Anti- Federalists. Federalists believed in the idea of a strong central government while on the other hand Anti- federalists wanted their own states to have the right to set their own laws.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays