...Constitutional Convention in 1787, their experiences the Articles of Confederation and the British Monarchy were fresh in their heads. They knew they had to find a balance between Britain, which gave no power to the people, and the Articles of Confederation, which gave too much power to the people. Many principles of the Constitution were included because of negative past experiences with Britain and the Articles of Confederation. For example, the policy of Federalism was incorporated into the Constitution to balance the power between the central government and the states; Judicial Review was added to accommodate changing times as the Articles hadn’t allowed; The Bill of Rights was included to protect and ensure basic rights as Britain hadn’t....
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...representatives, more likely to advocate for their interests, and hold public officials accountable for their actions. Political culture * The people’s collective beliefs and attitudes about government and political processes * What is it that binds us together as Americans? * Our political ideologies * Our political values – liberty, capitalism, equality, consent of the governed, individualism Ideology * Political ideology is an integrated system of ideas or beliefs about political values in general and the role of the government in particular * Ideology provides a framework for thinking about politics and policy preferences Ideologies * Modern liberalism is associated with ideas of liberty and political equality: * Tend to favor chance in social, political and economic realms to better protect individuals and produce equality What is the constitution? * Fundamental principles of a government and the basic structures and procedures Two US Constitutions * Articles of confederation ( 1781-1789) * Constitution of the united states (1789-present) Events leading up to the US constitution * By the 18th century, two-tier system of governance had evolved – local colonial assemblies vs Parliament in Britain * Britain’s involvement in the seven years’ war cost money that they tried to recoup from the colonies * Sugar act (1764) * Stamp act (1765) * Colonists responded with...
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...Constitution Paper 07/30/13 US/110 University of Phoenix The Articles of Confederation was the first known Constitution in the United States History. The Unites States Article of Confederation was created based on the American Revolutionary War. That sole purpose of this plan was to fight for certain freedoms during the war; however, it had many flaws that decreased the chances of the Articles becoming successful. The Articles did not give regulations concerning trade or taxation. It even called for a weak executive team which made to enforce legislation. The Articles of Confederation's greatest weakness, however, was that it had no direct origin in the people themselves–it knew only state sovereignty. There was no unity. Each state had the option to build their own military, create their own currency, and collect their own taxes. With this plan of government, it would be impossible for the federal government to govern effectively and efficiently due to the lack of power that they had over the states. The only power that the federal government had was to generate treaties and control foreign policy. They eventually realized that this plan was not going to work. There were thirteen states at this point. The federal government realized that it was hard to pass amendments due to the fact that they could not agree on anything. As a result, the constitution was created. The constitution is a written statement outlining the basic laws or principles by which a country or organization...
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...According to the US History Scene website, the Articles of Confederation gave the states full ruling power over themselves on any matter that was not explicitly mentioned by Congress; and that was where all of the Articles of Confederations’ problems began. Because the states had so much self-governing power, there were problems with economic disorganization, legislative inefficiencies, and a lack of central leadership (Brackemyre, n.d.). The US History Scene website told me that there were three main organizational problems. First was the fact that they could not levy taxes to raise funds. The states were permitted to create taxes to pay for their self-government, and to pay the government the fees owed, but the government itself was not allowed to create taxes to pay off the military and other debt incurred during the Revolutionary war. This was a problem because even though the states were supposed to pay the government monies based off of their land value, often it was not paid. Next was fact that the government had little control over trade. The only control granted was in regards to the Natives, and only then if it did not infringe with the states. The government dealt with foreign treaties (as long as they were not trade related), and the states had complete control over all things trade related (except treaties). This caused problems because each state did what was best for them, and there was no unity as a country. The third and final problem was that there was no universal...
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...Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution http://www.123helpme.com/search.asp?text=American+History http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html There were many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. At the end of the American Revolution the free states needed some sort of control that would generate to a unified country. Issues arose such as: How should power be divided between local and national governments? How should laws be made, and by whom? Who should be authorized to govern those laws? How could the government be designed to protect the unalienable individual rights? Their first attempt at solving this issue was the Articles of Confederation, which was a failure for the most part, but not completely. After the failure of the articles, the state delegates tried to revise the articles, but instead, constructed the Constitution. There were so many changes made and very little remained the same. The thirteen states formed a Confederation referred to as the “league of friendship” in order to find a solution for common problems such as foreign affairs.The Articles of Confederation was the nation’s first Constitution. The articles created a loose Confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to the central government. Each state would have one vote in the house of Congress, no matter the size of the population. Members of the one-house Congress, such as Pennsylvania, agreed that the new government...
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...Raghu Kommalapaty Period: D 10-24-25 I am a Federalist. I along with many other prominent personalities formed a group to support and influence ratification of the new constitution in 1787. We firmly believe that Articles of Confederation are not sufficient to manage this great new country of ours nationally. We believe that new form of government is needed contrary to the government as defined in Articles of Confederation. We Federalists believe that Articles of Confederation provide much powers to state governments and not sufficient to the National Government. National Government...
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...Hamilton planned to correct the economic problems that ruined the Articles of Confederation but he wanted to favor the wealthy people. His plan was that the rich people would help the government financially with political and government support. Hamilton believed manufacturing would bring more money into the country but Jefferson disagreed. Hamilton and Jefferson differed on the way they saw the Constitution. Hamilton had a loose interpretation of the Constitution. He thought everything that wasn’t stated in the Constitution should be allowed....
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...religious leaders) Democracy: Power lies in the hand of the people. Basically a representative democracy, meaning we chose the people to make decisions. The dominant form of government today. Totalitarianism: The government was total control. Purpose is to implement the “utopian” society. Neg. side: They have to control everything, takes up a lot of resources. Gov. is inflexible, which leads to destruction of government. Authoritarianism: They don’t control everything, just enough. There isn’t a utopian vision. They control the military and the police. Only what they need to control. China is a midway point between Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism. Constitutionalism: A limited form of government. Powers are usually spelled out in a constitution that the government is obligated to follow. They are either being a democracy/monarchy. U.S is a democracy and England is a monarch. Hobbes: Claimed that we lived in a state of nature and not a good place to be. He believed were evil/selfish. God doesn’t play a role. “Bottom up dynamic” Locke: Agrees with Hobbes, but lived life better. People were inherently good, not evil. No protection of our property, and this is why we made the social contract. Believes we only gave up a little bit of our freedom, doesn’t believe it’s all or nothing, like Hobbes believed. Believes the social contract entails that we only gave up...
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...‘A Constitution written in the 18th Century does not work in the 21st Century’ Discuss (30 marks) America’s first form of Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was ratified in 1781 and it can be argued that many states operated as independent countries under this. After America won its independence from Britain in 1783, it become increasingly evident that the USA needed a stronger, central government to remain stable and so the US Constitution was created and signed on 17th September 1787 in Philadelphia. This Constitution is still used today and is at the heart of American Politics but the debate lies in whether an 18th Century document is acceptable for the present day. A Constitution written in 18th Century does not work in the 21st Century because it is difficult to update and some parts make no sense in today’s society such as the Second Amendment and the Electoral College, as there have been four occasions when the candidate who got the most votes lost the election. The amendment process is too difficult, thus making is almost impossible to remove parts no longer necessary or to add parts that the majority desires. For example, the Second Amendment, in the Bill of Rights, allows US citizens the right to bear arms, which has caused much conflict as it has become increasingly evident that people are willing to abuse this right. Attempts to overturn the Second Amendment have been very much refused due to the rigid, outdated Constitution. The power of judicial...
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...* Controversy- etymology (word origin) From Latin: “against” (contra) and “versus” (verse) Contra = against or in comparison with Implies difference of opinion or contrast Verse = line of writing Implies opinions expressed in some type of public arena Controversy- definition A prolonged public dispute or debate. Disputation concerning a matter of opinion. “Prolonged” - matters are unsettled over time, lasting “Public” – not private, concerning people as a whole “Dispute / debate” – challenge, taking exception to “Opinion” – personal belief or judgment Synonyms of controversy- disagreement, difference ALSO- contention, strife, argument, dissonance, lack of harmony, heated conflict Controversy- Denotation v. connotation Denotation = meaning The most direct, exact, specific meaning of a work or expression Literal meaning- meaning without interpretation, embellishment, or exaggeration A dictionary definition. Subjective and “cold” Connotation = suggestion Emotional coloration Suggested or implied meaning in addition to what is explicit, objected, denoted Impression that goes beyond a defined meaning Emotional association with a word, phrase, idea Subjective and emotively “loaded” September 17 Democracy- people, common people. People’s rule. Types of democracy Direct- when all members of a community (polity, group) gather together and individuals cast a vote or make decisions=each person is given a chance to influence the policymaking process Representative-...
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...The (un)Official United States History Cram Packet This is not intended as a substitute for regular study ……. But it is a powerful tool for review. 1494: Treaty of Tordesillas – divides world between Portugal and Spain 1497: John Cabot lands in North America. 1513: Ponce de Leon claims Florida for Spain. 1524: Verrazano explores North American Coast. 1539-1542: Hernando de Soto explores the Mississippi River Valley. 1540-1542: Coronado explores what will be the Southwestern United States. 1565: Spanish found the city of St. Augustine in Florida. 1579: Sir Francis Drake explores the coast of California. 1584 – 1587: Roanoke – the lost colony 1607: British establish Jamestown Colony – bad land, malaria, rich men, no gold - Headright System – land for population – people spread out 1608: French establish colony at Quebec. 1609: United Provinces establish claims in North America. 1614: Tobacco cultivation introduced in Virginia. – by Rolfe 1619: First African slaves brought to British America. 15. Virginia begins representative assembly – House of Burgesses 1620: Plymouth Colony is founded. - Mayflower Compact signed – agreed rule by majority • 1624 – New York founded by Dutch 1629: Mass. Bay founded – “City Upon a Hill” - Gov. Winthrop - Bi-cameral legislature, schools 1630: The Puritan Migration 1632: Maryland – for profit – proprietorship 1634 – Roger Williams banished from Mass. Bay Colony 1635:...
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...the start of the American Revolutionary war he organized an artillery and was chosen captain. He became the senior camp aid to George Washington. After the war Hamilton was elected continental congress of New York but resigned to study law and open a bank in New York. He then became the first Secretary of The Treasury on September 11, 1789. He worked on creating a government and structured cabinets. During Hamilton’s time he did three things that have helped the Untied States for what we have today. Hamilton formed a structured government, federal well-being, and political visions. Hamilton helped form the government back when he was part of the Annapolis Convention he brought up flaws from the government, which was from the Articles of Confederation at that time. This is when we begin to see Alexander Hamilton form his opinions, which leads him to saving economic problems. He stats his strong opinions by his assertion at the convention in Philadelphia in 1787 that the United States should have a president for life. However, this placed him on the lower end of the voting rank. He supplied that congress when he was elected the...
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...Political power is the ability to influence others, bring about meaningful change, win the support of the public, and have a lasting impact on people's lives. At the beginning of the creation of the constitution, our Founding Father's objectives were to establish a federal government, and to outline an equal distribution of powers within our government. This was implemented by creating three branches of government that had to coincide with each other in order to function. Although each branch has its own powers, duties, and responsibilities that influence how the government works, the executive branch has become more and more powerful over the years. In this essay, I will discuss the framers intended relationship between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and I will argue how the executive branch wields the most power among the three branches of government. Our system of government was set up to have three branches of government: the executive branch which executes the laws, the legislative branch which creates the laws and finally the judicial branch which interprets the laws. The constitution states their powers and their checks on one another so that no branch would have more power than the other two, because of this, the framers of the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances. Under this system, each branch has the ability to stop the other two branches from gaining too much power. For example, one way the executive branch/president is able to check...
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...U.S. History and Constitution HIS120 Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) At the end of the course, students will be able to: SLO1. Describe the cultural, geographic and climatic influences on Native American societies. SLO2. Compare and contrast religious, social and cultural differences among the major European settlers. SLO3. Describe the events that helped create American nationalism and lead to the American Revolution. SLO4. Explain the Constitutional Convention, the Articles of Confederation, and the emergence of a democratic nation. SLO5. Explain the U.S. Constitution as it related to the separation of powers, checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the major principles of democracy. SLO6. Evaluate the Jeffersonian dream of expansion and its effect on Native Americans SLO7. Describe Jacksonian democracy and the creation of a two party system SLO8. Explain slavery and associated issues that led to the Civil War and its aftermath. Module Titles Module 1—Early American exploration and colonization (SLO1) Module 2—British colonies (SLO2) Module 3—Road to the Revolution and the American Revolution (SLO3) Module 4—Early Republic (SLO4 and SLO5) Module 5—Jacksonian America (SLO 6 and SLO7) Module 6—Road to the Civil War (SLO8) Module 7—Civil War (SLO8) Module 8—Shaping American history: Signature Assignment (all SLOs) Module 1 Early Exploration and Contact with Native Americans Welcome to HIS 120: U.S....
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...maintained as a fundamental right of the imprisoned, this protection has been tampered with in our history, making habeas corpus sometimes a casualty of our desire for security during times of crisis. Constitutional Principles Several constitutional principal are expressed through habeas corpus, the foremost being checks and balances and that the accused are afforded due process. The framers of the Constitution knew that governments become abusive of the rights of citizens when there is no power to check that abuse and when the treatment of the accused is arbitrary. The use of habeas corpus is in fact one of the few constitutional rights enshrined in the main body of the Constitution instead of the amendments, and is established in each state constitution as well. Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution provides that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of rebellion or invasion, when the public safety may require it. In some states suspension of the writ is forbidden in any case (House). What the framers of the constitution hoped for was to...
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