...Constitution Paper Kevin Walters HIS/110 October 13, 2014 Kellie Rainka Constitution Paper The United State began acting as so during the Revolutionary War, even before the Articles of Confederation were drafted and ratified. By understanding how the Articles of Confederation came to be, one can see why the Constitution was needed. The Constitution addressed weaknesses within the Articles of Confederation and it addressed the complaints regarding the Declaration of Independence. It included Great Compromise, which outlined how the states would be represented in Congress. The Articles of the Confederation were drafted between 1776 and 1777 because the Continental Congress had been acting on behalf of Americans without having the authority to do so (Schultz, 2012). “In the absence of a federal government, theContinental Congress had assumed a number of rights and responsibilities, such as creating theContinental Army, printingmoney, managing trade, and dealing with debt” (Schultz, 2012). The Articles of Confederation lacked in certain areas, however, and did not really create any new ideas. The Articles of Confederation essentially just put on paper how it was in America at that time. The Articles of Confederation did not give the central government much power at all with most of the power residing at the state level. Initially, the central government included only one representative per state, making up the “Committee of the States” (Schultz, 2012). ...
Words: 876 - Pages: 4
...Constitution Paper Tiffany Sky Mendoza March 2, 2015 HIS/110 Davon Bissonette Constitution Paper There are four weakness in The Articles of Confederation. One week after the Declaration of Independence. Continental Congress started working on the Article of Confederation for the independent America states. The ideal was to bring the thirteen states together and at the same time allow each state to remain independent. Unfortunately, the Article of Confederation was failing apart for several reasons. First, they had nothing in place to collect funds from the states or state citizens. Second, the national government did not have a way to regulate commerce. Third, the governments were unable to conduct foreign affairs. Another works had a difficult time speaking to other nations with one voice (unified). Forth trying to change the Article was to make difficult make changes. Why? Well, there had to be a unanimous vote meaning most of the thirteen states had to vote yes. One of those changes was to have the national government the power to collect taxes, this would improve the situation. Unfortunately, there was a very small change so it would be approved. Another problem within the national government was a lack of leadership and accountability. The issue came to a head in 1768 when the deep depression in Massachusetts. Constitution Paper Then how the Constitution addressed the complaints in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was the one that listed...
Words: 1142 - Pages: 5
...Constitution Paper By: Leona Amos Class: His/115 Instructor: Jonathan Tietz Date: March 23rd, 2013 The Constitution was supposed to be the “right hand man” to the Declaration of Independence. Simply because when problems arose from the Declaration of Independence by some people the Constitution stepped in. You see, on May 14, 1787 there was a meeting at the State House for the Federal Convention to revise the Article of Confederation. From what I have read it was simply because it took several days for each delegates of each state to talk and give their opinions on problems and on the Constitution itself that they decided to make a new frame of the government instead of amending the existing articles. But it was also to help depend on how much power each state has accordingly. But before the constitution was established the 13 states had brought up a huge amount of debt from fighting off the British for Independence. All of the 13 states all except Connecticut and Rhode Island became part of the Constitution. Rhode Island and Connecticut had created their own Constitution. Pretty much for the Articles of Confederation the Constitution fell down to war as the last resort of addressing the weakness for the Articles of Confederation. But the Articles of Confederation didn’t come in to play or was created until probably half way through the Revolutionary War. So in order for the Articles of Confederation to be fully entitled to work would only be if all thirteen states...
Words: 831 - Pages: 4
...Constitution Paper In the creation of the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including defensive and understanding reactions. The constitution provided the rights of people, as well as laws of the land. The attention of the document was aimed towards problems the country was facing. However, the document itself was very challenging because it lent itself to many different opinions, views, and interpretations, depending upon who the reader was. It is no puzzle that the founders’ perspectives as, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution. Most of the issues in the document were due to cultural, economic, and racial, lifestyles that our country continuously supports, even if unintentionally. Some of these issues were lessened by this document though, and diligently attempted to accommodate all state’s requests. The underlying meaning and idea of the constitution was manipulated in order to protect peoples’ interests economically and also their slave owning men's interests by drowning out the voices others. (women, servants, slaves, etc…) The original Constitution that was created had stronger central than it did state governments. Congress had power over, trade between states, taxes, army raising, commerce of interstate, and much more. A government of three branches was established. The judicial branch handled federal issues and disputes; the President was in charge of the legislative and executive...
Words: 774 - Pages: 4
...Constitution Paper When we look at the Declaration and the Constitution, we can see many differences between the interests and intents that these two documents had. The Declaration appears to emancipate the colonists, and the Constitution is about revoking the revolutionary presence. The colonists wanted to alienate themselves from Great Britain and the Declaration gave them this. Th Constitution planned for a new government that yielded considerable power; which is what the early republicans wanted. The thing that separated the two documents was the contrast between the Hamiltonian Federalism and the Jeffersonian republicanism. Many of the men who decided against signing both documents did so because of their acceptance of the Articles of Confederation. If we had noticed that the same men had signed both documents were the same, it would have seemed that the Jeffersonian republicanism had more of a significant role in the Constitution, which could have made it seem that the government was established on principles of the Declaration rather than creating a liberal capitalist monolith. The philosophy of the Declaration was that of a revolutionary outlook on government concentrated on the rights of citizens and detaching from the repression and tyranny. Alexander Hamilton outlined the Constitutions philosophy in the Federalist Papers; the Constitutions philosophy was the notion of Federalism. The Declaration was a long list of complaints made by the colonists against...
Words: 295 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 703 - Pages: 3
...US History to 1865 Paper By: Nicole Riedy HIS/115 January 6, 2014 Instructor: Amy Obszarski Constitution of the United States During the 1700’s men such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson came up with a group of laws that they thought would benefit the people of the Americas. There were a few complaints with the Decoration of Independence that the Constitution was able to address and at the same time the Constitution was able to identify and address weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. There are many reasons as to why the Constitution evolved but it served well for the United States. The Great Compromise was a formal agreement for both large and small states to have two representatives in the upper house for each state. The Connecticut Compromise or as it is most likely known as The Great Compromise, was written in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention by Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman. The Constitutional Convention set up it to where each state would be able to have their own congressional representation and legislative structure. The Great Compromise also required that each state be represented by two representatives within the upper house and that representation in the lower house be equal between all states. This congressional congress session went on for seven long weeks and was almost ruined or destroyed by the issue of representation. The states still argues that they were providing more of a contribution to the financial and defensive...
Words: 1298 - Pages: 6
...Constitution Paper HST/155 January 25, 2016 Andrew Cramer Constitution Paper After the Revolution, citizens of the United States were free of British rule, but found themselves in need of a government to keep peace and prosperity among the different states. The Articles of Confederation was finally put into place in 1777 that was intended to do just that. However, not all states agreed with the Articles of Confederation. At that time, each state counted for one vote regardless of size, which was fine for smaller states, but the larger ones felt that their votes should have more say in matters due to its larger population. Congress had little power to tax for much needed funds, nor to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. When Congress would pass laws, there was no executive branch of government to enforce the laws. There was no national court system when issues would arise and any amendments to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote (Barker, 2012). Each state wanted its own individual power and money and rejected any idea of one government controlling them all. This caused problems with the economy because states did want to give up its own money to a central government. They felt like it would turn into something similar to the British Monarchy. With each state printing its own money and having their own military, it was difficult, if not impossible for the government to create any unity among the states (The Articles of Confederation, 2015)....
Words: 1194 - Pages: 5
...The Constitution of the United States of America is a document that notes the supreme laws of the U.S. The creation of the Constitution addressed and corrected many issues. The U.S Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787.This document established America’s nationwide government and the essential laws. (The U.S. Constitution, 2014) It also assured some basic rights for the citizens. Before the Constitution was established, there were many issues which were argued politically. There were many laws that were of conflict between states, courts, and branches. The Constitution helped to shape those conflicts caused by previous documents that lacked the necessary foundation that were argued. Problems and weaknesses of Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation were the two documents that was addressed and corrected by the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence was the founding document granting the thirteen colonies their independence. The Declaration of Independence had many grievances that were addressed by the U.S Constitution. The grievances were corrected by the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 addresses the imposing on taxing without the consent of the civilians. The main problem was of taxation without representation. This is the power to tax and to spend the money raised by taxes, to provide for the state’s defense and general welfare. This was supported by the 16th amendment. Congress was able to levy an income tax. The Article...
Words: 667 - Pages: 3
...Constitution and System of the State Paper POL215 September 19, 2011 Benjamin Bolger Constitution and System of the State Arkansas state constitution is divided into nineteen articles. Article one deal with the boundaries of the state. The boundaries of are Arkansas begins at the main channel of the Mississippi River, west with the southern boundary line to Missouri and west to the north bank of the Red River. Article two is declaration of rights, in my opinion they are the similar to the bill of rights and remaining amendments of the United States Constitution. Article three is the Franchise and Elections, it basically the guideline for individuals that would like to become elected officials. Article four is the Department, breaks down the department and state that no other person can exercise any power over another. Article five is the Legislative department; power of the people of the State shall be vested in a General Assembly. “It consist of the Senate and House of Representatives, but the people reserve to themselves the power to propose legislative measures, laws and amendments to the Constitution, and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the General Assembly; and also reserve the power, at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any entire act or any item of an appropriation bill ("Arkansas State Constitution Of 1874", 2011).” Article six is the executive department, “it consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary...
Words: 847 - Pages: 4
...Constitution and Systems of the State Paper 2Texas Constitution vs. U.S. Constitution the Constitution was created by the founding fathers for two purposes. The Constitution is to establish a federal government for the United States and to delegate limited powers to the federal government. Serving as basic principles of government for the nation, the Constitution implies laws, customs and institutions within one single document. The U.S. Constitution was completed on September 17, 1789 (University of Texas Austin, 2009). A simple way to describe the Constitution is to recognize it as the states being the boss of the federal government. Just as manager is hired to oversee and ensure that the rules and regulations of a company or business are followed, the responsibility of the Constitution is the same. Many states have individual Constitutions that mirror the U.S. Constitution. The Texas Constitution is very similar to that of the United States by establishing the basic laws under that of which its citizens are administered. The Constitution used today was first adopted in 1876. The Constitution has been amended 439 times and consists of 17 amendments. A closer view of the Texas Constitution reveals the main articles of the state. In additional, the relationship between the U.S. Constitution and the state of Texas Constitution is compared. Next is an analysis of services the judicial, education and social systems provide. Finally, an analysis of the system effectiveness is made...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
...The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787. It went into effect on May 4, 1789, when it was ratified by 9 of the 13 original states. By 1791 the other four original states had ratified the Constitution. The Constitution was a progressive document. A country had never before placed such limits on government and allowed such broad guarantees of freedom for its people. The U.S. Constitution divides the federal government into three branches. These branches are the legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch has two houses, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. The executive branch is the president and his or her cabinet and staff. The executive branch also includes the staff of all of the government departments and agencies....
Words: 1903 - Pages: 8
...How Did the Constitution Guard Against Tyranny? Tyranny: (noun) /ˈtirənē/ 1. cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control. 2. cruel and oppressive government or rule. Before the Revolutionary War America was under a tyrannical rule by Britain. The people became upset with this and revolted as a result. Now these people have won their war and now need to form a government that will stop tyranny from becoming a problem in their new nation. The constitution guarded against tyranny by using the political theory of federalism, by separating powers into branches, having each branch check and balance each other, and giving small and large states a say. The first way that the constitution guarded against tyranny is by using the theory...
Words: 525 - Pages: 3
...How did the Constitution Guard Against Tyranny? By: Eryn Keenan The United States went to war with Brittan to break away from a tyrant, so the new government was designed to prevent this. Our Constitution prevents tyranny in many ways. James Madison defined a tyranny as “a harsh absolute power in the hands of one individual-like a king or dictator”. Since the Articles of Confederation were failing in May, 1787, 55 delegates met in Philadelphia. Instead of adjusting the existing articles they decided to create a new constitution that would completely guard against tyranny. The Constitution prevented tyranny in many ways such as federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the equality of states. The first way the delegates...
Words: 579 - Pages: 3
...Do you know how the constitution guards against tyranny?A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. The constitution for the us was wrote on June 21, 1788 in Philadelphia at the Convention.Tyranny is the cruel and oppressive government or rule. The Constitution guards against tyranny by using four important practices: federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and by ensuring representation of large and small states. Federalism divides power between a central government and the state governments. Our federal government has three parts. They are the Executive, (President and about 5,000,000 workers) Legislative (Senate and House of Representatives) and Judicial (Supreme Court and lower Courts). The President of the United States administers the Executive Branch of our government.The two bottom corners are the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch – also called Congress. Each part of the government is connected to the other. Each has its own responsibilities and powers. A system of checks and balances prevents one branch from gaining too much power....
Words: 506 - Pages: 3
