...James Madison was born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia. He had 11 siblings and his father was a gardener and he owned more than 3,000 acres of land. James Madison was about 5 foot 4 inches and weighed about 100 pounds when he grew up. He had brown hair and blue eyes. In 1769 James Madison went to the college of New Jersey and graduated in 1771 but stayed a while longer. When Madison returned to Virginia he got caught up with the British authorities and the colonies. Then in December of 1774 he was elected to the Orange Committee of Safety. He was the Orange County’s representative for the Virginia convention in 1776. He met Thomas Jefferson about this time. He had to serve on the committee that would write Virginia’s constitution....
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...James Madison was born on March on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia, to his parents, James Madison Sr. and Nellie Conway Madison. As a child, Madison often got sick and hardly ever left his mother’s side. Nellie Conway’s father was a rich tobacco worker, and that’s how James Madison Sr. obtained his wealth. Some of Madison’s most vivid memories were his fears of being attacked by Indians, during the French and Indian war (1754-1763) and he remembered the day when his family and he moved to a big house in Montpelier. Madison also suffered from psychosomatic, or stress induced, seizures or fits, that taunted him throughout his life. Madison was the oldest of twelve children, who loved and respected him; James Madison loved to read and write, and enjoyed studying classical languages. Madison was raised on the family plantation in Orange County Virginia. When Madison turned fifteen, he left Montpelier to attend the college of New Jersey, which later became Princeton; Madison had mastered two languages while attending the university: Latin and Greek. He completed his years of college in two years, but stayed at Princeton another...
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...Philadelphia in 1787. The purpose of that meeting was to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. There were fifty five men who were delegates, their purpose was to have the federal government strengthen. The delegates did not think that rewriting the Articles of Confederation would actually work out. Eventually they wrote the U.S. Constitution. George Washington was chosen to lead the convention. All of the delegates had to agree that every state would get one vote. They did not want anyone to know about what was going on during the convention meetings. The delegates made sure to keep everything a secret, anyone who was not a delegate were not allowed to attend any meetings. We have no written documents because they kept everything a secret of what had occurred during the meetings. The only details we have today is from a notebook that belonged to James Madison. However, James Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution.” He had also helped write the federalist papers. At the Constitutional Convention James Madison had done a very good job. When the delegates had to decided to write the “Bill of Rights” he was against it. James Madison was afraid that the future people would just go by those ten amendments that were listed in the “Bill of Rights”. James Madison had believed in a loose interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. The Virginia Plan was one of the two opposing plans for the government. This plan basically was an outline of the federal government we have today...
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...accordance with the customs of feudal| | | |law. ("History Learning Site ", 2000-2013). | | |Mayflower Compact |Mayflower Compact is one if the first governing document of |The Mayflower Compact called for equality amongst people and the provision of | | |Plymouth Colony. It was religious persecution by king James of |equitable access to rights and resources. The Constitution follows the same | | |England. ("Totally History Mayflower Compact ", 2012). |structures and provides citizens with inalienable rights that...
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...The Revolutionary Generation”, I could not understand why the author called the revolutionary generation “brothers”, but not “fathers” as usual. Now, after I have read the book, I understand why. Ellis did not write the history of the United States, he wrote the story of a group of men, whose remarkable personal qualities made possible the emergence of a new independent country. Although, the members of the group were different in their personalities, backgrounds and experiences, it seems like all of them shared a superhuman gene of the ability to change the history. Since Founding Father’s agendas on the political course of the U.S. had differed drastically, they were not friends and, often, even allies. However, the devotion to the U.S. independency was literary in their blood, so it made them...
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...The constitution was drafted by the national leaders in Philadelphia and then presented to the general public for consideration. The Constitution over the Articles of Confederation gave the federal government a whole new set of rules and shows just how much had changed since the Articles were put into place. The Constitution involved the people of America as well, because they had to decide to accept or not accept the new plan, this process of the people accepting the Constitution is called ratification (ushistory.org). Roger Sherman who was a Superior Court Judge was one of the men who helped write the Constitution and he had his own ideas regarding the Constitution. According to the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Sherman purposed a compromise that provided representation in the House of Representatives according to the population of the state and that the Senate would have equal numbers for each states. This idea was adopted into the constitution in 1787 and helped to resolve other issues that the Congress was dead locked...
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...Jay, and James Madison. On the other side, there were opponents of the Constitution (the Anti-Federalists). The Anti-Federalists thought the Constitution would give the government too much power and control; there was no Bill of Rights to protect the people and their rights from...
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...below. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |Written in 1215, the document was a series of written promises |The magna carta served as the first piece of legislature attempting to keep the | | |that the King would rule England and deal with the people |rights for the people fair. The Americans saw it and read about it and decided it | | |fairly according to feudal law. It was an attempt by the barons|was time America had “higher law” ideas and design a document to give the people | | |to stop the king from becoming an oppressor more than a ruler. |rights and to protect them from oppression, such as the people during the time of | | | |the magna carta were suffering. | |Mayflower Compact |The mayflower compact served as the document needed to keep the|Much like the magna carta, the mayflower compact was put into place to protect | | |Puritans and Pilgrims from...
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...Britain. Tom Pain states that, “it is only common sense that an island can not rule a continent (pg.3).” Many assumed that it was only natural that the thirteen colonies govern themselves. They figured that it would be a peaceful break such as the gaining of independence for Ghana or Canada. It was not until later on that the colonies realized that Britain would not easily hand over the land. What I find interesting is that only the Founding Fathers seemed to realize the great events taking place during their time. John Adams even instructed his wife to file and keep all of his records. It is as if he knew that hundreds of years from then, we the future Americans would look back at his notes and recognize his greatness. This makes me wonder why they were so sure of themselves. The Americans were at a disadvantage during the beginning of the war. How was it that they seem so certain that the war would end up in their favor? Ellis backs up my point by stating, “Men make history…, but they can never know the history that they are making (pg.4).” Every event in life can go two ways: really good or really bad. If the British were to take the...
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...the Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion involves two important components. The first is the prohibition on the “establishment of religion” by government- the separation of Church and State; and the second, ensures that the government allows for the practice of religion (Marroquin). Many important cases throughout history have also helped to further refine the limits of freedom of religion as laid out in the Constitution. This paper will discuss why freedom of religion was chosen as part of the Constitution. It will also provide the current law pertaining to this important part of the First Amendment. In the original Constitution, religion makes only one direct and obvious appearance that seems to point to a desire of religious freedom. That appearance is in Article 6, at the end of the third clause and states: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” (Mount) This is a statement that is simple and straightforward and applies to all offices in the entire United States, both state and federal. The framers of the Constitution thought that they had constructed a complete and comprehensive document. Many people disagreed. One of the big disagreements from the opposition to the framers was the lack of a bill of rights. Many of the framers felt that it was unneeded. Eventually, many supporters of the Constitution, including one of the most prominent, James Madison, agreed to support a bill of rights...
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...government and law. Our Constitution, once put into place, establishes three branches of government. It is important for all of Americans to understand why the founding fathers decided on three branches of government. It is also important to know what obstacles the division of power present for enactment of important legislation and how conflict has been characterized between supporters of a strong federal government and the supporters of state rights both in the past and now. The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787 by James Madison. This is considered the main law of the land. Any laws made for the country must agree with the Constitution. James Madison is the father of the constitution. Madison was the one that came up with the conspire that one branch could not have complete control. “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether on or a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-pronounced to very definition of tranny” (Spaeth & Segal 1999). This is when our three branches were born. In the Executive Branch we have our President, vice president, and all of the cabinet. Our president is allowed to make or laws, pass, or veto them. The legislative Branch has 435 representatives and 100 senators forming a party of 535 members of congress. This branch writes the laws and bills, then they sent out the law to the senator then to the representative and lastly to the president who can veto or sign it. The last branch is the Judicial...
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...real reason why we have the right to bear arms. Many people are too easily swayed by the government propaganda in the media. It is important to never give up one’s basic rights and freedoms. 2) I learned that I was correct in my assumption that not only is there no correlation between gun control and decreases in violent crime, but in fact it is the opposite. Many areas where guns are illegal have a higher rate of violent crime. My perspective on this subject was reaffirmed in every way while researching and writing this paper. 3) The most difficult thing I encountered while writing the paper was determining how to cite the various sources I was using. Many sources come from online news agencies. Also I was unsure how to cite some documents such as the Constitution and Bill of Rights. 4) I actually did not really enjoy this assignment because the topic I chose fills me with such emotion. I should have perhaps chosen a subject to which I had no emotional attachment. It infuriates me that some people are willing to just give up our rights, thinking that will make things better. 5) I almost did not write about this topic when I saw how many students were already writing about it. But after reading some of the posts on the forum and recognizing what appears to be ignorance by many people about why this is such an important subject, I felt compelled to voice my opinion. This subject is very dear to me, as I am always prepared to fight for our constitutional rights to be upheld...
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...into an actual functioning society, though there were certain things that they did have control over, such as create war and peace time, conduct foreign affairs and etc. But under the Articles, “But Congress could not collect taxes and enforce laws directly; it had to rely on the states to provide money and enforce its laws. . .”(Dye 61). Essentially, the states did what they felt was right beneath their own respective state level government. “No respect is paid to the federal authority. Not a single state complies with the requisitions[submitted by Congress]” (Nardo 18). The Founding Fathers were disturbed by the utter discord the nation seemed to be in. Deciding that enough was enough in May of 1797, twelve of the thirteen colonies delegates, 55 delegates, gathered together in the State House of Philadelphia to, originally, fix and tweak the bugs out of the Articles of Confederation. But instead of fixing the Articles, James Madison decided that it would be better to scrap the whole document and create a whole new federal constitution. James Madison was intent on drafting a new constitution that would create a stronger, central government: The Virginia Plan. “. . . he by no means wanted that government to be so powerful that it trampled on the cherished rights of the states. He foresaw instead a system in which the states and central government shared power in an equitable manner”(Nardo 18). Madison propounded the basis for the government today. Madison's plan called for the...
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...War of 1812 A war that defined North America The war of 1812, a war between the United States and Great Britain allies(United Kingdom and The Canadas ), lasted for two and a half years(1812-1815). It was a story similar to rags to riches, how the developing young nation United states had proved that its not an underdog any more opposing the then super power Great Britain, the greatest naval power of the world. It was a story that tells us why the ‘Father of U.S constitution’ James Madison is remembered for something else as well. It was a story that tells how a country earned respect and why winning is not everything and loosing is not the end. It tells us a story of how the not-so-popular Canada has fought for its independence. After all, it is not a story at all. The U.S army suffered many terrible loses in the war which includes the capture and burning of their nation’s capital Washington D.C, but not before giving up a tough fight and repulsing the British forces in New York, Baltimore and New Orleans. Though the war ended with many unsolved questions even after signing Treaty of Ghent, it is celebrated as a “second war of Independence” in United States. Cause of the war: The reasons behind a war can never be known to anyone accurately except the one who started it. Historians tried to find the complex reasons and multiple factors behind the decision of war. Out of the few immediate...
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...III) Articles of Confed a) Confederation b) Specific Terms c) General Results d) Shays Rebellion IV) Constitution a) 4 key debates B) Specific terms of the articles (about the national govt.) • Unicameral legislature • No power to tax • No power to raise army • No executive branch (could make laws but not enforce them) • No judicial branch • Unanimous vote needed to change Articles C) General results of the Articles • Weak and incomplete national govt. • Economic chaos o States fund the war by borrowing money from federal govt. o Govt. wants the money back o Economy dries up and leads to a “trade war” with competing interest o States taxes their own citizens since they can’t borrow money o People (mostly farmers) lose their possessions and property since they can’t pay taxes o Damages the economy even more since farm family is out of work • No sufficient national defense o Enemy 1 the British o French and the Spanish also potential threats o Native Indian tribes also potential threat • States are left largely on their own (13 separate states, no unity) D) Shay’s Rebellion 4 Key debates 1. Representation of the states (large population vs. small population) o States might be equal but not for individuals o Creates a Bicameral Legislation (2 houses) 1. Senate 2. House of reps (representation based on population) which is known as “the great compromise” o Defensive compromise; better at not getting stuff done than getting stuff done. 2. Slavery...
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