There is no doubt that the U.S. Constitution is one of the most politically intricate pieces of work in the world. It is astounding that a country has been able to continue to follow the guidelines that were provided in this document centuries later. The American Constitution and Bill of Rights was written with 18th century values and beliefs that are very different than the ones we hold today. However, it is the vague language that leaves room for interpretation and our government that has been essential for the original Constitution to continue to be successful. The U.S. Constitution was first introduced because of the failure of the Articles of Confederation, which lacked a strong central government and instead allowed Americans to govern themselves in their states …show more content…
We repeatedly hear politicians referring back to the Constitution to affirm their point, it was a political document in the 18th century and it continues to be one now. One of the reasons that the Constitution continues to be successful, is because of the vague language that allows a variation of interpretations. There are many parts of the Constitution that sound outdated, thus it can be difficult for it to apply to the 21st Century. However, we should not change the document, we should instead apply those words to our lives today. As David Savage, a Supreme Court reporter clarifies “And then there are phrases like cruel and unusual punishment. It seems to me that phrase almost asks judges or justices to think what's cruel and unusual punishment today? The fact that someone could have been put to death in the 1700s, the 1800s, for a theft, even if the person was 12 years old or 15 years old, how many people would think that that is not cruel and unusual punishment today, to execute a 12-year-old?” (Savage, Is The Constitution A Living Or Dead Document?)
The Founding fathers did not want to create a government with too much power so they created the Articles of Confederation. This government turned out to be a failure. In 1787, the founding fathers met again to create a new framework of government. Most people feared creating a government that was too strong. To create a new government there had to be many compromises, the U.S. Constitution is the result of these compromises reached in Philadelphia in 1787. The Articles of Confederation were too weak and created many problems which led to a stronger National government. Two weaknesses of the Articles of confederation were that Congress did not have the power to tax. Another problem was that the states had most of the power and the National Government had little power. Two decisions made by the
The Articles of Confederation, Adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777, for all practical purposes was the United States’ first Constitution. Created to establish a bond between the newly formed states, “...the Articles purposely established a "constitution" that vested the largest share of power to the individual states” (Early America). This ensured that the government did not have the majority of power. “...the Articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws...allowing the states retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence” (Early
The Articles of Confederation established the first national government of the United States after it declared independence from England. The American Revolution heavily influenced this document, as the American people refused to have another tyrant rule their country. From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government because of its lack of power to tax, raise an army, or regulate trade; however, it redeemed itself with the creation of the land ordinances of 1785 and 1787, and keeping the states united after the American Revolution.
The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified in the year 1787. Ever since that date, the document has enforced the laws set forth and created a base for the country to stand upon. The Constitution was created to provide strict, but amenable guidelines that Americans could follow, which could result in a functional country. Aside from the fact that the Constitution was written over two hundred years ago, the document is still necessary and relevant to modern times. The three branches of government, the First Amendment, as well as the Fourth Amendment, are all still present in today’s America. Many of the rules in the Constitution are still accordant to society today, primarily because of the perceptive founding fathers who created them.
To begin with, the US Constitution is the foundation in which the country was built on and what also held the country together in difficult times. The constitution was established to keep states from operating as independent countries, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. “Before Each state acted almost like an independent country. Each ran its own affairs exactly as it saw fit, with little concern for the needs of the republic. The
Following the United States’ independence from Great Britain, the Articles of Confederation were formed in order to hold the country together politically. The Articles proved inefficient, as Congress couldn’t collect taxes or regulate interstate commerce, the government couldn’t raise an army, there was no national currency and most importantly, there was no central government. But the spark that triggered Americans’ realization that they needed to call a constitutional convention happened after an event in Massachusetts in 1786, called Shays’ Rebellion.
The creation of the US constitution was prompted my many different things going on. What established America’s national government and fundamental laws is the U.S constitution. It also guarantees basic rights for its citizens. The U.S constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pa. The first document before the U.S constitution was the Articles of Confederation, with that the government wasn’t very strong and the states didn’t act like they do today. In 1787, at the 1787 convention, delegates made a decision to make a stronger federal government that consisted of the executive, legislative, and the judicial branches. That wasn’t it either, it also had a system of checks and balances because they did not want one branch to be able to overpower another branch. The ten amendments of the Bill of Rights guarantees protections for people like religion and freedom of speech. In total, there are twenty-seven constitutional amendments.
Created on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the first 13 colonies on March 1, 1781, the articles of confederation is known for being the first constitution of the united states. “The constitution provides a division of powers, meaning it assigns certain powers to the national government and reserves others for the states.” (crouse, slide 4) The constitution is needed because if we didn't have it the government would be weak and would most likely have no power. Framers of the constitution chose a system of government on a territorial basis, between a central government and several states. “ the framers were worried about the government being too powerful because; government power inevitably poses a threat to individual liberty. Therefore the
The United States Constitution was drafted up to help America grow as a country and be a country where everyone wanted to live. It was written as a guidline to follow to ensure its citizens rights and liberties, and their pursuit to happiness. There is a lot of controversy over the US constitution on whether or not some of the things in there are good or bad or what not. I think that the United States Constitution was very well written and it follows a very principalistic guidline and it has its own moral and principals. Just like the unalienable rights that everyone talks about. These rights are meant to stand for its people. They cannot be taken away from the government, they cant be tampered with by the government or anything like
The Constitution was created so one person or group wasn’t able to get too much power. At first, the Articles of Confederation was made. The Articles of Confederation was not working because the central government didn’t have enough power to protect the nation. The Constitution was made in order to hold the states together and the people together, and make sure the government doesn’t gain too much power. The Constitution guards against tyranny. Tyranny is “The accumulation of all powers…in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many” (Federalism Paper #47). The Constitution guards against tyranny by separation of powers, creating federalism, and having checks and balances.
“In November 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the United States first written constitution.”(Ginsberg, et. al. 2014: 35). The Articles of Confederation played a big role in the drafting of the United States’ new constitution. The articles were our United States’ first written governing document. The Articles of Confederation solved some problems by creating at least a minimal amount of government at the time, but it also created some problem for our country because we did not have enough government. As time went on, the Founding Fathers found the issues with the Articles of Confederation, sought ways to solve those issues, and created the Constitution as a lasting governing document.
After fighting for our country against Great Britain in the American Revolution, the United States gained independence. We had to figure out how to govern ourselves since we would no longer be under the power of the monarch. The Articles of Confederation was the answer to our problems; even though it established a very weak central government and had many problems, it was our first constitution and our first step towards a solid government. Some of the problems with the Articles included that the Congress had no power to tax, no power to regulate commerce, no power to regulate domestic affairs, no power to enforce laws, and many more. The problems lead to troubles with the States which convinced the Continental Congress to create a convention of delegated people to revise them; this convention was called the Constitutional Convention. The Convention fixed these problems by throwing the Articles out altogether and creating a new Constitution.
After the United States gained independence from Great Britain, the new country needed to form a strong government in order to prove that it can be successful without being under British rule. In order to do this, the US created the Articles of Confederation in 1781. However, this method failed due to the fact that it supplied the states with more power than the national government. In May 1787, delegates met up in Philadelphia to improve the Articles of Confederation. This meeting was called the Constitutional Convention, and is where the Constitution was born.
Initially, the Articles of Confederation was the first form of written constitution the United States had established. However, the Articles of Confederation had many flaws, one of the major flaws was it was establishing a weak government. Therefore, many important delegates through a committee decided to construct a new form of law that will inculcate a strong government. The result was the ratification of the Constitution (1788); the supreme law of the land. The constitution is broken down in three branches the legislative, executive, and the judicial branch all for the purpose for tyranny doesn’t surpass. Likewise, the constitution is constructs first with the preamble starting with the famous words” We the People of the United States,”
Before the United States had the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. was governed by the Articles of Confederation. The articles of confederation was basically stating that each form of government was functioned by congress. The articles of confederation was a huge breakthrough until many leaders became dissatisfied with how the government was centered around the articles of confederation. Around this time the U.S. really didn’t have a strong government to deal with all the challenges that lay up ahead. In 1787 an arrangement was made that the delegates at the time come up with a judiciary at the constitutional convention.