United States Constitution: A Milestone in American History

United States Constitution: A Milestone in American History

Question

Thesis Statement

The United States Constitution was a landmark of this period (Wilson). The Constitution was born out of religious beliefs and European thought processes. The purpose of this article is to examine the United States Constitution and its overall impact on society. In the next section of this paper, we first consider the events leading up to the creation of the US Constitution and present the main arguments against it. The impact of this debate on the Constitution is examined, and the differences between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation are pointed out. Finally, the paper focuses on the long-term impact of constitutions on nations. The United States Constitution is a powerful document that has revolutionized and influenced society.

The purpose of the research is to examine various aspects of the US Constitution and its overall impact on social structure.

The state constitutions, along with the basic laws, formed the central government of the United States and guaranteed certain rights to the citizens. The delegation signed the Constitution (Way) in 1787. America’s first government document, the Articles of Confederation, did not address national government. In fact they were weak, with many regions behaving like independent states (Ginsburg and Melton). Therefore, in 1787 the representatives drew up a plan for a strong government consisting of his three branches of executive, judicial and legislative branches.

The Constitution is also unique in introducing the concept of checks and balances to ensure that no department has more power than others. The Articles of Confederation was his 1781 ratification of America’s first constitution. This was an era when the nation was divided, each acted independently, and there was no single central power to unify the nation. The central government had only one parliament, and the Commonwealth had no president or judiciary. This provision only gave Congress the power to regulate foreign affairs and deal with war-related issues. It should be noted, however, that in practice these powers were limited, and Congress had no power to report to the states on military or financial aid.

After the Revolutionary Victory of 1783 had defeated Britain and gained independence for America, it was clear that the fledgling republic desperately needed a stronger government to maintain national stability. New York-born politician and lawyer Alexander Hamilton petitioned for a constitutional convention in 1786 to discuss the issue (Verstig and Zadkine). In February 1787, the Congressional Union approved the idea. As a result, all 13 states were asked to send representatives to the conference in Philadelphia.

Quality of information

The Constitutional Convention opened at what is now Independence Hall, formerly known as the Pennsylvania State Capitol. A total of 55 delegates, representing 13 states, excluding Rhode Island, attended but declined to attend, citing their opposition to central government intervention in trade. Post-Revolutionary War national hero George Washington was unanimously elected president (Moniz).

The chosen drafters were well educated and came from different strata of society: merchants, lawyers and bankers. As for religious philosophy, they were mostly Protestant, with six signing the Articles of Confederation and eight signing the Declaration of Independence. Representatives such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams attended the meeting (Witte and Nicholas). However, despite James Madison of Virginia keeping a detailed record of the event, reporters and visitors were limited to keeping the meeting secret.

Despite being mandated by the government to revise the Articles of Confederation, the delegates set out to carry out their duties and collectively proposed a new form of government. During the summer of 1787, heated debates and litigation stymied. A plan was drawn up to establish three government departments: executive, legislative and judiciary. A system of checks and balances was also introduced. The responsibilities and powers of each branch were strictly defined. The most controversial issue was that of national representation in the Central Assembly.

Smaller states wanted equal representation in state elections, while delegates in larger states wanted the people to determine representation. After much debate, the issue was resolved in the Connecticut Compromise, which proposed a bicameral legislature that secured proportional representation for the House of Representatives and equal representation for the Senate, later called the Senate. (Fishkin and Forbath). Another controversial issue was that of slavery. The Southern and Northern states jointly expressed their views on slavery, arguing that the issue was a state affair, that the state should not intervene in the situation, and that the constitution should not get involved in the matter.

After much debate, Congress decided that pre-1808 slavery, especially the slave trade, could not be outlawed and that the country should return runaway slaves to their owners. Her final draft constitution was 4,200 words, and all states, including Rhode Island, ratified her in 1790. The Bill of Rights was incorporated into the Constitution in 1791, guaranteeing a basic citizen’s right to a speedy trial by a citizen jury. etc.

Conclusion

Therefore, from the discussion above, we can conclude that the United States Constitution was a milestone in American history. From the above discussion, it is clear that there was much debate surrounding the drafting of the Constitution. As the discussion made clear, the Constitution turned out to be a product of circumstance. After the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution will finally come into force, and a strong unified central with three branches of executive, legislative and judicial, with proper and cross-cutting controls in the Constitution to ensure transparency and proper functioning. government secured. The impact of the US Constitution has a great impact on society. Brinks, Daniel M., Varun Gauri. “Magnificent Equality of Law? The Distributive Impact of the Judicialization of Social and Economic Rights.” Political Perspectives 12.2 (2014): 375-393.

Fishkin, Joseph, and William E. Forbath. “Anti-Oligarchic Constitution.” BUL Rev. 94 (2014): 669.

Ginsburg, Tom, James Melton. “Do Constitutional Amendment Rules Make Any Sense at All?” The Challenge of Measuring the Culture of Change and the Difficulty of Change,” Journal of International Constitution 13.3 (2015): 686-713. Levinson, Sanford, William D. Blake. “When Americans Consider Constitutional Reform: Some Data and Considerations,” Ohio St. LJ 77 (2016): 211.

Mestad, Ora. “The Norwegian Constitution and the Impact of the US Constitution on Immigration to America.” Essays on Norwegian Americans (2017): 27-44. Moniz, Amanda B. From Empire to Humanity: The Origins of the American Revolution and Humanitarianism. Oxford University Press, 2016.

Versteeg, Mila, Emily Zadkine. “Rethinking American Constitutional Exceptionalism.” University of Chicago Law Review (2014): 1641-1707. Yes, What Is the Jennifer Constitution? Rosen Publishing Group, 2015.

Wilson, Woodrow. constitutional government of the United States. Routridge, 2017.

Witte, John, and Joel A. Nichols. Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment. Oxford University Press, 2016.