Outline Although the founding of the Constitution was a revolutionary, positive turning-point in American history, the US Constitution has a few unconstitutional and democratic shortcomings. Introduction In order to understand the shortcomings of democracy of the US Constitution, is it is important to know the background of its’ founding and how each article serves our country. Federalist No. 10, written by James Madison, asserts the importance of having the image of a democracy without its real substance. There seems to have been a very strong opposition towards democracy at the Constitutional Convention, although the framers were in the midst of creating democratic principles to appeal to the majority of the country.
Because some populations are so high in certain areas, a large amount of the representatives elected to the House, anti-federalists feared, would be only the prominent and wealthy men of the area. This meant that even more power would be given to the government with the titles the men already had before being elected. Not only did the power of the government make the anti-federalists nervous, the lack of a bill of rights kept them agreeing with the constitution. They wanted a set rights guaranteed so that the central government didn’t have all the power that the anti-federalists were afraid of. The anti-federalist’s opposition to the constitution was
The Anti-Federalists’ strongest argument, however, was that the Constitution lacked a Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists warned that without a Bill of Rights, a strong national government might take away the human rights won in the Revolution. They had great apprehension about the potential loss of sovereignty through the power given to the national government in the proposed Constitution and the resulting horrific effects that such a loss would have on the nation and the people as a whole. The Anti-Federalist belief was that through the integrity of state sovereignty, effective restraints would be in place to keep the national government from deteriorating into a despotic government thus protecting the liberties and freedoms of the people. Anti-Federalist felt that the Constitution gave more power to central government and less to the states.
This was called the Assumption Plan. In order for Hamilton's ideas to work, he had to make the wealthy tied to the federal government, so that they would believe in his system. They would become more likely to help and give more money if they were tied to the system itself. Jefferson and his supporters opposed this plan because of their belief in the states having a greater power than the federal government, and this gave the federal government too much power. However, when Hamilton agreed to establish the nation's capital in the South along the Potomac River, Jefferson and his supporters agreed to the idea.
During the time of the revolution, John Dickinson drafted the first constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation established a central government that consisted of just one body, a Congress. There were many strengths and weaknesses of the Articles. Many of the strengths of the Articles included the powers to declare war, make treaties, and borrow money. However, under the Articles, the national government was weak and states operated like independent countries.
According to the Federalists, if the Constitution had parts to it that didn't work, it could be amended. This doesn't seem right, because if it was written by a group of Federalists, then clearly amending it will favor their views. At the Philadelphia Convention, the only type of people who could afford to make the trip was wealthy Americans, and the wealthy generally shared the views of Federalists. Federalists upheld that the Constitution provided a strong central government by the people; however, this was only partly true. The people of the United
So a chosen few were helped make this conceivable, the Founding Fathers. The principal Founding Father and furthermore known as our first President would be George Washington. Other than him being most fit for the main leader of the United States, there are such a significant number of more explanations behind his commitment to the Constitution. He had understanding from the Revolutionary War, and from that it persuaded Washington that over the top worries for states' rights and states purview would be deadly to a successful national government. He was at that point understanding that states' rights were essential which winds up noticeably crucial when choosing our new government for the United States.
Madison strongly encouraged a strong central government. He knew that absence of unity between the states and the lack of federal power under The Articles of Confederation negatively affected the entire country. Madison made sure that the new constitution would force the states to work together for a common goal instead of doing things for only their own individual benefit. After the Constitution was ratified in 1788, Madison started working on the first amendments to the Constitution. This
Many of the states were concerned about the government having too much power, and by allowing the citizens more power than just what was stated in the Bill of Rights, it ensures that the government will remain in check. The tenth amendment took power away from the federal government and gave more power to the states. This is what makes the American constitution so unique because it restricts the main government, unlike how it was in Britain. This was the most important addition to many representatives, as they would not sign the constitution because they feared the government would overpower the states, and it would be a repeat of everything they were trying to free themselves from. Luckily, the tenth amendment has made sure that will never
This view is ultimately a right wing argument; this is because that the right want a small government which would be ensured by strong checks and balance which promoted gridlock which is against the idea of certain branches being overextended as overextended powers lead to less gridlock which leads to larger government making this issue a right wing one. It can be seen that the powers of the executive have increased far past the intended levels in particular the president’s power can be seen to be increased for example the president has far too much power in terms of foreign policy i.e. the president is allowed to go to war without consulting congress if he/she doesn’t officially declare war, he/she can also negotiate with other foreign entities without the consultation of congress so the president essentially has as much power as they wish in