The Constitution of the United States is the highest law of the United States of America. It is the basis for American government. The constitution limits the power of government by using a system of checks and balances. This system prevents one of the three branches of government, (Executive, Judiciary, and Legislative) from overpowering one another. What made this document acceptable by so many people?
The amount of representation each state had would be based on population. Bigger states like New York and Pennsylvania were in favor of this plan because they would have a lot more power over the smaller states. The main opposition to this plan was the New Jersey Plan. William Paterson wrote the New Jersey Plan two weeks after the Virginia Plan was introduced. The New Jersey Plan said the legislature would be unicameral or one house.
The new American settlers brought with them a desire for democracy and openness. They left behind a history of tyranny and official control of information. Using this experience as their guide, the constitutional fathers wrote into their new Constitution a Bill of Rights, which contained the First Amendment. This Amendment was created so that the people would have the freedom to express themselves without worrying. Disagreement to the ratification of the Constitution was partly based on the Constitution's need of satisfactory guarantees for civil liberties.
Some political issues that arose from the ratification of the Constitution were that it gave the central government way too much power. It also lacked civil rights for the citizens and it didn’t have enough states behind it to elect the first president, therefore George Washington was appointed as the first President of the United States. When the ratification of the Constitution went through two major political parties were formed, the Federalists (Alexander Hamilton, believed in a strong central government and less power for the states) and the Anti-Federalists (Thomas Jefferson, believers in a weak central government and more individual powers to the states). These two political parties had different interpretations on who would have the final authority within the nation. Federalist were strong supporters of a powerful central government and limiting the powers of states individually, while the Anti-Federalists thought that a weak central government and more power to each state would benefit the nation better.
Representation in government is the very foundation of America. Taxation without representation was the most well known cause of the independence of the United States of America. The U.S. constitution set forth in Article 1 ways the people should be represented in government. For unlike a Democracy, where the people as a whole vote on decisions, America is a republic, where the people vote for certain individuals to represent the general populace in government. The real question is what exactly the forefathers envisioned when they set these regulations and qualifications for representation.
Legislative wise, he supported the New Jersey Plan where each state would have the same amount of representatives in congress regardless of their size, thus giving all states an equal vote. His positions on voting rights for individuals is not noted. Slavery: Gunning Bedford was generally against the idea of slavery and used his position of Federal
Also under this plan, representation in both houses of the legislature, known as bicameral, would be proportioned, according to population. The lower house, The House of Representatives, was nominated by the people, and the upper house, The Senate, was elected by the state legislatures. Both houses were represented proportionally. This plan clearly favored and was supported by the larger states. The New Jersey Plan also proposed that the government ought to contain three branches: the legislative, executive and judicial.
During the period from which the drafting of the federal Constitution in 1787 and the ratification in1789, Americans were involved in passionate debate on ratification. Though the Constitution is the supreme law of the United States, it lays the framework for the organization of the United States Government and its citizens. But some felt that the Constitution did not protect the individual rights of citizen well enough, this brought around the Bill of Rights. During this period, the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist, which were the two different factions in contention for power of the government had different ideas of what the Constitution, Bill of Rights and powers of government should be. Each party has their own beliefs on why or why not these documents should or should not be passed and what power is justified.
The free people of the United States elect representatives who can reflect their opinions and promote the common good of all. Theophilus Parson writes on translation of power between people and their representatives: “The majority of the representatives should also represent a majority of the people.” Government within the American regime, because of the equality of each citizen, should reflect the will of the majority, not the few. This prevents the tyranny of the few over the majority. Thus, the majority of people retain the authority of the regime. However, the Declaration of Independence states the founder’s beliefs about the abuses of any government, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it.” The power of the legislative representatives is limited by the will of the people, and thus the authoritative element still remains in the hands of the people within the republican structure of
First, do we need government and if so, what role should be its role? I began my paper by addressing these questions by looking at the United States Constitution. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” People are the ones working alongside government to carry out these mandates stated in this important document. Do We Need Government? If so, What Should be its Role Role of Government In responding to the questions Do we need government?