Federalists justified the absence of a declaration of rights by arguing that the Constitution established a federal system with specific powers delegated to the national government and other powers reserved to the states. Massachusetts approved the Constitution in February, 1788, with a call for “certain amendments and alterations” to lessen “the fears and quiet the apprehension of many of the good people of the commonwealth.” Ratification debates in New York and Virginia showed the degree of opposition and ultimately lead to a promise of the inclusion of a Bill of Rights. James Madison introduced a series of amendments to the Constitution in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789. Federalists opposed on the same grounds as they argued in the ratification debates and further argued that it was inappropriate to amend the Constitution at this time. Some members of Congress argued that a listing of rights of the people was a silly exercise, in that all the listed rights inherently belonged to citizens, and nothing in the Constitution gave the Congress the power to take them away.
The compromise granted disproportionate political power to Southern slave states. (189) Virginia Plan “Large state” proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation. (188) Bill of Rights (1791) Popular term for the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The amendments secure key rights for individuals and reserve to the states all powers not explicitly delegated or prohibited by the Constitution.
This is the point in history where Alexander Hamilton’s rather aggressive support of the Constitution he was supposedly not entirely approving of and had no part in the drafting of, should give one pause for thought. He and two others began a covert, underhanded, and brilliant hard sell through publicly released anonymous essays, influencing public opinion through the media. As stated by Whitten (2010): The Federalist Papers were written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution. In total, the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed "PUBLIUS" and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining five.
The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, changed the method of voting in the Electoral College by requiring the electors to cast separate ballots for President and Vice President. (Originally, the electors voted for two candidates for President, with the runner-up becoming Vice President.) But the point of the amendment was to make party competition compatible with the separation of powers by securing the President's independence from Congress. Without that change in the Constitution, the power of electing the President effectively would have devolved from the people (represented indirectly in the Electoral College) to the House of Representatives, where ties between presidential and vice presidential candidates would be decided (as in 1800), and where all sorts of electoral mischief was
Under his administration came great changes, starting with the establishment of the Cabinet in 1789. Washington created the Cabinet to help him through his job as the president. He said no one person could run the country by themselves. The Cabinet consisted of a secretary of state, treasury, war and an attorney general. Many domestic ideas were formed and accomplished, and some would become major documents in the future.
Jefferson countered with the creation of the Democratic-Republican Party, supporting state’s rights and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Under this view, any power not specifically stated in the Constitution belonged to the states alone, and the federal government could not exercise it. The first board of the First Bank of the United States had twenty-five members. Three were U.S. senators, four were members of the House of Representatives, one was a doctor, and the rest were lawyers, merchants, and brokers. The Federalist Party held the majority of seats, with 80 percent of the board’s members hailing from the cities of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The first way is if two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate vote in favor of said amendment. All of the twenty-seven existing amendments have been proposed this way. (Sidlow & Henschen, 2012) The second way and amendment can be proposed is if two-thirds of state legislators call for a national amendment convention. In this case congress is required to call for such a convention,
The United States Constitution was the first constitution in the world. It was play an important of American history, marked America became a democracy country. Many events prompted Congress to approve the Constitution. Although America had defeat Great British and won the Revolutionary War, the United States government was weak. The 13 colonies followed the Articles of Confederation, but every state had its laws, so the government had not enough power to solve the problem between each states.
Constitution Paper In the wake of The Revolutionary war, The Continental Congress faced significant debt, economic challenges and lack of elected authority to resolve financial and trade issues. They resolved to form a legal framework in which they would have elected authority to print money, pay off war incurred debt, and manage trade. The Articles of Confederation were drafted between 1776 and 1777, by principal author John Dickinson, a lawyer who also wrote “Letter From a Farmer in Pennsylvania”. All thirteen American states ratified the Articles by the year 1781. While the Articles formed a representative governing body called The Committee of States, and outlined its authority to declare war, deal with international treaties, address
The American War- a Revolution or not? It is well argued by many historians that the great nation of the USA came into being by a civil war and not a revolution. A civil war is when two parties from opposite groups resort to force to decide who will govern a country. It might have partly been a civil war because it’s true that the Americans were fighting against the British. However it was the first time settlers of a colony had challenged their parent country and fought hard to win their independence, and by doing so set up a government with its own laws and constitutions- which is the perfect example of a revolution.