The American Revolution was the evolution of an independent nature, as colonists fought for the preservation of rights they believed essential to human nature. As stated in the historic Declaration of Independence, revolutionists acted on the basis of freeing themselves from a corrupt nation that no longer understood their needs as a people, and overlooked their rights to representation in the government. The colonies no longer belonged to the British, but were rather the United States of
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.
The Articles established the new governmental system that was going to be instilled. After the troubles that the states went through under the British flag the colonial government tried establishing a government with limited power over the American people. Rather than uniting the people of the United States the government established by the Articles of Confederation did the opposite. Instead it gave the individual states more power to govern themselves rather than giving the power to the federal government. It established a weak central government with strong individual state governments.
Kenneth Nicole Dr. John Smith Hist 1507 18 February 2014 Exam 1 Essay, 46 Pages Chapter 1 Declaration of Independence Summary As we all know that the Declaration of Independence was and still is so important to America because it formally declared that the thirteen colonies of North America were free and independent from British monarch. It was the beginning of the American Revolution, and formation of the federal government and a new United States of America. Shortly before Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine wrote the Common Sense which first printed in December 1775 and published to the mass audiences in February 1776. At the time of its publication in January 1776, Independence from England was still a goal that had not been decided upon and the process of creating a declaration was still in a heated debate between the delegates at the second Continental Congress. Paine pointed out why America should pursue independence from England.
The Articles of Confederation was American colonies first attempt to become unified under a single governmental entity. Designed to be weak, the Articles banded the 13 colonies in an attempt deal with problems such as foreign policy. At the time of the Articles of Confederation, the colonies were much divided and there were constantly opposing views on every action taken. The Articles of Confederation, on the positive note, was able to unify the American colonies in their fight against Britain and solve the land issues of Western lands. In a way we could see the Articles of Confederation as a stepping stone to something greater, the United States Constitution.
What were the major arguments that surfaced in opposition to the new Constitution proposed in 1787? How did supporters of the Constitution counter those arguments? Before the Constitution was proposed in 1787, under the Articles of Confederation, there was no control of the country; debt was piling up and there was no enforcement of taxes. Many arguments surfaced in opposition to the new Constitution, but the main concern had to do with the concept of a “president” where there was a single executive leader and centralized government, and that there was no bill of rights. Supporters of the constitution countered these arguments by adding some safeguards in some cases and also by thoroughly explaining the limited powers that the leader and government would have and the necessity for a strong central government.
The Articles of Confederation wasn’t working for the fifty-five individuals at the Constitutional Convention on May of 1787 in Philadelphia. Under the articles, there was no chief executive, court system, or a way to force the states to pay taxes. For Madison and his delegates, they were challenged by having to write a Constitution that was strong enough to hold the people and states together without letting one person or group, branch, or level of government gain to much control. How did the constitution guard against tyranny? The constitution guarded against tyranny by providing federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and big states vs. small states.
In the 1700s, Europeans saw numerous opportunities in the New World. They envisioned the colonization as a chance for them to live a free and prosperous life, but, in reality, the American colonists faced many setbacks. The tension between Great Britain and the New England colonies led to American Revolution. In Transcript of Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson acknowledged how the act of force was a rational option in order to obtain liberty from Great Britain; however, in The Rise and Fall of the Newburgh Conspiracy, George Marshall depicted how there is a more reasonable alternative to resolving problems within the new independent country. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson explained how governments should not be overthrown for petty reasons, but he believed the King of Great Britain had taken the situation too far.
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 previous Constitution, called the Articles of Confederation, gave state governments more authority. The Anti-Federalists worried that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government at the expense of the state governments, and that there was no Bill of Rights. (16) Patrick Henry argues for a Bill of Rights, “ the necessity of a Bill of Rights appears to me to be greater in this government than ever it was in any government before… Without a Bill of Rights, you will exhibit the most absurd thing to mankind than ever the world saw a government that was abandoned all its powers the power of taxation, the sword, and the purse.”(17) George Clinton argues that a republican style of government cannot ensure the rights of the people and will in turn; make the country into a monarchy. “ A consolidated republican form of government… divided against