The Constitution of the States

The Constitution of the States

     The Constitution Convention means a gathering to make the final refinement of a successful government. One of the most influential on the Constitution was James Madison. He was called the “Father of the Constitution”. He had an idea that was to find a way to extend the local authorities.  The men who helped James to write the constitution were not interested in protecting popular sovereignty they were restraining it.

     James Madison, father of the constitution, once said “at once support…the national authority, and leave in force the local authority”. He studied philosophy and then he believes that people are naturally selfish creatures driven by powerful emotions and personal interest. The Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House was a very exciting scene.

        The Virginia Plan became the focus of discussion against which all other ideas were weighed. The Convention became divided and the creation of a bicameral, two houses, and national government was created. Representatives were send in proportion to the number of citizens. They tax its citizens and it would have the power of veto. Veto was an idea that frightened some because it would give the national government greater power than the state.

       New Jersey Plan was a plan that gives Congress the power to tax and would create executive and judicial branches equal vote in a unicameral congress.  This plan ensured that the states would remain the most powerful governments in America. The Great Compromise was on July 16, the legislative branch would be made up of two houses. One house was called the House of Representatives that each state would have a number of representatives that corresponded to the size of its population. The second house was called Senate and every state would have an equal number of representatives. The Three- fifth Compromise enslaved people would be counted, but then the total would be multiplied by three fifths.

     The constitution called for a separation of power among the three branches.  The power of government at the national level would be divided among legislative, executive and judicial branches.  Each branch would be able to check, or stop, the others in certain way. The Congress power made two third votes of both houses. This government structure is known as the system of checks and balance.  Each state would have as many electoral votes as it had members of Congress. Whoever received the majority of the votes in the meeting of the electors, the Electoral College, would become President.

      Supporters of the Constitution were called Federalist. They had been nationalist. Leaders included George Washington. They stood for a strong federal government and its most influential statement was “The federalist” by Hamilton Madison. They argued that without the united stated would be degenerated. In the Federalist Number Ten, no one faction would be able to control the government. The Anti- Federalist was certain that the new government would be the death of American liberty. Was lead by old revolutionary figures like Patrick Henry. They condemned the constitution as betrayal of American Revolution. They feared more the government that the people. They objected to the new federal court system. For the Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation, nine states had to ratify or approve it. In December 1791 the resulting ten amendments became part of the documents, they are known as the Bill of Rights.

       Thomas Jefferson was the secretary of state. Jefferson supported the Constitution and the addition of a Bill of Rights. Then he became the president of the United States. Washington chose Jefferson to be secretary of state because he had experience dealing with France, still the closest ally of the new republic. Alexander Hamilton was also a Treasury Secretary. Jefferson and Hamilton were on a collision course. Jefferson never trusted government and remained idealistic about the people and Hamilton believed that the government power, properly used, could accomplish great things.

    One of the most influential on the Constitution was James Madison. The Great Compromise was on July 16, the legislative branch would be made up of two houses. One house was called the House of Representatives and the second house was called Senate. Supporters of the Constitution were called Federalist. Anti- Federalist was certain that the new government would be the death of American liberty.  Thomas Jefferson and Hamilton were both secretaries with different believes about government.

James Madison

The Revolutionary Era

The Revolutionary Era

     War of Independence was political and social changes on United States accompanied with American Revolution. It all started on April 19, 1775 when 10 men stood on the center of Lexington, called minutemen. They organized as a defensive force. Before the war of Independence a war took placed called French and Indian war. That war affected United States in many ways.

     This affected a lot of people including the colonial leader George Washington. So they decided to be independent, the main causes were: The end to salutary neglect, the Stamp Act Crisis (merchants and artisans joined together in a boycott), they started to resist to slavery. By 1770, growing numbers of Americans were convinced that British politicians were engaged in nothing less that robs their own independence. Protest groups start complaining because British were taxing to take them away their properties and make them into what amounted to slaves.

    In the late 1760s British troops occupied Boston. Tensions between soldiers and townspeople exploded in the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. With all this problems with the British troop the Parliament passed the Coercive Act in 1774 to punish the colony of Massachusetts. Among other people this act was called Intolerable Acts that virtually shut down individual town governments and the colonial legislature.

   The Revolution itself began long before the war and continues long after the war ended. It announced the creation of new society committed to such powerful ideas as equality and democracy. Two documents spread democratic ideas, the first one was written by Thomas Paine. His book was called Common Sense and it was published in 1776.  The second one was Thomas Jefferson he wrote the Declaration of Independence. When the declaration of Independence was approved many African Americans and white women began to apply the idea of equality to them. One of the women who did so was Abigail Adams.

         After scattering the rebels or Patriot, as the Americans preferred to call themselves from Lexington Green. Furthermore, a great many colonists, called Loyalists or Tories. John Adams estimated that one third of Americans were rebels, one third Tories, and one third neither. The French officer the Marquis de Lafayette, who fought alongside the Americans, later, persuaded the French to assist with an army of 6,000 men. Another European was also vital to the American cause: the Prussians officer Baron von Steuben.

     Faced with rising opposition at home, a new British government began negotiations that result in the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Even when goods were available, it was not always possible to purchase them, due to inflation, or a steady increase in prices over a period of time that reduces people’s ability to buy goods.

     A confederation is an alliance of states formed to coordinate their defense and their relations with foreign governments. To govern the United States, the Continental Congress created a set of laws called the Article of Confederation. This Continental Congress passed laws and tried to make sure they were enforced. Thus it combined the functions of a legislative branch, executive branch and judicial branch. Legislative is the part makes, executive is the part that executes or puts into actions the laws passed by a legislature and judicial is the part of government that judges whether laws have been broken.

     One example was the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. At first the representatives served in a unicameral legislature that is only one house and furthermore became a bicameral legislature that was two houses. The Nationalists were a group of men working to make the national government stronger. The nationalists were former military officers, members of Congress, merchants, planters, and lawyers.  The Shays’s Rebellion was struggle over debts and taxes.  So they started to tax the people and the Americans got on rebellion.

    There were many changes for Americans to get the independence. They worked together to make different acts and constitutions to agreed on and make their country independent. When the constitution was approved the voices of the people were heard and the power was well organized on legislative, executive and judicial branch and they divided the congress in unicameral and bicameral.

                                                      John Adams and Thomas Jefferson