Constitution's Role: Union's War Resolution

The Constitution of 1787 was issued and ratified in the name of We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union. This came after the Revolutionary War, when James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that their young country was on the brink of collapse. The Articles of Confederation, which served as the United States' first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, and couldn't print money. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 proposed a new constitution that established a much stronger national government, which ultimately resolved the war between the Union.

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The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, established a league of friendship for the 13 independent states

The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies. It served as the nation's first frame of government during the American Revolution, and as America's first constitution. The Articles were debated by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia between July 1776 and November 1777, and came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 colonial states.

The Articles established a "league of friendship" for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power, Jurisdiction, and Right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States". The document outlines a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote. The Articles also established the name of the confederation as "The United States of America".

The Articles of Confederation were successful in uniting the states as a confederation, a loose league of states represented in Congress. However, they were considered too weak to establish an effective unifying government, and concerns were raised about their ability to preserve the Union. The Articles gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.

In May 1786, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina proposed that Congress revise the Articles of Confederation. Leading statesmen called for a special convention to revise the Articles, and in May 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to redesign the government. The new Constitution, which remains in effect today, established a much stronger national government.

The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to make rules and request funds, but it had no enforcement powers

The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, united the 13 colonies as a loose league of states represented in Congress. It was adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and established a "league of friendship" for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power...which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States".

The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers. Congress had no power to enforce attendance, rarely did more than half of the roughly sixty delegates attend a session of Congress, causing difficulties in raising a quorum. The Articles also couldn't regulate commerce, print money, or tax. This meant that there was no way to pay off state and national debts from the war years except by requesting money from the states, which seldom arrived. The central government had little power to settle disputes between states, and the country was on the brink of economic disaster.

The Articles did, however, enable the states to present a unified front when dealing with European powers. They also gave Congress the authority to regulate and fund the Continental Army, but it lacked the power to compel the states to comply with requests for either troops or funding. This left the military vulnerable to inadequate funding, supplies, and even food.

The inherent weaknesses in the confederation's frame of government frustrated the ability of the government to conduct foreign policy. The Articles were too weak to hold the fast-growing nation together, and many Americans saw the need for a more powerful central authority. In 1786, leading statesmen called for a special convention to revise the Articles, resulting in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which proposed a new constitution establishing a much stronger national government.

The states retained considerable power, and the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce, tax, or set commercial policy

The United States of America came into being between 1774 and 1789, when 13 colonies united to form a single nation. The Continental Congress (1774-1789) was the central institution for managing the struggle for American independence. However, with independence came new issues. How could 13 separate self-governed states unite?

The Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) were America's first attempt to govern itself as an independent nation. They united the states as a confederation—a loose league of states represented in a Congress. However, the Articles gave the Confederation Congress no enforcement powers, and it couldn't regulate commerce or print money. The states retained considerable power, and disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.

In 1783, as the Revolutionary War formally drew to a close, Congress faced a range of issues: disbanding the Continental Army, large debts owed by each state, foreign debts, the governing of territories won from the British, and establishing formal relationships with foreign countries. Many Americans saw the need for a more powerful central authority, as the Congress as defined by the Articles of Confederation was too weak to make the states obey congressional mandates.

In 1786, leading statesmen called for a special convention to revise the Articles—the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Convention proposed a new constitution establishing a much stronger national government. The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, which was essentially a treaty among sovereign states, with a new constitution ratified by the people themselves in state conventions rather than by state legislatures. The Founders provided the national government with powers it lacked under the Articles, and ensured it would be able to act on behalf of the citizenry directly.

The Commerce Clause refers to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and with the Indian tribes." Congress has often used the Commerce Clause to justify exercising legislative power over the activities of states and their citizens, leading to significant and ongoing controversy regarding the balance of power between the federal government and the states. The Commerce Clause has historically been viewed as both a grant of congressional authority and as a restriction on the regulatory authority of the States.

The Dormant Commerce Clause refers to the prohibition, implicit in the Commerce Clause, against states passing legislation that discriminates against or excessively burdens interstate commerce. For example, in West Lynn Creamery Inc. v. Healy, the Supreme Court struck down a Massachusetts state tax on milk products because the tax impeded interstate commercial activity by discriminating against non-Massachusetts citizens and businesses.

Courts have generally taken a broad interpretation of the commerce clause for much of United States history. In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court held that intrastate activity could be regulated under the Commerce Clause, provided that the activity is part of a larger interstate commercial scheme. In Swift and Company v. United States (1905), the Supreme Court held that Congress had the authority to regulate local commerce, as long as that activity could become part of a continuous “current” of commerce that involved the interstate movement of goods and services.

In the discussion of National Federation of Independent Business, Zhang wrote that “the renowned constitutional law professor Erwin Chemerinsky said [in 2009] the tax ‘is so clearly within Congress’s commerce power that it is not necessary to consider whether it fits within the taxing power.’” However, others disagree, arguing that a tax, duty, impost, or excise should not be considered constitutionally valid simply because it affects commerce.

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The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all 13 states, with each state having one vote in Congress, regardless of population

The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified by all 13 states on March 1, 1781. The Articles established a league of friendship for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power...which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States".

The Articles outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state had one vote, regardless of its population size. This was a point of contention, as disputes over representation, voting, and the western lands claimed by some states delayed ratification.

The Articles gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the ability to print money. The central government had little power to settle quarrels between states, and disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.

Recognizing the weaknesses of the Articles, leading statesmen called for a special convention to revise them, resulting in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which proposed a new constitution establishing a much stronger national government.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 proposed a new constitution establishing a stronger national government, which was eventually ratified by the necessary number of states

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was a significant event in American history, proposing a new constitution and establishing a stronger national government. The convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787, with the aim of addressing the weaknesses of the central government under the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation, America's first attempt at governing itself as an independent nation, had united the states as a loose league of states represented in a Congress. However, it lacked enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money, leading to disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade that threatened to tear the young country apart.

Recognizing the need for a stronger central authority, leading statesmen called for a special convention to revise the Articles, resulting in the Constitutional Convention. The convention was attended by delegates from 12 states, with Rhode Island being the only state that refused to send representatives. These delegates, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, sought to create a new frame of government. They elected Washington, a proponent of a stronger national government, as the president of the convention.

The convention debated and ratified the Constitution of the United States, establishing a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments. The new Constitution created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also addressed issues such as the payment of debts from the Revolutionary War and other domestic issues.

Despite provoking resistance, the proposed Constitution was eventually ratified by the necessary number of states. Copies were printed for review, and it was also published in newspapers for public scrutiny. The Constitution came into effect in 1789, serving as the basis of the United States Government ever since.

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