Omar Bennett
The US Constitution was written and signed in 1787, superseding the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation had created a loose confederation of sovereign states, giving 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. This led to disputes among the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young country apart. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, along with other nationalists, worked towards strengthening the federal government and revising the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, and the new Constitution was signed by 39 delegates on September 17, 1787, creating a powerful central government with a system of checks and balances.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main purpose | To replace the Articles of Confederation, which had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, and couldn't print money |
| Date written and signed | 1787 |
| Date superseded the Articles of Confederation | March 4, 1789 |
| Number of articles | Seven |
| Amendments | Proposals must be adopted by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or a national convention requested by two-thirds of state legislatures; ratification requires three-fourths of states' approval |
| Ratification | Ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government |
| Separation of powers | Legislative, executive, and judicial branches |
| Checks and balances | Ensures no one branch has too much power |
| Federalism | Divides power between state and federal governments |
| Rights | Freedom, speedy and public trial, protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, due process of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and more |
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What You'll Learn
The failure of the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the authority 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 Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments.
The Articles of Confederation's shortcomings became increasingly apparent, and the young country appeared to be on the brink of collapse. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart. There were also divisions among the states and local rebellions, such as Shays' Rebellion, which was caused by excessive land taxation, high legal costs, and economic depression following the American Revolution.
Nationalists, led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Jay, and James Wilson, began working toward strengthening the federal government. They believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation's challenges. Madison wanted a strong central government to provide order and stability, while maintaining state power when "subordinately useful".
To address these issues, Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, and the new Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. The delegates created a powerful central government, representing a compromise between wildly different interests and views.
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The need for a stronger central government
The United States Constitution was written in 1787, and ratified by the states in 1789. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, which had created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government.
The Articles of Confederation had several flaws, including a one-house legislature, a weak executive, no national power of taxation, a lack of standard currency, and voting by state. This led to states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young country apart.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, along with other nationalists, believed that a stronger central government was necessary to address these challenges and prevent the country from collapsing. Madison, in particular, wanted a strong central government to provide order and stability, while maintaining state power only when "subordinately useful".
To achieve this, Madison and Hamilton worked to revise the Articles of Confederation. They helped organize a Grand Convention of state delegates, which assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, was tasked with revising the existing government but ultimately created a completely new one. The new Constitution established a powerful central government, with a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch had too much power.
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State disputes and rebellions
Nationalists, led by James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Wilson, recognised the need for a stronger federal government. They sought to address the issues of state disputes and rebellions by revising the Articles of Confederation and creating a new constitution.
One significant rebellion that influenced the push for a stronger national government was Shays' Rebellion, led by Daniel Shays in 1786 and 1787. This uprising of indebted farmers and labourers in Massachusetts was caused by excessive land taxation, high legal costs, and economic depression following the American Revolution. The protest exposed the shortcomings of state governments and highlighted the need for a stronger central authority to curb excesses and ensure equity.
The disputes and rebellions during this period demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation in maintaining order and stability. As a result, the nationalists worked towards convening a constitutional convention to address these issues and create a new governing framework for the nation.
The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, was held in Philadelphia in 1787. The convention brought together delegates from the states to discuss and ultimately draft the United States Constitution, which aimed to establish a stronger central government while balancing the powers of the federal government and the states.
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The desire for a democratic government
The US Constitution was written in 1787, and ratified in 1789, to replace the Articles of Confederation, which had been America's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation 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.
The US Constitution was designed to establish a strong central government to provide order and stability. The Federalists, who supported the Constitution, believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation’s challenges. The Anti-Federalists, who opposed it, fought hard against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government that reminded them of the one they had just overthrown, and it lacked a bill of rights.
The US Constitution is a blend of democratic processes and representative governance, designed to ensure that the nation adheres to the desires of its citizens, and to a larger, enduring legal and ethical framework. It is a constitutional republic, a form of government that involves representatives elected by the people, who execute their duties under the constraints of a prevailing constitution that specifies the powers and limits of government.
The US Constitution combines representative democracy with foundational laws that protect individual rights and minority opinions against the potential tyranny of the majority. This system was chosen over a direct democracy, which was deemed impractical and potentially volatile. The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III).
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The influence of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a statement of the principles on which the US government and the identity of Americans are based. It is not legally binding but has been described as "a rebuke and a stumbling block to tyranny and oppression". The document continues to inspire people worldwide to fight for freedom and equality.
Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, stated that it contained no original ideas but was a statement of sentiments widely shared by supporters of the American Revolution. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, strongly influenced Jefferson, and ideas and phrases from this document appear in the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence has also been said to be influenced by de Vattel's "The Law of Nations", a book that was, according to Benjamin Franklin, "continually in the hands of the members of our Congress". The book emphasised the importance of independence in statehood, and so the primary purpose of the Declaration was "to express the international legal sovereignty of the United States".
The Declaration of Independence has proven to be internationally influential, particularly in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789). It also influenced the Russian Empire, playing a role in the Decembrist revolt and other Russian thinkers.
The US Constitution superseded the nation's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, on March 4, 1789. The Constitution was written following the Revolutionary War, during which time the young country was on the brink of collapse. The Articles of Confederation 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 Constitution was written to address these issues and to provide a stronger central government.
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Frequently asked questions
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington believed that the US was on the brink of collapse. The Articles of Confederation, the US's 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, or print money.
The US Constitution's main goal was to put governance in the hands of the people. It also aimed to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.
The US Constitution created a powerful central government. It separated the powers of government into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial. It also set up a system of checks and balances to ensure no one branch had too much power.
The US Constitution was ratified by 9 of the 13 states, with the Federalists needing to convert at least three states. Ratification by three-fourths of the states (38 of 50) is required for an amendment to become an operative part of the Constitution.
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