Malcolm Rivera
The United States Constitution has been amended several times since its inception, but several issues from its original text remain unresolved. The Articles of Confederation, which served as the country's first constitution, were replaced in 1787 due to their limitations. The new constitution aimed to address issues such as the central government's lack of authority to regulate commerce, the absence of a common currency, and the inability to settle Revolutionary War-era debts. However, the new constitution also faced opposition, particularly from Anti-Federalists who viewed it as a reminder of the overthrown central government and criticized it for lacking a bill of rights. Despite its promise of freedom, the new constitution excluded marginalized groups, including Black and Indigenous people, and failed to directly address the issue of slavery, instead postponing the decision to ban the slave trade until 1808. The delegates agreed to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation, highlighting the contradiction between the ideals of freedom and equality and the reality of ongoing slavery and racial discrimination.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Lack of authority to regulate commerce | Congress lacked the authority to regulate commerce, making it unable to protect or standardize trade between foreign nations and the various states |
| Lack of a common currency | States had their own money systems, making trade between states and other countries difficult |
| Inability to settle Revolutionary War-era debts | The central government and the states owed huge debts to European countries and investors |
| Lack of enforcement powers | The Confederation Congress had the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers |
| Inability to conduct foreign policy | States were able to conduct their own foreign policies, but the Confederation government lacked the power to enforce its authority |
| Inability to raise funds | Congress could not raise funds without the voluntary agreement of the states |
| Slavery | The issue of slavery was central to debates over commerce and representation, with the "Three-Fifths Compromise" counting 60% of enslaved people in each state towards congressional representation |
| State vs. federal powers | A central issue was whether the federal government or the states would have more power, with many fearing that a strong federal government would oppress citizens |
| Lack of a bill of rights | The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution due to its lack of a bill of rights |
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What You'll Learn
Congress lacked authority to regulate commerce
Congress lacked the authority to regulate commerce under the Articles of Confederation, which was the first American constitution. This meant that Congress was unable to protect or standardise trade between foreign nations and the various states.
In 1784, Congress requested that the states grant it limited power over commerce for 15 years, but many states did not comply. The following year, 27-year-old delegate James Monroe stressed the need for increased congressional power over commerce. Congress appointed a committee, chaired by Monroe, to investigate the problem. The committee recommended amending the Articles of Confederation to give Congress power over commerce, but few states responded.
Monroe later concluded that the issue was so crucial, and potentially granted so much power to Congress, that the states were afraid to act. The lack of centralised power to regulate commerce meant that individual states competed against each other economically. They issued their own currencies and levied taxes on each other's goods when they crossed state lines, making trade between states extremely difficult.
The Articles of Confederation formed a war-time confederation of states, with a very limited central government. The document made official some of the procedures used by Congress to conduct business, but many delegates realised its limitations. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
The Federalists believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation's challenges, while the Anti-Federalists fought against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government that reminded them of the one they had just overthrown.
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States had their own money systems
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 lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the ability to print money. The states each had their own money systems, which made trade between them and other countries extremely difficult.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the individual states competed against each other economically. They issued their own currencies and levied taxes on each other's goods when they crossed state lines. This led to a lack of trust in paper money, as it was often regarded as fraudulent due to extreme depreciation and a lack of redemption.
The founding fathers, including Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington, believed that promoting free commerce across state lines and nationalizing the economy would make America an economic powerhouse. They sought to revise the Articles of Confederation, addressing issues such as representation, state versus federal powers, executive power, slavery, and commerce.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 agreed to bypass the state legislatures, recognizing that their members would be reluctant to cede power to a national government. Instead, they called for special ratifying conventions in each state, and ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government. The new Constitution centralized monetary production and restricted it as a national prerogative, establishing the United States Mint in Philadelphia.
However, the issue of competing state money systems persisted, with hundreds of private firms producing "broken-bank notes" and counterfeiting remaining prevalent. It was only with the establishment of the Federal Reserve banking system following the financial panic of 1907 that a unified national currency system was fully realized.
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Congress couldn't raise funds
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers. Congress lacked the authority to regulate commerce, making it unable to protect or standardise trade between foreign nations and the various states. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
The central government and the states owed huge debts to European countries and investors. Without the power to tax, and with no power to make trade between the states and other countries viable, the United States was in an economic mess by 1787. Congress proposed several ways for the states to raise revenue towards the national debt, but the states almost never complied with Congress's suggestions.
Congress lacked the power to regulate trade, or conduct foreign policy without the voluntary agreement of the states. The Confederation Congress agreed and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation. The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution, bypassing the state legislatures and calling for special ratifying conventions in each state.
The Articles of Confederation formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. The document made official some of the procedures used by Congress to conduct business, but many of the delegates realised the Articles had limitations. The states did not act immediately, and it took until February 1779 for 12 states to approve the document.
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No common stance on slavery
The issue of slavery was a contentious topic during the drafting of the US Constitution, and it was a major point of debate among the delegates. While some delegates, such as James Madison, George Mason, and Gouverneur Morris, criticised slavery and wanted to see it abolished, others, like Stephen Douglas, believed that the decision to own slaves should be left to the people. The Three-Fifths Compromise was adopted, which counted three-fifths of each state's enslaved population as part of its free population for representation purposes. However, this compromise was not a permanent solution, and it highlighted the divide between the North and South.
The Constitution did not explicitly mention the word "slavery", but it included provisions that implicitly recognised and protected the institution of slavery. One such provision was the Fugitive Slave Clause, which stated that escaped slaves remained the property of their owners even if they fled to a state where slavery was prohibited. This clause reinforced the power of slave owners and made it difficult for enslaved people to escape their circumstances.
The delegates agreed to allow Congress to ban the slave trade after 1808, and in 1808, the United States formally prohibited the international slave trade. However, this did not end slavery within the country, and the institution persisted for several more decades. It took a civil war and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 for slavery to be officially abolished in the United States.
The protection of slavery in the Constitution has been criticised as its "biggest flaw". The Constitution was written for an agrarian slave society, and it failed to uphold the value of equality by institutionalising slavery and only protecting the rights of white men. This contradiction between the promise of liberty and equality and the reality of slavery has been a source of tension and has contributed to racial inequalities that persist in the United States today.
In conclusion, the US Constitution's stance on slavery was complex and contentious. While some delegates sought to abolish it, others wanted to maintain or even expand it. The compromises made during the Constitutional Convention temporarily delayed a direct confrontation with the issue, but they did not resolve the fundamental disagreement over slavery's morality and its place in the nation. It took a civil war and a constitutional amendment to finally abolish slavery, revealing the depth of the divide and the enduring legacy of this issue in American society.
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States vs federal powers
The United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1787, replaced the Articles of Confederation, which had granted much power to the individual states and very little to Congress, resulting in an ineffective national government and conflicts among states. The Constitution established a federalist system with a more balanced division of powers between the states and the federal government. However, the issue of states' rights versus federal powers has remained a contentious topic throughout the country's history.
One of the main issues addressed by the Constitution was the states' ability to conduct their own foreign policies and the lack of a common currency, which made trade within the country and with other nations challenging. The Constitution granted the federal government the power to regulate foreign commerce and declare war on foreign nations, addressing these issues.
Another critical aspect of the states versus federal powers debate centred on representation in Congress. Large states favoured representation by population, while small states argued for equal representation. The “Great Compromise” resolved this dispute by establishing the House of Representatives, apportioned by population, and the Senate, which represented the states equally.
While the Constitution provided a framework for the division of powers, the specific allocation of powers between the states and the federal government has continued to evolve and remains a subject of ongoing debate. The Tenth Amendment, included in the Bill of Rights in 1791, was a crucial protection of state power, reserving for the states any powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited by the Constitution.
In recent years, immigration, healthcare, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have become areas of contention between state and federal authorities. The federal government's implied powers, derived from its ability to regulate foreign commerce and make and enforce naturalization rules, have clashed with states' rights in these areas.
In conclusion, while the US Constitution established a federalist system and addressed some of the issues related to states' rights and federal powers, the ongoing evolution of federal-state relations and the dynamic nature of societal challenges continue to shape the debate over the appropriate balance of powers between the states and the federal government.
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