Why The Us Constitution Was Created

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. The Articles of Confederation gave little power to the central government, which lacked enforcement powers, and the individual states competed against each other economically. The Articles also made it difficult to conduct foreign policy, as the federal government lacked the ability to pass or enforce laws that individual states found counter to their interests. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 established equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives, resolving the most controversial aspect of the drafting of the Constitution. The final draft, presented to the convention on September 12, contained seven articles, a preamble and a closing endorsement.

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Economic competition between states

The US Constitution was drafted with the understanding that it would underpin a "commercial republic", with the government's role being to protect private property and promote free enterprise. The Federalist Papers, and in particular Federalist No. 11, celebrated the "spirit of enterprise" of American merchants and navigators, and the "inexhaustible mine of national wealth" that this represented.

The Constitution contains several provisions that are designed to support an economy based on ownership and competition. For example, the patent and copyright clause was intended to protect the property rights of creators, the contract clause and the bankruptcy clause were intended to prevent states from favouring influential economic interests, and the takings clause was meant to protect private property from direct government confiscation.

The Commerce Clause, meanwhile, gave Congress the power to regulate the trade, transportation, or movement of persons and goods from one state to another, to a foreign nation, or to an Indian tribe. This was designed to prevent states from favouring influential economic interests and to promote competition.

In addition, the Constitution's reliance on competition is not limited to economic markets. James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 51 that "ambition must be made to counteract ambition", and that "this policy of supplying, by opposite and rival interests, the defect of better motives, might be traced through the whole system of human affairs, private as well as public". This rivalry is created at the national level by dividing the government into the legislature, executive, and judiciary, and further dividing the legislature into two houses.

The benefits of competition are also seen in the judgments of the marketplace and other competitive procedures such as political elections. Competition generates useful information and knowledge, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in Abrams v. United States in 1919: "the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market".

In summary, economic competition between states was a key consideration for the drafters of the US Constitution, who sought to create a "commercial republic" with a competitive marketplace and a system of government that promoted rivalry and prevented states from favouring influential economic interests.

Lack of central government power

The Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, gave little power to the central government. While the Confederation Congress had some decision-making abilities, it lacked enforcement powers. The implementation of most decisions, including amendments to the Articles, required legislative approval by all 13 newly formed states. The Articles also did not provide the federal government with the power to pass or enforce laws that individual states found contrary to their interests. This led to challenges in conducting foreign policy, such as regulating trade and managing debts from the Revolutionary War.

The Articles of Confederation also allowed states to issue their own currencies and levy taxes on each other's goods when they crossed state lines. This resulted in economic competition between the states. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, such as Washington, Madison, and Hamilton, believed that promoting the free flow of commerce across state lines and nationalizing the economy would make America an economic powerhouse.

The lack of a strong central government also led to concerns about maintaining order and stability. An insurrection, though put down by state troops, confirmed the fears of wealthy Americans about the potential for anarchy. This further motivated the creation of a new constitution that would forge a stronger central government.

The final draft of the Constitution, presented on September 12, included seven articles, a preamble, and a closing endorsement. The first three articles embody the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789, becoming the supreme law of the United States.

Ineffective decision-making bodies

The Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, gave little power to the central government. The Confederation Congress had some decision-making abilities, but it lacked enforcement powers. The implementation of most decisions, including amendments to the Articles, required legislative approval by all 13 newly formed states. This often resulted in deadlock and sectional tensions between the North and South.

The Articles also did not provide the federal government with the ability to pass or enforce laws that individual states found counter to their interests. For example, the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence, was unpopular, and many states blocked its enforcement. This led to the British refusal to vacate military forts in US territory. Additionally, the Confederation Congress lacked the authority to regulate trade, which was detrimental to American importers and manufacturers.

The Articles also did not provide a mechanism for the federal government to ban the importation of enslaved people from outside of the United States. This issue was central to the debates over commerce and representation at the Constitutional Convention. The "Three-Fifths Compromise" provided that three-fifths (60%) of enslaved people in each state would count toward congressional representation, which greatly increased the number of congressional seats in several states, particularly in the South.

The inability of the federal government to effectively make and enforce decisions under the Articles of Confederation was a significant problem that led American lawmakers to draft the Constitution. The Constitution established a stronger central government with the power to pass and enforce laws, regulate commerce, and address issues such as slavery and foreign relations.

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Unresolved issues from the Revolutionary War

The Articles of Confederation, the USA's first constitution, gave little power to the central government. The Confederation Congress lacked enforcement powers, and the individual states competed against each other economically. This led to challenges in conducting foreign policy, as the federal government was unable to pass or enforce laws that individual states found counter to their interests.

For example, the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence, stipulated that debts owed by Americans to British subjects were to be honoured, and that former British loyalists could bring suits in US courts to recover confiscated property. These provisions were unpopular, and many states blocked their enforcement. This led to the British refusing to vacate military forts in US territory, and British traders flooding US markets with goods, to the detriment of American importers and manufacturers.

Additionally, the large majorities required for the ratification of measures under the Articles of Confederation often resulted in deadlock along sectional lines between the North and South. For example, Southern delegates to the Confederation Congress wanted to lift the Spanish government's ban on American ships navigating the Mississippi River, while coastal merchants in the Northeast were willing to make concessions in exchange for a favourable commercial treaty.

These issues, along with problems arising from the payment of debts from the Revolutionary War and other domestic issues, led delegates to the Constitutional Convention to create a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances, dividing federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.

Concerns about executive power

Having fought a war against tyranny, Americans were suspicious of executive power. 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). The framers looked to precedents in the British system of government and the state constitutions. The plan for the new government, including the Senate, was developed over the course of the convention by delegates working in committees.

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States. The document was drafted by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress in mid-June 1777 and was adopted by the full Congress in mid-November of that year. Ratification by the 13 colonies took more than three years and was completed on March 1, 1781. The Articles gave little power to the central government. While the Confederation Congress had some decision-making abilities, it lacked enforcement powers. The implementation of most decisions, including amendments to the Articles, required legislative approval by all 13 of the newly formed states. Despite these limitations, based on the Congressional authority granted in Article 9, the league of states was considered as strong as any similar republican confederation ever formed. The chief problem was, in the words of George Washington, "no money".

The federal government faced many challenges in conducting foreign policy under the Articles of Confederation, largely due to its inability to pass or enforce laws that individual states found counter to their interests. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence, stipulated that debts owed by Americans to British subjects were to be honoured, and also stipulated that former British loyalists could bring forth suits in U.S. courts to recover confiscated property. These provisions were unpopular and many states blocked their enforcement. This led to a British refusal to vacate military forts in U.S. territory. Additionally, after the war, British traders flooded U.S. markets with British goods, to the detriment of American importers and manufacturers. The Confederation Congress lacked the authority to regulate this trade, and intrastate trade was further hampered by states’ own attempts to impose import duties on goods from elsewhere.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a model of government that relied upon a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches of government. The delegates to the convention held no fewer than 60 votes before agreeing upon the Electoral College as the method of selecting the president. However, unspoken among the delegates was the knowledge that George Washington would become the first president, and they trusted him to define the office.

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