Simone Lawson
The Constitution of the United States has been amended and debated since its inception. The first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, 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 delegates who assembled in Philadelphia in 1787 were tasked with revising the existing government, but they ended up creating a new one. The delegates, representing diverse interests and views, crafted compromises, including the Three-Fifths Compromise and agreements on presidential terms, powers, and selection methods. The Constitution was influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers, but Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson had reservations about European governments, viewing them as autocratic monarchies incompatible with American egalitarianism. Anti-Federalists like Bryan feared the new government would be controlled by the wealthy and culturally refined, subjugating the common working people. The addition of the Bill of Rights, consisting of the first ten amendments, addressed concerns about individual liberties. The Constitution established a system of checks and balances, federalism, limited government, and popular sovereignty.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Centralised power | The delegates were wary of centralised power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government. |
| Separation of powers | The Constitution specifies instances in which one of the three branches can stop action by another. |
| Federalism | A system of constitutional government in which power is divided into layers with several states on one level and a federal government on another, with authority balanced between the state and federal governments. |
| Limited government | The government only has the powers granted to it in the Constitution, and it can only conduct actions permitted by the document. |
| Popular sovereignty | The Preamble to the Constitution stresses that the government is made by the people and exists to represent, protect, and serve them. |
| Monarchy | There was enmity in the revolutionary period towards royalty and the privileged classes. Some state constitutions prohibited titles of nobility. |
| Bill of rights | The absence of a bill of rights guaranteeing individual liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The first ten Amendments introduced were referred to as the Bill of Rights. |
| Commerce | The central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce, it could not tax and was generally impotent in setting commercial policy. |
| Slavery | Slavery was a thorny question that threatened to derail the Union. It was temporarily resolved when the delegates agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808. |
Explore related products
$123
What You'll Learn
The US Constitution was influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers
The US Constitution was heavily influenced by the ideas of European Enlightenment thinkers. The Enlightenment was an intellectual, scientific, and philosophical movement in Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, also known as the "Age of Reason". The Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin, drew on Enlightenment principles to shape the ideological and structural framework of American governance. They were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, who advocated for a government rooted in reason, individual rights, and the pursuit of liberty.
John Locke (1632-1704) believed that all people are born with natural rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property. He argued that these rights were given to people by nature, not by any government or ruler, and that it was the government's responsibility to protect these rights. Locke's concept of the "social contract" held that people come together to form a government that protects their rights, and in return, the people agree to follow its rules. He also advocated for religious tolerance and the separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, was strongly influenced by Locke's theories, as evident in his famous assertion that all men are endowed with "unalienable Rights," including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Montesquieu, a French philosopher, suggested dividing government authority into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. This idea, known as the separation of powers, became a cornerstone of American political philosophy and influenced the creation of a system of checks and balances in the US Constitution. Montesquieu also refined the concept of mixed government, which combines elements of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy to balance the strengths and weaknesses of each system. This idea influenced the establishment of a bicameral legislature in the US Constitution.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, another Enlightenment thinker, advocated for direct democracy, where laws are made directly by the vote of all. In "The Social Contract," Rousseau proposed that true political authority lies with the people and that the government should reflect the general will. While the American Founding Fathers did not fully embrace direct democracy, Rousseau's ideas about the importance of the collective will and civic freedom influenced American political ideology.
The influence of Enlightenment thought can be seen in the US Constitution's commitment to reason, justice, and the intrinsic rights of individuals. The Constitution, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, embodies the Enlightenment quest for liberty and equality, shaping the trajectory of American democracy. The Founding Fathers' engagement with Enlightenment ideas resulted in a resilient republic grounded in the ideals of individual freedoms and a government that serves its people.
The Constitution: Democracy and Republic Defined
You may want to see also
The Founding Fathers were wary of centralised power
The Founding Fathers' wariness of centralised power influenced the structure of the US Constitution. The Constitution was designed to create a powerful central government, but one that was also balanced and limited in its powers. The Founding Fathers sought to ensure that the central government had sufficient power to regulate commerce, tax, and set commercial policy, addressing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which had given the central government little power and no enforcement powers.
The Founding Fathers' wariness of centralised power also influenced the system of checks and balances in the US Constitution. The Constitution established a separation of powers, with a system of checks and balances designed to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. This structure was influenced by European Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and John Locke. The Founding Fathers also included a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, which guaranteed certain individual freedoms and limited the power of the central government.
The Founding Fathers' wariness of centralised power extended beyond the federal government to the states as well. The Constitution included provisions for state governments, with each state having its own constitution and powers. The Founding Fathers also included a process for amending the Constitution, recognising that it would need to evolve over time.
The Founding Fathers' wariness of centralised power was also reflected in their views on slavery. Slavery was a thorny issue that threatened to derail the Union. The Founding Fathers temporarily resolved the issue by agreeing to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes and by allowing the slave trade to continue until 1808.
Safeguarding Judicial Independence: Constitutional Provisions at Risk
You may want to see also
The Founding Fathers were loyal to their individual states
The Founding Fathers were wary of centralised power and loyal to their individual states. This is evident in the way they crafted the Constitution, creating a powerful central government while retaining state sovereignty. The Founding Fathers, or delegates, assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, with the initial task of revising the existing government outlined in the Articles of Confederation. However, they soon decided to completely redesign the government, aware of the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation, which had left the central government with insufficient power to regulate commerce, taxation, and trade, and unable to effectively support a war effort or settle disputes between states.
The Founding Fathers were representatives of their states, with wildly differing interests and views. They crafted a series of compromises to accommodate these differences. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. A compromise was reached, giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
The Founding Fathers also grappled with the issue of slavery, agreeing to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person and allowing the slave trade to continue until 1808. They understood the need for a strong central government, but also wanted to ensure that state sovereignty was protected. This balance between state and federal power is a key feature of the US Constitution, with the federal government having only the powers granted to it in the Constitution and the states retaining significant authority.
The Founding Fathers also included a Bill of Rights, consisting of the first ten amendments, added to the Constitution in 1791. These amendments guaranteed individual liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition. The Founding Fathers were committed to creating a government that represented, protected, and served the people, as reflected in the Preamble to the Constitution, which stresses popular sovereignty.
Memorizing the Constitution: A Lawyer's Duty?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Founding Fathers were against monarchy
The Founding Fathers of the United States Constitution were against the idea of monarchy. This was due to the enmity prevalent in the revolutionary period towards royalty and the privileged classes. The Founding Fathers were an elite class themselves, but they were against the idea of a heredity monarchy and nobility. They were wary of mob rule and direct democracy, and most of them were opposed to the idea of the electorate determining policy themselves. They believed that representatives, presumably wiser and better informed, should make decisions for the masses.
The Founding Fathers were also against the idea of an "elected king". Historian Holly Brewer noted that there was a consensus among the founders that the President should not be made an "elected king". This was reflected in the structure of the government outlined in the Constitution, which separated powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. This system of checks and balances aimed to prevent tyranny and ensure that no single person or branch held too much power.
The Founding Fathers were aware of the dangers of unchecked power, having just fought a war against a monarchy. They wanted to create a government that was strong and effective but also checked and balanced to prevent tyranny. They debated vigorously about how the new government should be structured, eventually settling on a representative democracy with a separation of powers.
The Founding Fathers also established a federalist system, with power divided between the state and federal governments. This further ensured that no single entity had too much authority and that the rights of the states were protected. The Constitution granted power to each branch of government to block actions by the others, creating a system of checks and balances.
The Founding Fathers' efforts to prevent monarchy and tyranny in the US government were so strong that they may have created a government that was too weak. The central government under the Articles of Confederation had very limited power, unable to manage trade, print currency, or pass and enforce laws that all states agreed to. This led to economic issues and inflation, and the states were on the brink of economic disaster.
The 1876 Constitution: A Foundation of Democratic Principles
You may want to see also
The Founding Fathers wanted to protect individual liberties
The Founding Fathers are the men who created the US government and forged a new nation. They include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. The Founding Fathers wanted to protect individual liberties and create a form of government that was unlike any other in the world at that time. They sought to restrict central power and protect the rights of citizens, ensuring that the government only had the powers granted to it by the Constitution and could only conduct actions permitted by the Constitution. This was a remarkable achievement, distilling years of enlightenment thought into a system of government that ensured popular sovereignty and the consent of the governed.
The Founding Fathers were also aware of the dangers of monarchical power and the potential for the wealthy and privileged classes to dominate politics. They wanted to prevent the establishment of a monarchy and the concentration of power in the hands of a few, which was a concern shared by many Americans who had recently fought against British rule. The Founding Fathers wanted to protect individual liberties and prevent the government from infringing on the rights of citizens, which is why they created a system of checks and balances with separated powers. They wanted to ensure that no single branch of government would become too powerful and that the rights of citizens would be protected.
The Founding Fathers also wanted to protect the sovereignty of the states while also creating a strong central government. They recognized the need for a more robust federal government to regulate commerce, tax, and support war efforts, but they also wanted to ensure that the states retained a degree of autonomy and power. This balance between state and federal power was a key concern for the Founding Fathers and a significant aspect of the Constitution.
The Founding Fathers' commitment to protecting individual liberties can also be seen in their recognition of the importance of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They wanted to ensure that citizens had the right to express themselves without fear of retribution and to practice their religious beliefs freely. These liberties were seen as fundamental to the new nation and were enshrined in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers believed that these liberties were natural rights endowed by the Creator and that it was the purpose of government to secure these rights.
However, it is important to acknowledge that the Founding Fathers were not perfect, and their protection of individual liberties had limitations. While they created a framework that protected the rights of white, property-owning men, it took almost 200 years to extend those same protections to all Americans, especially in the context of slavery and the civil rights of African Americans. The Founding Fathers' legacy is complex, and while they laid the foundation for individual liberties, the full realization of those liberties was a long and ongoing process.
Stephen A. Douglas: The Lecompton Constitution Opposition
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
There are differing views on how the US Constitution should be applied in modern times. Solid Liberals believe that the Supreme Court should base its rulings on what the Constitution means in contemporary times, rather than on its original wording. On the other hand, the Faith and Family Left group credits the nation's success to its reliance on long-standing principles.
The US Constitution has been interpreted differently over time, with amendments being added to reflect changing societal values. For example, the Rehnquist Court used the Constitution to overturn state laws relating to privacy, prohibiting late-term abortions, and prohibiting sodomy. The Constitution has also been used to protect free speech and affirmative action.
The US Constitution has a complex relationship between federal and state powers. While the federal government has specific responsibilities, such as coining money and regulating commerce, the states retain numerous indefinite powers. This division of authority reflects the diversity of the American people and allows for healthy variation. Additionally, the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, was added to limit the federal government's power while imposing no express restrictions on the states.
![Founding Fathers [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71f9-HsS5nL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
