Simone Lawson
The U.S. Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, has been both praised and criticised for its content and impact. Supporters of the Constitution, known as Federalists, valued its robust protection of fundamental cultural aspects and its limitation of governmental power. The Constitution also articulated the idea of fundamental human equality and the notion that a government's power derives from the people. However, critics of the Constitution, known as Antifederalists, were concerned about the potential for an oppressive and overly powerful national government. The Constitution has been criticised for preserving slavery and excluding women, non-white people, indigenous people, and non-property owners from the definition of the people. Despite these contradictions, the Constitution has endured and evolved over time through amendments.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Positive | Offered Americans the promise of freedom |
| Negative | Excluded Black and indigenous people, women, and other marginalized groups |
| Positive | Had endured and evolved over the last 234 years |
| Positive | Beautifully articulated the notion that the government’s power flows from the people |
| Positive | Support of Washington, commercial interests, men of property, and creditors |
| Negative | Opposition of influential men in the convention and state politicians fearful of losing power |
| Negative | General revulsion against taxation |
| Negative | Suspicion that a centralized government would be insensitive to local interests |
| Negative | Fear among debtors that a new government would restrain the means of cheating creditors |
| Positive | Replaced the Articles of Confederation, which were seen as too weak and inadequate for the nation |
| Positive | Amendments were added to secure individual liberties |
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What You'll Learn
- The Articles of Confederation were inadequate, with no enforcement powers
- The new Constitution promised freedom but excluded marginalised groups
- The Constitution has endured and evolved over time
- The Federalists promised amendments to secure individual liberties
- The Constitution's contradictions: a powerful central government vs. states' rights
The Articles of Confederation were inadequate, with no enforcement powers
The Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, were in force from 1781 to 1789. They were inadequate, with several limitations that hindered effective governance. One of the main issues was the lack of enforcement powers, which resulted in a weak central government.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the individual states retained significant power and independence, with Congress serving as a last resort for dispute resolution. While the Articles established a framework for representative democracy, the central government lacked the authority to enforce laws or raise taxes, making it challenging to address the needs of a growing nation. This weakness led to difficulties in raising funds, regulating trade, and conducting foreign policy, as these actions required the voluntary agreement of the states.
The inability to levy taxes created financial instability and hindered the ability to fund the military. Congress frequently relied on requests for money from states, often receiving only partial fulfilment or no response at all. This lack of financial resources made it difficult for the new nation to repay debts from the Revolutionary War and left the government struggling to address economic issues.
The weak central government also impacted the country's ability to support a war effort. During Shays' Rebellion in 1786, for example, the government's inability to raise a national army highlighted the shortcomings of the Articles. Additionally, the Articles did not provide a national judiciary, making it challenging to resolve disputes between states.
The limitations of the Articles of Confederation ultimately led to their replacement by the U.S. Constitution in 1789, marking a shift towards a stronger federal system that balanced state and national interests. The new Constitution aimed to address the inadequacies by creating a more effective central government with the power to enforce laws, raise taxes, and regulate commerce.
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The new Constitution promised freedom but excluded marginalised groups
The US Constitution, drafted in 1787, was an extraordinary achievement that created a powerful central government and set the terms for a new system of governance. It was a remarkable blueprint for self-government, establishing a strong executive, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary. However, it also had its flaws, and one of its most significant shortcomings was its failure to include or protect marginalised groups, despite promising freedom and liberty.
The Constitution was meant to ensure equality and freedom for all, but in practice, it excluded and marginalised certain groups. The "consent of the governed" only included propertied white men, and whole groups were left out of the Bill of Rights' protections. Women, for example, were treated as second-class citizens, lacking even the basic right to vote until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. Native Americans were also excluded from the constitutional system, governed instead by federal treaties and statutes that stripped them of their land and autonomy.
Slavery was another issue that the Constitution failed to address adequately. Despite the Declaration of Independence's promise that "all men are created equal," the Constitution initially protected slavery and legalized racial subordination. It took the Civil War and the 13th Amendment to formally end slavery, and the 14th Amendment to guarantee equal protection under the law for all persons.
Additionally, the Constitution did not initially apply to everyone equally. The Bill of Rights, despite being written in broad language, was not intended to protect all people. There was a race exception to the Constitution, and it took nearly 135 years before Congress granted Native Americans US citizenship.
While the Constitution laid the foundation for freedom and equality, it required subsequent amendments and continued efforts to extend those freedoms and rights to marginalised groups. The ACLU, NAACP, and labor unions played significant roles in challenging constitutional violations and creating a body of law that gave life to First Amendment freedoms, privacy rights, and principles of equality and fairness.
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The Constitution has endured and evolved over time
The US Constitution has proven to be a durable and adaptable document, enduring and evolving over the last 234 years. It has served as a model for many other constitutions worldwide. The Constitution has been amended numerous times, addressing the concerns and needs of a changing society while retaining its fundamental principles.
The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, replacing the Articles of Confederation, which were considered inadequate for governing a growing nation. The Articles gave the Confederation Congress rule-making and funding powers but lacked enforcement, commerce regulation, and money-printing capabilities. The young nation faced disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening its stability. The Constitution aimed to address these challenges by creating a powerful central government with enforcement capabilities.
The process of amending the Constitution began almost immediately after its ratification. The Federalists, supporters of the Constitution, faced opposition from Anti-Federalists, who criticized the lack of protections for people's rights. To secure the adoption of the Constitution, the Federalists promised to add amendments that would safeguard individual liberties. This compromise led to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights, a fundamental aspect of ensuring freedom and justice for all.
The Constitution's endurance and evolution can be attributed to its adaptability and the compromises made during its creation. The delegates who crafted it represented diverse interests and views, and their ability to find common ground laid the foundation for a lasting framework of governance. The Constitution's endurance is also a testament to its underlying principles, such as the notion that the government's power derives from the people.
However, the Constitution has not been without its flaws and contradictions. It initially excluded marginalized groups, including Black and Indigenous people, women, and others, falling short of its promise of freedom and equality for all. Amendments and ongoing interpretations have been necessary to address these contradictions and expand the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all people.
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The Federalists promised amendments to secure individual liberties
The Federalists' initial stance on the necessity of a bill of rights to ensure the passage of the Constitution was one of opposition. They believed that the new federal government could not endanger the freedoms of the press or religion since it was not granted any authority to do so. Federalists asserted that the people or the states retained all rights and powers not positively granted to the federal government.
However, they eventually promised amendments to secure individual liberties. James Madison, who drafted the Bill of Rights, introduced 12 amendments during the First Congress in 1789. Ten of these amendments were ratified by the states and took effect in 1791, collectively known today as the Bill of Rights.
The Federalists' promise of amendments was a significant step towards protecting individual liberties and addressing the concerns of Anti-Federalists, who feared that the new national government would be too powerful. The Anti-Federalists, comprising small farmers, landowners, shopkeepers, and laborers, favoured strong state governments and a weak central government. They wanted to ensure that the new government would not infringe upon the freedoms of speech, press, and religion, as well as the right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures.
The Bill of Rights, inspired by Thomas Jefferson, who proclaimed that "a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse," became a crucial safeguard for individual liberties. It protected rights that the original citizens believed were naturally theirs, including the freedom of speech, religion, and the right to be free from government influence in religious matters.
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The Constitution's contradictions: a powerful central government vs. states' rights
The US Constitution was drafted to create a powerful central government that could act at the national level, while also ensuring that individual liberties and states' rights were protected. The Constitution's separation of powers and system of checks and balances were designed to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful and infringing on the rights of the states or the people.
The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into three branches: the legislative, consisting of Congress; the executive, consisting of the President and their officers; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. This separation of powers was intended to create a balanced government, with each branch having specific powers and responsibilities, and with no one branch holding all the power.
The Constitution also includes provisions that reserve certain powers for the states and the people. The Tenth Amendment states that "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This amendment was added to the Constitution to address concerns about states' rights and to ensure that the federal government did not overstep its authority.
The drafting of the Constitution involved a debate between two competing plans: the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan proposed representation based on the population of each state, while the New Jersey Plan favoured the less populous states, proposing a unicameral body with one vote per state. The final Constitution incorporated elements of both plans, with the legislative branch consisting of a bicameral Congress, including the Senate, where each state has equal representation, and the House of Representatives, where representation is based on population.
The Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification, often to further protect individual liberties and states' rights. The process for making amendments is deliberately onerous to prevent arbitrary changes, requiring a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress or a convention called at the request of two-thirds of the states. The Constitution has provided a framework for a powerful central government while also preserving states' rights and individual freedoms, demonstrating its adaptability and durability as the oldest and longest-standing written national constitution in force today.
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Frequently asked questions
The new constitution offered Americans the promise of freedom and equality, articulating the notion that the government's power flows from the people. It also limited power to different government branches, politicians, and groups.
The new constitution excluded Black and Indigenous people, women, and other marginalized groups from the definition of "the people". It also preserved and propped up slavery and provided for the return of people who had escaped from slavery.
In recent years, there have been efforts to manipulate the system by appointing justices who are hostile to fundamental human rights. These justices would not have been considered for nomination based on historical practices.
