Isabella Carter
The Founding Fathers of the United States wrote the Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation, the country's first constitution, which 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 Founding Fathers wanted to set up a fair and balanced government with a separation of powers, ensuring that no one branch of government could accumulate more power than the others. The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, and it established the three branches of the US government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It also set up a system of checks and balances and divided power between the states and the federal government.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Establish a fair and balanced government | Separation of powers, no central authority |
| Protect the rights of citizens | Freedom of speech, religion, press, jury trial, right to bear arms |
| Provide a framework for the Federal Government | Three branches of government |
| Ability to change with time | Amendments |
| Ratification | Ratified by 9 of 13 states |
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What You'll Learn
To establish a fair and balanced government
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America wrote the Constitution to establish a fair and balanced government, which would protect the rights of its citizens. The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and is the oldest written constitution in the world.
The Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, were delegates or statesmen who worked together to create the framework for the US government. They had differing beliefs and opinions about the future of the United States, but they worked together to establish a fair and balanced government.
The Constitution was created to replace the Articles of Confederation, which was America's first constitution. The Founding Fathers recognized the many problems with the Articles of Confederation, which 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 Constitution established the three branches of the US government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Founding Fathers wanted to create a separation of powers, so no one branch of government could accumulate more power than the other two. They also wanted to limit the government and establish rules for each part of the government.
The first part of the Constitution, the Preamble, tells us what the Founding Fathers set out to do when creating the government: "We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The Founding Fathers also included a way to change the Constitution, known as amendments. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights, which defines citizens' and states' rights in relation to the government.
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To protect the rights of citizens
The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of delegates or statesmen who came together to create the framework for the system of government that is still in place today. They wrote and signed the United States Constitution, which is the oldest and shortest written national constitution in the world.
The Founding Fathers wanted to set up a fair and balanced government, with a separation of powers, so that no one branch of government could accumulate more power than the others. They also wanted to limit the government and establish rules for each part of it. The Constitution was designed to protect the rights of citizens, with the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, defining citizens' and states' rights in relation to the government. These rights include freedom of speech, religion, and the press, as well as the right to a jury trial and the right to keep and bear arms.
The Founding Fathers understood that the Constitution should be able to change and grow over time, so they included a way to amend it. However, it is difficult to change the Constitution as it takes two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or two-thirds of the states, to approve any changes. In over 200 years, the Constitution has only been amended 27 times.
The Founding Fathers had differing beliefs and opinions about what the future United States should look like, but they worked together and indulged the views of their colleagues. They wanted to create a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity.
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To ensure a separation of powers
The Founding Fathers of the United States drafted and signed the US Constitution on September 17, 1787, to establish a fair and balanced government. The Constitution is the oldest and shortest written national constitution in the world and is considered the "Supreme Law of the Land".
The Founding Fathers wanted to ensure a separation of powers, so no one branch of government could accumulate more power than the other two. The three branches of government established by the Constitution are the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch writes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws.
The Founding Fathers included delegates or statesmen such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. They had differing beliefs and opinions about the future of the United States, but they worked together to create a framework for a system of government that has lasted over 200 years.
The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, which was 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 lacked enforcement powers and could not regulate commerce or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. The Founding Fathers wanted to address these issues and create a stronger central government while also limiting government power and establishing rules for each part of the government.
The Constitution also includes a mechanism for change and growth over time through amendments. Amendments require approval from two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate or two-thirds of the states, making it difficult to change the Constitution. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights, which outlines the fundamental rights of citizens, including freedom of speech, religion, and press, the right to a jury trial, and the right to keep and bear arms.
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To address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, the United States' first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states. However, it had no enforcement powers, couldn't levy taxes, regulate commerce, print money, or conduct foreign policy without the voluntary agreement of the states. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
The Articles of Confederation also lacked a system of checks and balances, with no executive or judiciary to balance the legislative branch. This meant that Congress had no authority to enforce laws or secure obedience to treaties. For example, Congress could negotiate treaties with foreign powers, but all treaties had to be ratified by the individual states. Even when a treaty was approved, Congress lacked the power to ensure compliance with its terms. This led to doubts among foreign nations about the value of treaties with the new Republic.
The Articles of Confederation also suffered from a liberum veto, where each state had the power to veto amendments and important legislation. All amendments had to be ratified by all thirteen states, and significant legislation required the approval of nine states. This often led to legislative deadlock, with a small number of states able to defeat legislative proposals of major importance.
The weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation became apparent over time, and it was recognised that a stronger central government was needed to address the nation's challenges. The founding fathers, despite their differing beliefs and opinions, worked together to draft the Constitution, creating a separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to prevent any one branch from accumulating too much power.
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To create a framework for the Federal Government
The US Constitution, signed on 17 September 1787, is the oldest and shortest written national constitution in the world. It is the "Supreme Law of the Land", laying out the basic rules of the US government, with no other law above it.
The Founding Fathers wanted to set up a fair and balanced government, establishing a framework for the Federal Government of the United States. They wanted to limit government and establish rules for each part of the government. The Constitution established the three branches of the government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Founding Fathers wanted to create a separation of powers, so no one branch of government could accumulate more power than the other two.
The first part of the Constitution is called the Preamble and it tells us what the Founding Fathers set out to do when creating the government:
> We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The Founding Fathers wanted to make it difficult for one person, party, or group to get control of the government. They understood that the Constitution should be able to change and grow over time, so they included a way to change the Constitution through amendments. These amendments list the fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens, such as freedom of speech, religion, and press.
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