The Constitution
Right from the beginning of it's creation the constitutionof the United States has been a shaky document. The very basisfor it being there was in fact illegal. The story of Americanpolitics starts with the Declaration of Independence. Thisdocument was brilliantly written by Thomas Jefferson andcompacted all of the great ideas of enlightenment into one shorteasy to read paper. The declaration stated all of the ideals thenew American nation would strive for. A constitution was neededas a way in which to fulfill those goals. The articles ofconfederacy were created as that constitution. However, they wereweak, because no state wanted to give away any of their powers,and so the articles eventually failed. That is when the modernday constitution was starting to form. The Articles ofConfederacy stated that in order to change any part of thedocument all thirteen states must agree to the change. Therefora meeting was called so that they could amend the failingarticles. However, representatives from two of the states didnot show up. Even though not all states were represented themeeting started and the first vote was to totally throw away the
Another problem arose during his presidency. Therefor that power would be left for the states. This case made the federalgovernment supreme over the states. Right from the Washington's firstpresidency there was argument about how the constitution would beinterpreted. This is because when he became president he was all forstrict interpretation which would protect the peoples rights. The broadness of the constitution created problems withinthe executive branch too. Jackson did not like the bank of the united states because itbrought the rich elite closer to the power. New York Oxford University Press, 1992. Each time taking more powers away from the statesand unbalance the system so that the original ideals set would bedestroyed. It then came up again in the Hayne, Webster debatein regards to a tariff imposed which favored the northern states,and their right was denied then too. The federal government hadwon out and from then on the federal government would take morepowers then ever intended. However,they took it to mean they could do anything necessary to carryout their "job," which of coarse is anything in their interest,or "in the interest of America. They said they hadthe right to control there local business but the federalgovernment argued the supremacy clause protected them. It was in fact theirright because it was a power not mentioned in the constitutionand therefor left for the states.
Common topics in this essay:
United America,
Sedition Act,
Articles Confederacy,
American People,
Hayne Webster,
Thomas Jefferson's,
President Jackson,
Bank United,
Alexander Hamilton,
Thomas Jefferson,
federal government,
supreme court,
constitution vague,
executive branch,
power branches,
broad interpretation,
supremacy clause protected,
protect peoples,
supremacy clause,
bank united,
articles confederacy,
broad interpretation constitution,
alien sedition act,
real power branches,
people constitution vague,
|
Acceptance Essays
