Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Constitution and The Articles of Confederation Essay -- bankrupt,

Bankrupt, and on her knees for solutions, America was in a state of distress. Politicians alike recognized that The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1777, desperately needed revision as well as modification. Under the Articles, a Continental Congress had been shaped, which was allocated virtually no authority to collect revenue, handle domestic affairs, or control commercial trade. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, America, had no way of compensating soldiers, or honoring investors and foreign nations for their loans. Losing faith in the nation as a whole, the States asked the Continental Congress to organize the Constitutional Convention. Held in Philadelphia from May 14th to September 17th of 1787, fifty-five delegates from nation-wide convened at the capital to amend the voids never addressed in the original federal document. The Articles, was identical to a poorly tailored quilt. The entire quilt and each individual pattern, symbolized the unification of the fe deral and state governments. However, the quilt was tattered, and the seams frayed. The power of the federal government was reliant solely on the compliance of every state government. The founding father divided themselves into two parties, the Federalist, and the Anti-Federalist. The Anti-Federalist desired to patch and reinforce the Articles, while the Federalist supported the creation of a completely new quilt, the Constitution. Both parties argued upon hours on end, unable to answer the various fundamental questions such as, â€Å"How much power should be given to a central government?†, and â€Å"How should a central government function?†. For four months, the delegates debated how to promise rightful liberty to a nation, while promising stability, and pote... ... to recognize their own strength, as well as attempting to act in unison. Moreover, in the presence of immoral or dishonorable intentions, men would fail to communicate or assemble because doubt, and distrust would be incarnated â€Å"in proportion to the number whose concurrence is necessary.† Federalists not only the Constitution keep the Union secure, but Hamilton claimed that it would also amend the current issues regarding debt (Madison). Hamilton argued that commerce of the states should be managed in the hands of â€Å"a government capable of regulating, protecting, and extending the commerce of the Union.† Thus giving the general government a chance to relieve the Union’s post-war debt. Also, that failure to ratify the Constitution may incite a, â€Å"reunion with Britain,† most likely, â€Å"by the establishment of a son of the present monarch, George III (Hamilton).†

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