Confederation and Constitution - Essay Example

Confederation and Constitution A constitution is a set of principles governing a state or a country. It consists of rules and regulations mutually agreed upon by the citizens of a particular state or country (Alan, 2003). After the American Revolution, there arose a need to create a credible and organized method of governance. These efforts of making America a better place led to the idea of bringing together the different states under a single and centralized rule. This could only be done by drafting a generally accepted legal document, which accounts for the terms of uniting; hence, the American constitution was formed. The American constitution underwent a lengthy process during its drafting and various amendments have been made so that it can be more efficient for the governing of the states. In 1776, the continental congress drafted “the article of confederation” which brought together 13 founding states of the United States of America: This article was later ratified in 1781. In the article of confederation, the relationship between the uniting states was defined and also a common name was adopted for the union of the states (Howard, 2005). After various administrative set backs, this article of confederation was found to be inefficient and hence was later replaced by the American constitution in 1789. Though the article of confederation had some similarities with the constitution, these two documents were different in the following ways. Comparison between the American constitution of 1789 and the article of confederation The constitution established an organized form of government. The government was divided into three main braches, which included the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. In the constitution, the executive was the supreme arm of the government and it was headed by the president. The constitution provided the rules and regulations governing election of the president and his deputy. However, in the article of confederation, there was no such structured government. The states had the liberty to decide the method of leadership they wanted. The constitution established a federal system government. In this system, the states had some authority over there governance and administration of justice. The federal government had limited jurisdiction to matters of external relations as this was left to the central government. On the other hand, the article of confederation had no federalism hence each state was sovereign in its governorship. However, the two documents had some similarities. Both the constitution and the article of confederation provided free movement within the states. They further allowed trial of a person from another state who has committed a crime in a different state. They both enhanced security and national defense because cooperation in matters of common interest called participation by all states. Weaknesses of the article of confederation Even though the article of confederation was a great step to the formation of a good government, it faced many inconveniences in that time. For example, it was hard to pass laws because they required a 9 out of 13 states approval for ratification. In addition, there was no law enforcement and therefore the states, which did not agree with the laws, simply did not have to follow them. The citizens could easily break the law and fail to be convicted. These weaknesses of the article of confederation prompted its review and hence a new constitution was availed. Drafting of the constitution of 1789 In the drafting of the constitution, a lot of time was spent in order to come to a consensus. This is because different opinions had to be consolidated into an agreement for the mutual acceptance of the constitution. One of the important plans drafted by Rogers Sherman became of great importance in which later came to be known as the great compromise. Sherman’s suggestion was that a bicameral system should be retained. Therefore, the people would be represented proportionally in the House of Representatives (lower house). The states would be represented in the senate (upper house). On the lower house, each state had a representative for every delegate while on the upper house, each state was guaranteed two senators no matter the size. Sherman’s ideology helped to solve the stalemate between the larger and smaller states. The federalist and anti-federalists In the constitution ratification process, lots of debates arose between the federalists and the anti-federalists. The anti-federalist opposed the move to implement the constitution because it would bring into place the federal government. Mason in his anti-federal letter asserts that a more unitary executive would contain more power that can easily be misused. The anti-federals argued it federalism would lead to the dissolution of the state government. John Hancock in the anti-federal papers wrote that the consolidation of all states into one large republic would render the state government powerless hence making it functionless. He warned against such a move because bureaucracy involved with a large republic would be a hindrance to economic development. The absence of the bill of rights in the constitution was used by anti-federals to sensitize for the rejection of the constitution. After America had gone through a lot of struggle in the liberation from the British, every citizen had to be assured of his/her rights. Hence, lack of bill of rights in the constitution left the citizen vulnerable and unprotected. The federalists responded to this claims by writing several federal papers in order to sensitize the public about the importance of the constitution. John Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay pushed the federalism agenda. Madison in his federalism papers argued that federalism would bring up a good system of government, which would counter the popular failures of different governments. He presented the ideas in the constitution as the perfect solution to the problems facing the governance of Americans at that time. Alexander Hamilton also wrote that it was through the constitution that the rights of the minority would be protected from the majority. He claimed that the constitution would provide a frame of government that would include auxiliary precautions such as separation of powers hence checks and balances would help to prevent injustice. In response to the bill of rights question, Madison argued that listing the rights will keep focus on the listed rights hence leaving other rights vulnerable to abuse. However, the bill of rights was finally incorporated into the constitution hence bringing all the states into a consensus. In conclusion, the American constitution has taken gradual steps to what it is today. In its drafting, it has incorporated different ideas from great men like James Madison. It has had to undergo changes right from the article of confederation to the constitution of 1789 and now through various amendments to the current constitution. References Alan, B. (2003, march). United States History. The American history journal, 5(2). 45-54. Retrieved March 5, 2013 from http://www.journalofamericanhistory.org/ This is a an online journal published quarterly by American Historians. It focuses on projects that historically related. Among the discussions are constitutional amendments that over time have affected the association of African Americans to the federal government. Among the highlights are opportunities limited for African Americans and the disadvantages they are faced with since historic moments. Since the journal is written by the Organization of American Historians, it is credible to be used for any research (Alan, 2003). Howard, Z. (2005). A peoples history of the United States. Goodreads online journal. 6(9) 12-25. Retrieved March 5, 2013, from: http//:www.goodreads.com/History of _the United States. (Document id 126753627) . This is a journal written by a renowned Historian Howard Zinn. It focuses on expanding knowledge on how America has been affected by the history of other places like India and Columbia. It also expounds on the issues that have built American History like war. The human progress in relation to changes in constitution and governance are also well tackled. This resource is credible based on the wide knowledge that the author possesses on the areas he discusses (Howard, 2005). Read More