US History--The US Constitution finely crafted blueprint or unwieldy compromise - Essay Example

The US Constitution – finely crafted blueprint or unwieldy compromise? of the of the The US Constitution – finely crafted blueprint or unwieldy compromise?The US federal government functions according to the provisions of the US Constitution. The latter prescribes the jurisdiction and scope of operation for all the governmental organs by means of checks and balances, and provides fundamental rights and civil liberties to US citizens. Accordingly, the US Constitution maintains a unique balance between authority and liberty (Constitution of the United States of America 2008).

The first three articles of the US Constitution have created and provided the functionality for the three branches of the federal government, namely the legislature, executive and judiciary. The Congress is the legislative branch, the President heads the executive and the judiciary comprises the judicial branch. The US Constitution implements the separation of powers; thereby preventing concentration of power in any particular branch of government. These three branches depend upon each other, for their functioning; and prevent any particular branch from becoming more powerful than the others (U.S.COURTS n.d.).

George Washington organized a convention in Philadelphia, in order to draft the Constitution. However, disagreements between the members resulted in a stalemate. At that juncture, Roger Sherman proposed the Great Compromise, whereby, Congress was to comprise of two houses, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives. There was to be equal representation in the Senate for all the states, with two Senators from each state; and the state legislature was to select their representatives. This proposal was accepted by all the states; and representation in the House of Representatives was to be decided on the basis of the population in each state.

It was proposed that there would be a representative for every thirty thousand individuals, which was favorable for the states with a large population. This Constitutional Convention was ratified by the delegates in July 1787 (The Great Compromise n.d.). While some of the delegates opposed slavery, others were greatly in its favor. This resulted in a compromise, and such compromises promoted experimentation in self government, which exists even today (Rediscovering George Washington. The Constitution and the Idea of Compromise 2002).

However, most of the thirteen larger states were desirous of retaining their power, including their power to impose taxes to raise state funds. Moreover, there was no national conscience among the people at that time, who favored their own states and ignored the nation as a whole. This absence of national spirit resulted in further differences among the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. These delegates were virtually state delegates rather than national delegates.

However, a few creative compromises emerged, which were later incorporated into the Constitution (Slavery Compromises n.d.). Opponents to federalism wanted each state to be independent with self – governance. The anti – Federalists were led by prominent leaders like Patrick Henry and George Mason. The popular anti-Federalist, Edmund Randolph instigated the local politicians to strongly oppose the ratification of the Constitution by delegates from their states. Nevertheless, the Federalists strongly contended that a federal government would strongly integrate all the states and create a strong nation.

The Articles of Confederation were the first initiative at integrating all the states to form a national political mechanism (Constitution of the United States - History Of The Constitution n.d.).The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution declares that no state "shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law."The Bill of Rights provides the fundamental rights and civil liberties to all US citizens. As such, the national and state governments are under an obligation to ensure these rights and liberties to the citizens of the US (Bill of Rights n.d.).

Therefore, this constitutes the most important aspect of the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. Works CitedBill of Rights. http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=a2002810-h (accessed July 29, 2008).Constitution of the United States - History Of The Constitution. http://law.jrank.org/pages/5602/Constitution-United-States-History-Constitution.html (accessed July 29, 2008)."Constitution of the United States of America." Encyclopedia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008.

Rediscovering George Washington. The Constitution and the Idea of Compromise . 2002. http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/classroom/index3.html (accessed July 29, 2008).Slavery Compromises . http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/classroom/index3.html (accessed July 29, 2008).The Great Compromise . http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/classroom/index3.html (accessed July 29, 2008).U.S.COURTS. Separation of Powers. http://www.uscourts.gov/outreach/resources/separationofpowers.html (accessed July 29, 2008).