Examining the Founding Documents - Thesis Proposal Example

The founding documents The Declaration of Independence Introduction: The time preceding 1776 was full of chaos as thethirteen British colonies openly revolted against the British imperial rule. On 14th June 1775, the inhabitants of the 13 British colonies formed the so called Continental Army that fought against the British. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence became drafted declaring the 13 British colonies free states (Thomas & Fink 6). Purpose: The Declaration of Independence became passed by the Congress on July 2, 1776. This founding document meant to serve two purposes. One was to set the given proper function of the government. Secondly, was to offer an explanation why American had to become separate from Britain. The founding document signified a transition of power from the British people to the Americans (Thomas & Fink 12). Importance: The Declaration of Independence proved to be a valuable document to the Americans. Following a period of war with the British, the founding document signal a dawn of a new beginning as they were going to become an independent nation. Furthermore, the document lay down the rules regarding the philosophy of human freedom. In addition, the document also created ways to increase individual liberty for the Americans. The document majorly became created to increase individual liberty in America (Thomas & Fink 22). Therefore, the founding document clearly remains essential to the Americans as it remind them of what they are, what they did to achieve it and what to be done to maintain their identity. The Effect of the Declaration of Independence: The Declaration of Independence rejuvenated fresh vigor among the people living in the 13 British colonies to rebuild their nation (Thomas & Fink 32). After the founding document became legal, the British entered in debt leading to the establishment of Townshend Act and the Stamp Act for the colonies to pay taxes, but they refused. The desire to become Independent and free from the British grew in the American. Events that led to its formation: Following years of the Americans being under the rule of the British, the 13 colonial states started to revolt against the British. After constant years of struggle fighting for independence from the British, finally the Declaration of Independence became drafted in a move to inform the 13 colonial states of their pulling away from the British government to form their own (Thomas & Fink 5). The Articles of Confederation Introduction: The Articles of Confederation became created in November 1777. The document ought to ratify the 13 original states into forming one government in 1781. The article hence brought the 13 original states under one government. The articles of confederation had its pros and cons, but eventually had to be replaced by the US constitution (Jensen 18). Purpose: The Articles of Confederation main purpose was to ratify the 13 original states in 1781, in order to form a basis which the national government was to function. The Article of Confederation quite never served its purpose as it created some problems at national and international level for the Americans. It therefore became revised by the Congress on 21st February, 1787. At a convention in Philadelphia, a decision became made to rewrite a new constitution instead of revising the Articles of Confederation (Jensen 28). Successes: The articles of Confederation also proved to be beneficial when it brought the 13 original states together to establish a common legislature. The Articles expected the states to respect the laws of each other (Jensen 32). The document also fostered some form of cooperation among the member states. In addition, by having one government with power controlling the rest of the states somehow eliminated the oppressive form of governments in the member states. The system provided democracy to be practiced. Furthermore, the Articles gave the national government authority to deal with a foreign nation’s plus sign treaties with them. It is because of such powers that resulted in problems at the national and international level leading to it becoming replaced by the constitution (Jensen 42). Weakness: The Articles of Confederation proved weak after it brought a number of problems at the national and international level. It is due to its weakness that it paved way for the establishment of a new constitution for the Americans in orders to foster national cohesion and Unity, just like they envisioned when they became independent. It is after the articles of declaration seemed inefficient for the Americans and hence the US constitution became formulated (Jensen 78). The Constitution Introduction: The US Constitution became officially adopted on 17th September 1787, in a convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The decision by the given Constitutional Convention became amended 27 times. In addition, the Bill of Rights remained as part of it and related to the first 10 amendments. Hence, the constitution was a refined version of the Perpetual Union and Articles of Confederation. Initially, the US Constitution ratifies only 9 states (Amar 5). The final draft of the US constitution became engrossed by Jacob Shallus. The new US Constitution became drafted by delegates from various states. It included people like George Washington, James Madison, Governor Morris, William Pierce, Thomas Paine, John Dickinson, George Wythe and many others. It was the same leaders plus others that ensured they got rid of the document. Purpose: The US Constitution main purpose was to provide some sense of direction for the three branches that formed the Government (Amar 7). The draft outlined both individual plus combined powers for each of the branches, while at the same time reserving the rights of people in the states. Importance: The constitution defined the importance of civil liberties, jury trials, and duties plus the accountability the government had. In addition, the Preamble also established the need for the given Union plus need for a common army to fight for the welfare of the Americans. In addition, the constitution defined the roles of the federal government within the Preamble (Amar 15). The Constitution hence describes the legislative paradigms for the Congress bicameral body, and the qualifications of representatives plus the duties of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Similarly, it also emphasized on the function of the Supreme Court in United States. The oath, duties and powers became enumerated. The constitution hence describes the interdependency plus the extradition existing between the states, immunities, civil privileges, taxation limitation, plus of amending or altering a new constitution (Amar 45). Events that led its formation: When states began to use the Articles of Declaration, some other states assumed to have more power than the government therefore resulting in national conflicts. The states hence had more powers than the government in place. Furthermore, the judicial system was a mess as every state had its own laws (Amar 79). When a given state wished to go to war, it had to get unanimous approval from the member’s state before going to war with another country, there the need for amendment. In addition, the government at that time had no provision to impose taxes on its citizens and hence depended entirely on State donations. Moreover, the government did not have control on finance and trade. After receiving massive criticisms from various people, something had to be done. Bill of Rights Introduction: Ratification of the American constitution occurred on 21st June 1788. The bill of rights became written after. On 8th June 1789, James Madison made the proposal of the bill in congress. On 25th September, 1789, the bill of rights became approved by the Congress. The congress hence approved the 12 amendments and then directed it to all its members’ states for ratification. Finally, on 15th December 1971, 10 out of the 12 amendments became incorporated in the constitution (Reed 15) . Purpose: The Bill of Rights primary addressed issues dealing with: Rights to arm, free religion, prohibition of acts that deprived liberty, life and property, elimination of punitive action after a grand jury indictment, plus reservation of non-federal powers of the government to citizens. Importance: After the formation of the constitution, the first ten amendments played a key role in making government policies and laws as they were symbolic of freedom and the US culture (Reed 25). The ratification of the bill of rights in the constitution symbolized people’s power to initiate change plus to re-address their rights as well. In addition, the bill stood for adopting systems that enhanced security of individual rights and liberty. Furthermore, it ought to protect the US citizens from abuse of their rights. Events that led to its creation: Before independence, the US citizens had suffered in the hands of the British government. Therefore, they did not want the American government treating their citizens the way the British mistreated them. To have a clear demarcation of the powers of the government on its citizens, a bill of rights had to be created in order to protect the citizen’s rights (Reed 10). Controversies: There are a number of people that do not support that James Madison wrote the bill of rights since he was never in support of it plus had wanted the given constitution to be ratified without making any such amendment. James Madison believed that government at that time was not strong enough to become powerful (Reed 95). It hence was Thomas Jefferson that tried to convince Madison to support its formation. Works Cited Amar, Akhil Reed. Americas Constitution: A Biography. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2012. Print. —. The Bill of Rights: creation and reconstruction. Yale: Yale University Press, 2000. Print. Buran, Michael. The Declaration of Independence. New York: Compass Point Books, 2000. Print. (Michael 67) Jensen, Merrill. The Articles of confederation: an interpretation of the social-constitutional history of the American Revolution, 1774-1781. Washington: Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1959. Print. Thomas Jefferson, Sam Fink. The Declaration of Independence. New York: Scholastic Inc, 2002. Print. Read More