Constitution

A detailed Summary of Constitution

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers...". This is the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. This document was unanimously passed by the thirteen colonies as a first attempt to free themselves of a repressive, exploitative government. This was the first widely accepted, formal document that suggested a new republican government. This new form of government would be founded in the collective rights of the people, based on their authority alone, and beheld to them. This was certainly not the first time that this form of government had been mentioned.

The first major public writing, calling for a republican form of government was published in 1776 by Thomas Paine. "Common Sense" was printed at the outset of the American Revolution, and was an instant hit with almost all Americans. This was the first real attempt of the American colonies to break free of British rule, and fend for themselves. They had no real form of government, just a declaration stating that they didn't want the British to rul

2) http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/declaration.html

4) http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/articles//text.html

The need for a stronger federal government was very great. The states were, at this point, a very loose alliance of independent nation states. A new strong government was needed to be able to look after the well being of all of the states. There needed to be a governing body to control foreign trade and commerce. There also needed to be a body capable of waging war, and negotiating peace. This cannot be accomplished unless the states give up some of their individual powers and allow the federal government to form. In order for the new nation to become strong, the states needed to agree to the new ground rules to establish their new government.

The Articles of Confederation were agreed to by congress on November 15, 1777. It was not ratified until March 1, 1781. The Articles established a "firm league of friendship" between the 13 states. Under the Articles, each of the states retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence." Instead of setting up executive and judicial branches of government, there was a committee of delegates composed of representatives from each state. These individuals comprised the Congress, a national legislature called for by the Articles. These men were responsible for conducting foreign affairs, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, and many other lesser functions. The articles however denied congress the ability to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws. The men composing the Continental Congress were very weary of a strong federal government. A great fear of many of the Continental Congress members was another tyrannical government like England, under the Articles of Confederation the individual states would retain their sovereignty.

The end of the Revolutionary war marked the beginning of the United States working completely independently of any other government. There would be no more interference from the British government. Although the British had much to do with the shaping of the United States at that time, almost all were against the tyranny of the king. They seemed determined to not let anything like that happen again. Their new government had to be strong, and it had to be agreed to by the majority.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1830
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History