U.S Constitution
In 1787, a few years after America broke away from England, the constitution we use today was made. Before that, starting in 1777, the states operated under a government they called the "Articles of Confederation." This government basically said that each state should have its own independence, and operate within their own government. After about 6 years, this government didn't work very well, because of civil unrest, bad trade, and inflation. A group of people led by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and others, believed in the constitution. These people were called Federalists. They believed that the states should be operated by one unified single government. The Federalists wanted to write a new constitution, and make a more efficient government, and they did. Anti-Federalists, such as Samuel Adams or Patrick Henry believed the opposite. In 1777, the articles of confederation were written. This was the first ever constitution in the United States. The Articles didn't really work very well, because of a few problems. They basically said that each state was their own government, and the 13 states weren't really connected under the same government at all. They has
Because of all these problems, some men including Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, and others, decided that we needed to do something about this. They called for a meeting in September of 1786, and they hoped that all 13 states will have representatives to show, but not all of them would come. The ones that do all agree for another meeting to take place with everyone there. The next May in Philadelphia, they all show up. The final solution was a brilliant compromise. What happened, was that the constitution was written and made. The Federalists were able to have the centralized government that they were hoping for, but the non-Federalists would add the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments. They are essential rules and laws that are still used today. For example, the first amendment allows people to freely speak as they like, publish what they like, assemble as they like, and practice any religion or belief that they want to. The anti-Federalists added the Bill of Rights to protect their own personal rights. They felt threatened by the new constitution that might have been made, and they decided to add in their own part on how they felt about the laws. The first thing they do, is attempt to fix the Articles, but soon afterwards they realize that it's pointless to do this. Even though that's what they were sent there for, it wouldn't be a good idea to try and fix the Articles of Confederation. It would just be easier to start all over and make a whole new constitution. They hold secret meetings and don't tell anyone about it. They could not have been seen by anyone disobeying their job the way they were, because if they got kicked off their job, it would affect a whole huge country
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1188
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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