Powers of the Constitution

A detailed Summary of Powers of the Constitution

By the late 1780's many Americans had grown dissatisfied with the Confederation. It was unable to deal effectively with economic problems and weak in the face of Shay's Rebellion. A decade earlier, Americans had deliberately avoided creating a strong national government. Now they reconsidered. In 1787, the nation produced a new constitution and a new, much more powerful government with three independent branches. The government the Constitution produced has survived far more than two centuries as one of the most stable and most successful in the world.

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution resembled each other in some cases and differed from each other greatly in other aspects. The Articles of Confederation were a foundation for the Constitution. Sometimes even called the Pre-Constitution. It was really the first step to a strong federal government. However, the Confederation, which existed from 1781 until 1789, was not a big success. It lacked power to deal with interstate issues, to enforce its will on states, and had little stature in the eyes of the world. It was time for a revision, a new perspective, and a radical change in our government system.

This begins the formation of the Constitution. The

The ordinance of 1784, based on a proposal by Thomas Jefferson, divided the western territory into ten self-governing districts, each of which could petition Congress for statehood when its population equaled the number of free inhabitants of the smallest existing state.

In June of 1754, twenty-three distinguished men from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Maryland gathered upon invitation of Lieutenant Governor James Delancey of New York to concert their efforts to renew friendship with Iroquois and to explore united defense measures. They adopted in principle a proposal put forward by Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia that the colonies from a union for defense, to be imposed by an act of Parliament. Details of such a confederation were then worked out calling for a President General appointed by the Crown and Grand Council elected by the colonies. Also recommended were certain immediate defense measures: repulse of the French invasion, a single superintendent for Indian affairs, a fort in each Indian nation, war vessels on the lakes, and a western boundary of the Appalachians for the existing colonies below New York so that new colonies could be established westward.

Finally, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 abandoned the ten districts established in 1784 and created a single Northwest Territory out of the lands north of the Ohio; the territory out of the divided subsequently into between three and five territories. It also specified a population of 60,000 as a minimum for statehood, guaranteed freedom of religion and the right to trial by jury to residents of the Northwest, and prohibited slavery throughout the territory. As a matter of fact, this may have been the ordinance's most important feature. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was the first attempt to ban slavery and outlaw territory.

The writing of the Constitution of 1787 was the single most important political event in the history of the United States, and a notable event in the political history of the modern world. Historians believe that this political tract is one of the most important documents produced in the last four centuries. When you step back and take a look, it's easy to see why. The authors of the Constitution created a superb flexible instrument of government that has withstood civil war and insurrection, political corruption, two world wars, numerous domestic troubles and international disputes. It is pretty obvious that t

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Approximate Word count = 1666
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History