Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

American History

The Virginia Plan proposed a national government with three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. However, without what is known as the Great Compromise, the Constitution, Senate, and U.S. as we know them today might never have been. The Great Compromise added the provisions to the Virginia Plan that states would be represented equally in the Senate and in proportion to their populations in the House. The formation of a bicameral legislature was not the only part of the Great Compromise. Issues of commerce and slavery were also addressed in addition to nationality requirements and provisions for amending and ratifying the Constitution.

The Alien and Sedition Acts enable the U.S. government to remove alien “enemies” from U.S. territory and punish and imprison those who commit treason against the U.S. government respectively. The Alien Enemies Act entitles the government during times of war to remove any resident of a hostile nation who is “not actually naturalized”, one who “shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies” (Alien 1). The Sedition Act of 1798 permits the government to fine and imprison those who conspire against the U.S. government or defame the U.S. government. These Acts are relevant to our current war on terrorism.

Supreme Court Justice John Marshall was responsible for expanding the powers of the Supreme Court and the Federal government during his 34 years as Chief Justice. Marshall is considered a founder of Constitutional law and judicial precedent. Three decisions (Marbury v. Madison, McCullough v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden) increased the power of the Supreme Court to invalidate acts of Congress is they were in conflict with the Constitution, and gave the Judiciary power to set aside state legislation if in conflict with the Constitution. These features of the Supreme Court ushered in by Marshall are still in operation to...

Page 1 of 5 Next >

More on American History...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
American History. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:40, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1684980.html