Ideas that shaped the U.S. Constitution
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The shape of the U.S. Constitution as it was developed at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was certainly influenced by such factors as the colonial experience, the revolt against British rule, and the failure of the earlier Articles of Confederation. Yet, the ideas embodied in the Constitution had been taking shape for some time before any of these elements had come into being. Indeed, the ideas expressed in the Constitution derived from European theorists such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, though the manner in which these ideas were adopted by the colonists was influenced by the various elements of the colonial experience. The colonists had fled Europe precisely to avoid many of the legal features against which the Constitution would be written, such as star-chamber proceedings, restricted speech and press, and inherited rule instead of democratic selection of leaders. The Articles of Confederation were in many ways a prototype for the Constitution to come, with certain elements proving valuable and others falling by the wayside in the shift to a new form of government. They were drafted in 1777 by the Continental Congress and ratified by the 13 states in 1781. The Articles were to be the instrument of the union of the thirteen colonies. In passing this document, the delegates were uncertain whether it would be effective for the purposes for which it was designed and whether it would stand the strain of opposing inte
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ocke was highly influential in the development of the American system. These two clusters of thought developed the American constitutional system in a spirit of compromise, as seen in the arguments of the Federalists on one side and the Anti-Federalists on the other. These forces continued to clash through the early years of the Republic.
Liberalism and republicanism were both involved in the creation of the American government and the development of the Constitution that would be the framework for that government, and the two approaches were discussed, compared, and argued in the debate between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The basic issue both faced was the ratification of the Constitution, with the Federalists supporting this document and the federal form of government it would represent and the Anti-Federalists opposing the document and the underlying philosophy. Yet, ultimately, both points of view were represented in some degree in the final document and in the government it created. The Federalist Papers were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison as a defense of the developing Constitution. Madison and Hamilton were clearly allies in this endeavor, but they diverged on a number of poi
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Approximate Word count = 1586
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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