Formation of the U.S. Constitution

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Table of Contents

Articles of Confederation
Weaknesses of the articles
Formation of the constitution
The Virginia and New Jersey Plans
Secret Decision
Slaves, women, Native Americans, and poor whites
References

Articles of Confederation

On 7th June 1776, 12 states declared themselves independent foreign alliances free from any Union with Great Britain. This took place after Congress was asked to make the declaration by the delegates of Virginia. On 17 November 1777, congress came up with a form of government that could be accepted by all the separate states. The articles of confederation were made and distributed to all the member states for ratification and it was until July 9th, 1778 that they became operative after being approved by the required number of states (US Supreme Center).

Weaknesses of the articles

Before ratification, these articles had shown many weaknesses that had led to several states threatening to withdraw from the union. Among the weaknesses was the issue of taxes. The articles had not bestowed upon congress the power to levy taxes. This forced Congress to apply to the states to give it the power to secure public debts and to lay duties. Though most of the States agreed, Rhode Island rejected the proposed amendment. Making it not applicable as all the states had to consent to an amendment for it to go through US Supreme Center).

In their original forms, the articles did offer each state liberum veto in which each state had the power to refuse any proposed amendment on the articles. This posed a big problem to the ratifications as all member states had to ratify an amendment for it to be passed. In addition, this made it difficult for passing important legislative decisions it needed 9 states to pass an important legislative decision. With many members being absent, it took only two states to floor an important legislative decision (Spalding).

Another weakness was evident in foreign affairs. Although Congress had been given the power to engage with foreign powers issues about treaties, the states had to ratify the treaty to make it applicable. Not only did the states have to approve, but also congress did not have the power to take appropriate measures to any state that failed to adhere to the stipulations of the treaty thus making other nations find necessary the formation of the united states. Congress failed to command any obedience from the member states (Spalding).

There were sections of the articles that were termed as unimportant exceptions. Although they had been put in this section, some of them were of importance. This included the issue of trade. Congress had no power over a state’s decision to engage in trade with another member of the United States or a foreign nation US Supreme Center).

Formation of the constitution

At some point, there arose a dispute between Virginia and Maryland concerning the jurisdiction of rivers Potomac and Pocomoke. There was no part in the articles that could have provided for the remedy of this situation. Virginia and Maryland formed commissions each to take the matter into a discussion. They invited Washington. After discussing the matter, they decided to organize a convention that would need all the states to discuss the issue of trade and commerce. They wanted to harmonize the trade activities for a common good. The convention was slated for Annapolis. Most of the states did not participate. The few that came up with a decision to organize for another convention that would lead to the amendments of all the parts of the articles that would be found defective. This was to be in Philadelphia, the second Monday of May 1787. Several states seemed reluctant to participate in the convention citing the fact that their amendments would not be acknowledged because the only congress had the power to amend the articles. Those who advocated for the convention pushed Congress into backing the convention and they succeed. Congress promised to accept the amendments that would be made (Spalding).

The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

The convention met and George Washington was elected the presiding officer. On 29th May, 15 propositions were submitted by Randolph. These propositions were Virginia’s plan to create a new governing mechanism most of them were not accepted but one which proposed the formation of the legislature, executive, and the judiciary was accepted giving these powers to the congress. Also, two houses were formed (US Supreme Center).

A committee was formed to discuss the issue of the 15 propositions. They then came up with the representation issue which triggered dissatisfaction from small states. New Jersey’s Paterson called for an adjournment which was granted and they tried to amend the Virginia proposition, therefore, came up with 9 propositions. They were also rejected. The New Jersey plan was voted out with discussions continuing with the Virginia one (US Supreme Center).

Secret Decision

There was a deadlock due to this issue of representation. Most of the states could not agree on giving an equal vote to all states in the upper house. Five of the states voted for affirmative action, five voted against with one divided. There seemed to be no solution. Elsewhere, the small states’ threats were more than ever before. This is why the only resolution was for the issue to be tackled secretly by a committee of 11one from each state. They eventually struck a compromise where each state was given an equal vote in the upper house (Spalding).

Slaves, women, Native Americans, and poor whites

The framers did not advocate for slavery although they did not put an end to it. This was because most of them owned slaves. Also, the southern states being pro-slavery, an end to slave trade would have meant refusal to ratify the constitution. During the case of representation, one person had to represent 30,000 people and the debate was whether slaves were to be counted. This was because the slaves had no voting power. Congress decided to allow the slaves to be counted as three-fifths of the population (McDuffie).

For women, blacks, Native Americans, and poor whites, there was no independence. They were not accounted for in the American Constitution. As a result, they were not allowed to vote nor vie for a public office. This was very ironic because the same cluster of people was used as front-line fighters during the war for independence. Eventually, they were not allowed even to serve in the Army (Shelton).

References

McDuffie, N. Framers, Slavery and the Constitution. Associated Content. 2009. Web.

Shelton, S. M. The Puritans and the Myth of Democracy. Media Monitors Network. 2009. Web.

Spalding, M. The Formation of the Constitution. The Heritage Foundation. 2007. Web.

US Supreme Center. Historical Note on Formation of the Constitution. Updated 2005. Web.

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