Учебный год 22-23 / Making of the US Constitution
.docFilchenkova D., 218 gr
The making of the Constitution
1. The need for a new constitution The word constitution means the entire legal framework of a nation, a plan of government, establishing its institutions and proclaiming the rights of citizens. But today its meaning changed. Now speaking of the Constitution we mean the main law of the country.
Looking at the US today it might seem hard to believe that it was once a poor group of colonies struggling for their independence. The first colonists in North America had some form of written instrument of government, usually a royal charter. There were three types of colonies: joint-stock companies (organized as economic ventures under the royal charter), compacts (agreements reached by and among the colonists themselves) and proprietary colonies (the Crown granted the land composing the colony to one or more landholders known as proprietors). Each colony had a two-house legislature composed of landowners; the upper house had both legislative and executive powers and advised the governor on a daily basis.
2. The Government the USA had before Constitution By the middle of the 18th century England got money from colonists so they wanted to be financially independent from England. Parliament retained supreme legislative power over the colonies but the colonies were not presented in the British Parliament which enacted laws for them. Popular resentment of the British governors grew until a conflict was unavoidable. Colonists had become dissatisfied with the mismanagement and unfair taxation of the British. It led to revolution.
The most important stages which led to the adoption of the Constitution were – the First Continental Congress held in Philadelphia in 1774; the Second Continental Congress held in 1775 which adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1777 and Articles of Confederation; and the Constitutional Convention known also as the Mount Vernon Conference held in 1785 which finally created the Constitution of the USA.
The 1st Continental Congress was convened to discuss the appropriate response by the colonies to Parliament’s repeated assertions of authority lo legislate for the colonies.
The Second Continental Congress passed a resolution calling upon the colonies to prepare new, written, republican (now without reference to the king and England) constitutions for the subsequent framing of the US Constitution.
The new state had no government so the Second Continental Congress has become its chief organ. It also appointed a committee to draft a new instrument of government. In 1777 the Articles of Confederation were ratified by required 9 states. Under the Articles there was no separate executive, but there was a separate secretary for foreign affairs. Congress could request the states to contribute money, but could not oblige them. It had the power neither to impose taxes or custom duties, nor to regulate interstate commerce. There was no separate federal court system. The Congress was even unable to secure quorum to transact business. It was very difficult to obtain powers for Congress because unanimous consent was needed to amend the Articles so one state could block the reforms.
3. The constitutional convention. Leading political figures understood that the Articles did not provide for a strong enough federal government. The representatives from Maryland and Virginia met in 1785 (Mount Vermin Conference) and agreed on a compact governing water rights, matters of currency, exchange, import and export duties. In 1786 another conference was convened to define a date of next conference. In 1787 the Constitutional Convention finally began to work and during this a Constitution which we have today was written. It was ratified by required nine states by 1790.
4. The actual writers of the Constitution. There were several plans of the Constitution proposed. All of them were used for a draft of it. James Madison (the Virginia Plan) called for creation of a national government having legislative, executive and judicial branches. A state’s representation in each chamber was to be based on its population. William Paterson (New Jersey Plan) proposed a principle –each state no matter how large or small it is would receive an equal vote in each house of the national legislature. Alexander Hamilton offered a proposal for a truly consolidated national government and created a bicameral legislature and the executive which will serve during good behaviour, but his plan was rejected.
5. We the people of the United States. Rather then listing all the makers of a Constitution by name, the preamble, written by Morris, begins with the words “We the People of the United States”. He hoped that such a turn of phrase would protect the new government from embarrassment if a state chose not to ratify the Constitution. But those who have studied the Convention`s work – and, indeed, Morris, Madison, and James Wilson themselves – also knew that those opening words underscored the nationalist thrust of the Constitution, that the new government would not be another mere confederation of states. The ratification battle divided the nation into Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The first five states to ratify – Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut – did so unanimously or by overwhelming majorities. Massachusetts proved far more difficult: Constitution was ratificated only with several amendments.
New Hampshire, on June 21, 1788, became the 9th state to ratify, thus putting the Constitution into operation under the terms of Article VII. In several states, included Virginia, New York and some others it was ratificated with more difficulties. Eventually, in May, 1790 Rhode Island ratificated the document and became the last state to do it.
6. Ratification of the Constitution. The preamble of the Constitution was created by Morris. He wanted to stress that it was the people of the US who were creating the Constitution and empowering the new government. All the Fathers of the Constitution-Madison, Morris, Hamilton, Samuel Johnson, Rufus King wanted people’s trust and that the new government would not be another mere confederation of states.
In conclusion I would like to say that the Constitution of the US is a carefully balanced document. It was designed to provide for a national government sufficiently strong and flexible to meet the needs of the republic. That’s why for more then 200 years it is still in force.