The United States Constitution The Founding Father’s Original Intent Introduction The United States Constitution is known to every American Citizens as the “Law of the Land”. Composed of 4,400 words, it is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world. It is known around the world as the most influential document. Since its adoption on September 17, 1787, more than one hundred countries have used it as a model for their own. Legal scholars around the world are still amazed by the Constitution’s thoroughness and efficiency. It details the standard operating procedures of the three branches of our government and the limitations of its powers (The purpose of the two individual chambers of Congress, the authority of the Executive Branch and the function of the Judiciary); it frames our system of government, it defines the relationships between each state and the relationship between the several states and the Federal Government; and provides the procedure for amending the constitution. The writing of the United States Constitution was a collaborative effort of fifty-five delegates from the thirteen original States of the Union. These delegates agreed that the existing Constitution known as “The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union”, ratified on March 1, 1781, has served its purpose through the War for independence against Great Britain; however, it has been an unmitigated disaster when it came to forming a functioning government. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the thirteen founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states. This meant that the thirteen founding states is united but without a centralized government to unified them. In laymen’s terms, it created thirteen separate countries connected together without the power or authority to defend itself, to establish commerce with foreign nations, sign treaties and to pay its mounting war debts. Today, the United States is facing a new problem. Many Constitution scholars have declared that this country has lost its way. They complained that Congress have continuously passed laws that are infringing upon the citizen’s rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. Their argument conforms to Patrick Henry, one of the greatest American orator of the eighteenth century and a major figure of the American Revolution... “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” This new problem, however, is not really new. It has been in existence since the Washington Administration. Since the very beginning of our country, the enforcement of the law lies not in the words used in the legislation but how it is interpreted. The debate between two cabinet members, Thomas Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury started it all and it continues more than two hundred years later. It was called the debate of the strict constructionalists versus the loose constructionalists. Thomas Jefferson, the leader of the Republican Party, and his followers are strict constructionists. He and his followers believed that the Constitution means exactly what it says, and therefore is not open to interpretations or inferences. A judge’s decision should be based on the original wording of the Constitution, if it does not address the issue at hand, the issue should be left to the individual state to resolve. Alexander Hamilton, the leader of the Federalist Party, is a loose construction lists. He and his followers believed in a strong centralized national government over the union of state governments. They believed that the Constitution permits everything it doesn’t expressly forbids; therefore, the federal government under Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 which states “Congress has power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out execution of the enumerated powers”. However, Constitution philosophies tend to become more flexible depending on the situation at hand or political expedience. For example, during Jefferson’s first term as President, France offered to sell the eight hundred twenty –seven thousand miles of Louisiana Territories for $15 million. This would more than double the size of the United States. The problem was the Constitution did not specifically allow the federal government to make such a transaction. Jefferson conveniently set aside his political principles, borrowed the entire $15 million at 6.0% interest from Great Britain and closed the deal. This land transaction was arguably the greatest achievement in Jefferson’s presidency. The objective of this project is to offer my opinion on why the British Government felt the need to impose taxes on the loyal British citizens living in the thirteen British Colonies; how those very citizens became so disenchanted that they risk committing treason against the British Crown, how it affected the members of the Continental Congress before the initial drafting of the Articles of Confederation, offer my analysis on how the Articles of Confederation failed, what the initial intent of our Founding Fathers was when they all agreed to convene in Philadelphia to write a new Constitution. I encourage you to read it and formulate your own opinions to inspire a healthy debate.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 20:24:43 +0000
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