After the Revolutionary War, George Washington, and his soldiers finally freed the colonies from the tyranny of Britain. Although Washington's men prompted him towards becoming the new nation's leader, he chastised them. He refused to repeat history by crowning himself king of the infant nation. However, being under the Articles of the Confederation during the battle, George understood all the shortcomings of them and saw they would not be fit for a successful nation, either.
The Articles of the Confederation, which is the first government of the newly born United States of America, was formed under the Constitutional Convention and informally followed from 1776 to 1781. The Constitutional Convention was a meeting of political pragmatists that knew protecting everyone's property and rights mean they can also secure their own.
Under the Articles of the Confederation, each state had its own central government. For the states, this posed many weaknesses. A decline in international ensued and the value of money dropped since each state printed its own currency. The threat of social disorder and foreign enemy attacks skyrocketed. The deficiency of the Articles became too much when the state of Massachusetts could not effectively deal with Shay's Rebellion. Joseph Ellis describes this as " a six-month rebellion in which more than 1,000 armed farmers attacked federal arsenal to protest the foreclosure of (their) farms".
The Articles of the Confederation, although liberating, left the
federal government without enough power to properly govern the states. Under the articles, the federal government could not draft soldiers or tax citizens. Therefore, it could not pay off the Revolutionary War debt and had no national currency. It was around this time in which both Washington and Madison came to the conclusion that the Articles of Confederation needed to be replaced with a national government that possessed a clear mandate to equip the states in both foreign and domestic policy.
The first ten months of the Constitutional Convention is a period of time which Joseph Ellis describes as "the most far-ranging and consequential political debate in American history". In this moment of time, two primary parties in the great debate were assembled. The federalists, those who wanted to ratify a constitution consisting of guidelines for a strong central government and the anti-federalists, those opposed to what they perceived as a reestablishment of the oppression they have just been liberated from.
Federalists had the goal of establishing a system of government
under which the national government and state governments share powers (federalism). The idea of an institutionalized Constitution is to have a unique form of shared sovereignty and division of power. Under federalism, delegated, expressed, or enumerated powers could print money, regulate interstate and international trade, make treaties concerning foreign policy and declare war. Secondly, reserved powers could issue licenses and run federal elections. Finally, concurrent powers were permitted to collect taxes, build roads and operate courts of law.
On the other hand, anti-federalists were in disagreement with any form of government; believing them to be far removed from the citizens it would ostensibly represent. The anti-federalists, afraid to fall under yet another oppressive rule, anchored themselves in the revolutionary ideology that regarded any powerful central government as a domestic version of the British government they had been previously freed of.
James Madison proclaimed the chief goal of the federalists was to offer a Constitution that would be a rescue rather than a betrayal of the principles of the American Revolution. Madison was so intelligent that if he worked diligently, he had the ability to convince the people.
Patrick Henry argued that he, along with the rest of the anti-federalists, were protecting Americans from a hostile takeover by an elite minority. Henry was an incredibly persuasive speaker. In fact, he was so prominent that Jefferson joked to Madison the only thing he could do when confronted by Henry is "devoutly pray for his imminent death".
After the Henry-Madison debate finally concluded, the people concurred a new form of bureaucracy was needed. The Constitution was then sent to each individual state for ratification.
The Constitution was established through a messy progress of
compromise and debate that still continues to this day. Even when it may seem that bedlam ensues through this process, it is imperative to remember that a prosperous nation would be inconceivable without it. Seemingly tedious arguing is, in reality, the very foundation of America.
In light of the groundwork of this great nation, don't groan at the next dispute you hear. Instead, remember that controversy is not about providing answers, but rather about providing a framework in which unanswered questions can be further discussed.
