The Formation of the U.S. Constitution: Debates, Compromises, and Legacy

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Runninghead:United StatesConstitution1United StatesConstitutionName:Professor:University attached:DOS:

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United StatesConstitution2United StatesConstitutionSince its inception in 1787, the U.S. Constitution has been considered as the oldest andmost influential document. It laid down the principles and foundation which helped shape U.S.as a nation, and the more than one hundred countries that used it as a model for creating theirown Constitution (Constitutionfacts.com, n.a.). But the circumstances during its creation werecritical. The American War of Independence (1775-1783) against Great Britain had ended withthe signing of the Treaty of Paris that gave sovereignty to the U.S. in 1783.However, four yearslater, the United States was still not yet quite united. It was under a confederation—where thestates remainedsovereignand independent, and the powers of the central government rests onthe approval of member-states. A transformation of its political system to federalism-wherecentral government is essential in uniting and leading all member states was believed to beimperative by some head of states. Therefore, the existing Articles of Confederation at that timehad to be changed (History.comStaff,2009).Having just emerged from the American Revolution that started as an opposition againstthe British government’s taxation, there was much caution and fear about the power of a USfederal government and what rights each state have. This created numerous debates fromvarious political parties during the creation of the U.S. Constitution (Constitutionfacts.com, n.a.).The following sections highlight these debates that formed the U.S. Constitution as we knowtoday.1.ArticlesofConfederationvs.Constitutionof1787The Articles of Confederation was adopted by thirteen states in 1777, right after theAmerican Declaration of Independence in 1776. It wasconsideredas the first constitution of the

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