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Pick two essays to write about out of the three. These are based on the Constitution:
1)Explain how the colonial experience and the ideas of John Locke influenced the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
2) Some have referred to the Constitution as a conservative victory. In what ways were the framers less interested in republican liberty than in property and social order? Was this necessary for the countryʹs survival, or was it selfish? Explain.
3)Summarize the major arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. What were the major political compromises and manipulations used to ensure ratification of the Constitution?
Good Luck!!!
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1) The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were influenced by the fact that the colonists were put under tyrannical rule by the British and also by the ideas of John Locke. First of all, the colonists were tired of being under the rule of a government that was miles away and that oftentimes treated them unjustly. Also, they resented being taxed without representation, something that became evident in the Constitution. The Constitution gave Congress to levy taxes and furthermore, it created a government that would be representative of the desires of the American people. Consequently, the Constitution assured the colonists that they would not be taxed without having some sort of representation or say in the government. Additionally, the colonial experience made the Constitution’s framers aware of some deficiencies in the British government and also in their own. They realized that in order to prevent the U.S. government from becoming tyrannical, they couldn’t have a king or an authority figure that would hoard all the power. As a consequence of previous experiences, the framers of the Constitution created three branches of government, who would have equal, but separate and different powers, in order to check each other. If one branch became too powerful, another branch would check it.
Also, John Locke’s ideas influenced Thomas Jefferson when writing the Declaration of Independence. Locke proclaimed that people had a right to a just government and that if they were not satisfied with their current government they had the right to overthrow it. Jefferson, in turn, took this philosophy and applied it to the Declaration of Independence and said that the American Revolution was justified because the British government was not doing its job right. Also, Locke insisted that government had to protect its people, their liberty, and their property and that all men are equal. Obviously, Jefferson included these ideas in the Declaration of Independence. Locke had a great influence in this respect and was the main person that Jefferson borrowed ideas from.
3) Federalists, who supported the Constitution, were in favor of weaker state governments, a strong national government, indirect elections of officials, longer terms for politicians, a government by the elite as opposed to the common man, and were less concerned with individual liberties. Anti-Federalists argued that the Constitution was intended to ensure that a particular economic elite controlled the policies of the government. Apart from fearing that the government would be run by only the few elite, they feared that the Constitution would restrict their personal freedoms. The Constitution made no allusion to the fact that the government was so far void of any guaranteed personal freedoms.
The Federalists saw that in order to get the Constitution ratified they had to be willing to make some sacrifices and compromise with the Anti-Federalists. Since the Anti-Federalists were adamant about getting personal freedoms in the Constitution, James Madison agreed to write the Bill of Rights, which emphasized on freedoms, and many things that were missing from the Constitution. This allayed some of the Anti-Federalists fears and made them more willing to ratify the Constitution. Also, for those who thought the states were losing too much power, the framers specified that the Constitution must be ratified by special conventions in each of the states and not by the state legislatures.
1) The Declaration Of Independence written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, had various parallels to that of John Locke's 1689 work entitled, The Second Treatise Of Civil Government. Both argued that there were certain rights inherent in human beings and not dependent on the government. As well as both argued that government must be built on the consent of the governed. In other words, People must agree on who their rulers should be. John Locke as well as Jefferson agreed on the limitation of government. Both differed in one very similar but memorable quote. Locke argued for "life, liberty and property". While Jefferson argued for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The wording of both the American Declaration of Independence and "The Second Treatise of Civil Government" had many intertwining themes. John Locke's phrase on equality, "men bing by nature all free, equal, and independent..." influenced Jeffersons words of, "all men are created equal". Likewise, Locke's vision of the purpose of government, "to preserve himself, his liberty and property.." influenced Jefferson's phrase of "to secure these rights...". This shows that John Locke was extremely influential in the wording of both the Declaration of Independence and its successor the US Constitution. The same themes and ideas were inherent in both of the documents that founded this nation.
3)
The federalists were mainly made up of large land owners, wealthy merchants and professionals. The Feds argued for a weaker state government and a very centralized and strong national government. They also argued for indirect elections and longer terms of service for elected officials. They wanted the government to be run by the elite. There was much less concern for individual liberties and more concerned for the collective goods.
On the Antifederalist side were mainly small farmers, shop keepers, and laborers. They argued that the constitution was a class based document, intended to insure that a particular economic elite would control public policies of the national government. They continuously battled against this. The Antifeds wanted a strong state government and a weak national government. The federalists pushed for direct election of officials, shorter terms, and rule by common man. They also argued for strengthened protections for individual liberties, instead of collective liberties.
The major manipulations and compromises included the federalists arguing for the constitution being ratified by special conventions in each of the states; not by state legislatures. In other words a vote by the people and not by the elected officials. With the constitution being adopted by all of Delaware, New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York. North Carolina and Rhode Island set the provision for their ratification of Constitution as the adoption of Bill Of Rights.
Both sides won and lost battles for the United States and its Constitution.
3) On the Antifederalist side, mainly small farmers, shop keepers, and laborers; the new constitution was a class based document, intended to insure that a particular economic elite would control public policies of the national government. The Antifeds argued for a strong state government and a weak national government. They pushed for direct election of officials, shorter terms, and rule by common man. They also argued for strengthened protections for individual liberties.
The federalists, made up of large land owners, wealthy merchants and professionals argued for a weaker state government and a strong national government. They also stood by indirect elections and longer terms of service. They wanted the government to be by the elite. There was much less concern for individual liberties.
The major manipulations and compromises included the federalists arguing for the constitution being ratified by special conventions in each of the states; not by state legislatures. With the unionizing of Delaware, New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York to the constitution; North Carolina and Rhode Island held the Bill Of Rights as a bargaining chip in order to ratify the consitution.
1) John Locke influenced the US Declaration of Independence as well as the US constitution. John Locke's published work called, "The Second Treatise of Civil Government" provided a guide for the documents to follow. Both Jefferson, writer of the US Declaration of Independence and John Locke argued for limited government and the establishment of standing laws. They both also agreed that the "supreme power cannot take from any man any part of his property without his consent." Both also agreed that there are certain rights "inherent in human beings not dependent on governments." However John Locke believed that it was "life, love and property." Jefferson thought it was "life, love, and the pursuit of happiness." These beliefs intersected on and off within the words of the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. One example would be, John Locke's beliefs on the purpose of government. Which was to preserve man, his liberty and his property. While Jefferson simply renamed this as "to secure these rights". All in all, John Locke had a major unrecognized role in the forming of our nation.
Question 1
John Locke helped people to see that government is something that everyone must agree upon. The natual rights -- "rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments." -- helped people to see that everything is based off one anothers innate moral sense. People have a say in what they want for their government and who they want to run their government. They choose the limitations of their freedom and they live to abide by their laws.
The colonial experience helped because the control of Britain helped to seperate the people to be more independent. It helped to conform the ideas of the people to figure out what they want and what they believe they need. Being under the rule of a King gave the colonists a viewpoint of what they didn't want for a government. John Locke and the colonial experience helped people to see that they have the right to chose, to say what they want to say, and the freedom to be someone.
Question 3
The Bill of Rights was a major compromise that the Anti-federalists and the federalists came up with. The Bill of Rights consists of the 10 amendments that people live by and excercise everyday. It helped to ratify the Constitution because it offered restrain of the national government from limiting personal freedoms.
Some of the major arguments between the anti-federalists and the federalists were about how much the government should be involved. They fought about how long the terms should be for political positions, whether the government should control everything or if it should be left up to the citizens, and if there should be national elections or not. These arugments seem irrational but were necessary to help build a stronger platform for the Constiution and the Bill of Rights.
The colonial experience and the ideas of John Locke influenced the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution because he believed that human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. Locke also believed that human nature allowed men to be selfish. Locke advocated governmental checks and balances and believed that revolution is not only a right but an obligation in some circumstances. John Locke wrote that authority rested with the people and required their consent. If the rule of authority was unsatisfactory to the majority, they had the "Right to Rebel". Locke wrote that man had the inalienable rights to "Life, Liberty and Property". Jefferson converted this to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" which sounds a bit less crass than property. These words are seen very early in the Declaration of Independence. Locke strongly believed that the purpose of government was only to protect the people’s life, liberty and property. However, if the government did not fulfill these obligations, or becomes too powerful and corrupt, the people, Locke declared, have the right to destroy that government and create a new institution that will fulfill these obligations. This was the most important idea from Locke’s philosophy, which sparked the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution and the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
The major arguments of the Anti-Federalist for not wanting to ratify the constitution were that they believed that the new government was an enemy of freedom, they very freedom they had just fought a war to ensure. The Federalist objected that the new Constitution was a class-based document, intended to ensure that a particular economic elite controlled the public policies of the national government. But the Anti-Federalist had another fear, they feared that not only would the new government be run by a few but it would also erode fundamental liberties. Anti-Federalist also feared that the Constitution would weaken the power of the states (which it did). The compromise that was used to ratify the constitution was when the Federalist then promised to add amendments to the document specifically protecting individual liberties. They kept their word; James Madison introduced 12 constitutional amendments during the First Congress in 1789. One of the manipulation that was used was when New York City threatened to secede from the state if New York delegates did not voted to ratify the Constitution.
Much of Locke's work is characterized by opposition to authoritarianism. He wanted the individual to use reason to find answers instead of taking the opinion of authority. This influenced the Constitution, because the framers did not want to live in a monarchy. He also wanted people to be able to distinguish from the rightful and unrightful functions of institutions so that institutions wouldn’t take over. This was one of the components of the Constitution in the way that the framers didn’t want states to get too much power or government to get too much either, they wanted both “institutions” to only perform their rightful functions.
The Anti-Federalists wanted a more purely federal system. They didn’t think that the republican form of government was going to work on a national scale, and that the rights of the people were not protected properly by the Constitution. The Federalists on the other hand supported the Constitution full out. In order for the Constitution to become effective nine states had to ratify it. One of the key states that needed to ratify was Massachusetts and in order to convince them they made a compromise, and the Bill of Rights was added. The Federalists wrote many letters and gave many speeches which made “The Federalists Papers”. There were also several speeches and some letters written by the Anti-Federalists in opposition to “The Federalist Papers”.
Colonist’s fear of a centralized government and John Locke’s idea of natural rights greatly influenced the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence. In 1763, following Britain’s victory in the French and Indian War, taxes were increased for American colonists to help support and administer the newly gained territory, creating resentment towards the monarchy. The Founding Fathers created the Declaration of Independence and the constitution to prevent the centralization of power and to keep the government working for the people. Several of Locke’s ideas were adopted by our founding fathers and helped shape important documents such as the Declaration of Independence. His idea of natural rights, “Life, liberty, and property”, was altered by Thomas Jefferson and used in the writing of this particular document as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. John Locke believed that people had the right to revolt against the government when injustice was deeply felt this was also paraphrased and used in the declaration as “governments long established should not be changed for light or transient causes.”
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