Checks and balances are important to the preservation of our three branches of government. Checks and balances prevents one part of the government becoming more powerful than another part. The first way it prevents abuse of powers is the president's right to veto a bill if he doesn't agree with it. However, even the president's veto can be ignored, if two-thirds of both houses of Congress agree with the bill. Another way the president's power cannot increase is the Senate has to approve all of the president's justices, officials, and treaties. The way the build-up of power in both the Congress and the President is prevented, is that the Supreme Court can cancel any action that they decide is unconstitutional. An extreme version of this is impeachment. Although many people would say that the checks and balances system is inefficient, the system protects the accumulation of power and in turn protects our liberty. I believe that protecting the country against tyranny is more important than a little bit of inefficiency in a system.
There were very important compromises that the early America had to make. One of them was the representation of the states. It was probably the toughest question. The smaller states were against the larger states. James Madison came up with the Virginia Plan. It said that the members of the lower house would be elected by direct popular vote. Then the lower house would elect members of the upper house. Since the Virginia Plan favored state population, the smaller states were very unhappy. They came up with their own plan: The New Jersey Plan. this said that each state got only one vote, regardless of size. the argument went on for weeks, with either side giving way. Finally, a man named Roger Sherman offered a solution. It was called the Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise. This said that the representation of the lower house would be based on state population. The upper house would be equal for states regardless of size. Both sides got and gave.
Something I found that interested me this week was in the Government reading about the Constitution. The Constitution is actually not a Christian document, in the constitution God is not even mentioned once. The framers of the constitution wrote with a view of human nature, the framers also saw man's thirst for freedom and man's want to govern. They also kept in mind mans tendency to sin. " What is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary..." (Madison). A very important thing to keep in mind when framing a government is that "... is to be administrated by men over men." Although there is a big difficulty that comes with this, " You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."
Something that I think is crucial to the success of our government is the separation of powers. This principle divides the government into three branches; the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. To explain this in general terms, Congress (or the Legislature) makes the laws, the President executes and enforces those laws, and the judicial courts interpret the laws. This is important to a democratic republic because the separation of powers along with checks and balances (balancing the power with certain safeguards) ensure that our country will never fall into tyranny. If power was given to only one man or elite group, the possibility for corruption would be far greater than it is when power is divided and balanced.
The most interesting part of this week's reading for me, was the Newburgh Conspiracy. In 1783 a group of officers in General Washington's headquarters wanted to establish a new government under a king or a dictator and General Washington was their first choice. Washington's character was so strong and wise that he declined. He knew that this would not be the best option for America and could even be damaging to future of it. I think we owe General Washington a lot of respect and thanks for his wisdom and maturity in this situation.
I absolutely loved the play on words on page 149 of our history books, regarding our “Precedent Washington”. We hear about Washington and his many achievements, the cute stories about cherry trees, and various battle glories. But reading about our first president this week gave me a fresh perspective – sometimes I forget that he was actually a man like any other. He had a tumor on his thigh and dentures at 57 years old. All the more so, Washington recognized the fact that every single action he took would have lasting impact on the generations to come. He even set a pattern of how many terms a president held office for, at least until FDR. “And in Washington’s case his integrity shaped the dimensions of the presidency and the direction of the nation.” It is hard to imagine the sort of country we would be now had it not been for the incredible leadership of George Washington.
Shay’s Rebellion began in Massachusetts in 1786, with a group of armed and angry farmers who had purchased land at inflated prices, and then when the depression hit, where unable to meet their obligations. Another factor in the outbreak of the rebellion was the lack of hard currency. Because of this lacking, many of the farmers were not being paid for their work in a beneficial way, but rather they were being paid in Continental currency (which was practically worthless), or in goods such as salted pork. The rebellion began on August 29th during which protesters, including many war veterans, shut down county courts in the months following to stop the judicial hearings for tax and debt collection. The rebel forces formed a militia and attempted to seize the federal Springfield Armory. However, their attempts were rebutted and the rebellion was broken apart.
The Confederation had many successes, but along with those successes came many failures such as financial weakness, foreign weakness and domestic weakness. Hard money (silver and gold) was very rare in the US and the government printed so many "continental dollars" that they became virtually worthless. Barter became common and individual states began to print off their own currency. These problems caused a heavy financial burden on the government. Then there was foreign weakness. The separate needs and interests of each state often made it harder for the national government's of many foreign affairs. Outer powers such as Britain and France played on the jealousies of the individual states and this caused much enmity and difficulties when came to matters such as treaties (the treaty of Paris). Domestic weakness was also a large problem for the Confederation. Internal conflict and forceful actions such as the Newburgh Conspiracy and Shay's rebellion threatened America's young government. These are many ways in which the confederation was clearly failing at the time.
Compromises were a crucial part of the formation of the Constitution. Virginia present the Virginia plan, which proposed a bicameral legislation with representation by population. However, this plan didn't benefit the smaller colonies, so New Jersey presented a plan in which the legislation representation was equal for all the states. The big colonies sided with Virginia, and the smaller one with New Jersey. None of them wanted to give in but it was necessary to move forward, so they agreed to a compromise. The lower house representation would be based on population, while the senate would have equal representation for every state. Later during the Constitutional convention, an argument arose about the commerce. Although everyone agreed Congress should have a role in trade, people, especially Southerners were afraid their business would be hurt if Congress had too much involvement. However an agreement was eventually reached. Congress would have power over foreign trade and trade between states, but it couldn't tax exports or interfere with slave trade for twenty years. The other major disagreement that the founding fathers had was over whether slaves should count when determining the population for representatives in the house. To settle the problem that three-fifths compromise was created. It was decided that slaves would count as three-fifths of person, but states would also have to pay three-fifths of the taxes on them. If no one had agreed to compromise the Constitution never could have been completed. Everyone had to be willing to let go of something in order for it to work. Often we tend to hold too tightly to our opinions, and what would be best for us, and fail to see another persons point of view. Fortunately, our founding fathers understood the importance of compromise.
I wonder what the result would have been if the three – fifths compromise was never passed? Would they have just worked it out? There may have been less bloodshed. We will never know. What was sad about this compromise was that the delegates (or at least one of them) thought “The States are the best judgment of their particular interest.” That is saying we are a judgment of our own interest! But if left to ourselves, we do not always make the right choices! We are not always our best judgment. I find it heartbreaking how the black race was treated. The advertisement in out book, on page 144, says, “A cargo full of Negros, all in good health” They could just be saying, “a cargo full of sheep, all in good health”, they didn’t consider them completely human. So the three – fifths Compromise stated that slaves would be considered three – fifths a person.
As seen in this week’s readings, I think it is interesting how the failure of the Articles contributed to the Constitution’s success. It is impressive that one document was accepted by all thirteen colonies. The relatively quick ratification of the Constitution was thanks, in part, to the failure of the Articles. Those given power in the process of ratification could see and appreciate the changes put in place by the Fathers of the Constitution after the failures of the Articles. Specifically, seeing the downfalls of such a decentralized government probably made many hesitant leaders see the need for a more centralized national government. I am appreciative that these leaders were able to learn from their mistakes to create the powerful government we have in place today.
In Thomas Jefferson's proposal of the Ordinance of 1784 he suggested banning slavery. This was a long time before slavery was banned but it startled me how people were already thinking about freeing their slaves. In my mind when I think of people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson I think of hard working men who would enjoy having slaves do the work needed done at home. I never really thought that any of them could really be interested about setting slaves free and letting them be their own person. However as I kept reading I learned that "Many of the delegates were opposed to the institution of slavery itself.” Once the 3/5 compromise was passes there was no way to go back and ban slavery, but it makes me wonder if some people wished that had happened. What would have happened if the 3/5 compromise was not passed? Would slaves have been set free sooner? Would we still have slaves? It’s such a weird concept but it does make me wonder.
Checks and balances are important to the preservation of our three branches of government. Checks and balances prevents one part of the government becoming more powerful than another part. The first way it prevents abuse of powers is the president's right to veto a bill if he doesn't agree with it. However, even the president's veto can be ignored, if two-thirds of both houses of Congress agree with the bill. Another way the president's power cannot increase is the Senate has to approve all of the president's justices, officials, and treaties. The way the build-up of power in both the Congress and the President is prevented, is that the Supreme Court can cancel any action that they decide is unconstitutional. An extreme version of this is impeachment. Although many people would say that the checks and balances system is inefficient, the system protects the accumulation of power and in turn protects our liberty. I believe that protecting the country against tyranny is more important than a little bit of inefficiency in a system.
ReplyDeleteThere were very important compromises that the early America had to make. One of them was the representation of the states. It was probably the toughest question. The smaller states were against the larger states. James Madison came up with the Virginia Plan. It said that the members of the lower house would be elected by direct popular vote. Then the lower house would elect members of the upper house. Since the Virginia Plan favored state population, the smaller states were very unhappy. They came up with their own plan: The New Jersey Plan. this said that each state got only one vote, regardless of size. the argument went on for weeks, with either side giving way. Finally, a man named Roger Sherman offered a solution. It was called the Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise. This said that the representation of the lower house would be based on state population. The upper house would be equal for states regardless of size. Both sides got and gave.
ReplyDeleteSomething I found that interested me this week was in the Government reading about the Constitution. The Constitution is actually not a Christian document, in the constitution God is not even mentioned once. The framers of the constitution wrote with a view of human nature, the framers also saw man's thirst for freedom and man's want to govern. They also kept in mind mans tendency to sin. " What is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary..." (Madison). A very important thing to keep in mind when framing a government is that "... is to be administrated by men over men." Although there is a big difficulty that comes with this, " You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."
ReplyDeleteSomething that I think is crucial to the success of our government is the separation of powers. This principle divides the government into three branches; the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. To explain this in general terms, Congress (or the Legislature) makes the laws, the President executes and enforces those laws, and the judicial courts interpret the laws. This is important to a democratic republic because the separation of powers along with checks and balances (balancing the power with certain safeguards) ensure that our country will never fall into tyranny. If power was given to only one man or elite group, the possibility for corruption would be far greater than it is when power is divided and balanced.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting part of this week's reading for me, was the Newburgh Conspiracy. In 1783 a group of officers in General Washington's headquarters wanted to establish a new government under a king or a dictator and General Washington was their first choice. Washington's character was so strong and wise that he declined. He knew that this would not be the best option for America and could even be damaging to future of it. I think we owe General Washington a lot of respect and thanks for his wisdom and maturity in this situation.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the play on words on page 149 of our history books, regarding our “Precedent Washington”. We hear about Washington and his many achievements, the cute stories about cherry trees, and various battle glories. But reading about our first president this week gave me a fresh perspective – sometimes I forget that he was actually a man like any other. He had a tumor on his thigh and dentures at 57 years old. All the more so, Washington recognized the fact that every single action he took would have lasting impact on the generations to come. He even set a pattern of how many terms a president held office for, at least until FDR. “And in Washington’s case his integrity shaped the dimensions of the presidency and the direction of the nation.” It is hard to imagine the sort of country we would be now had it not been for the incredible leadership of George Washington.
ReplyDeleteShay’s Rebellion began in Massachusetts in 1786, with a group of armed and angry farmers who had purchased land at inflated prices, and then when the depression hit, where unable to meet their obligations. Another factor in the outbreak of the rebellion was the lack of hard currency. Because of this lacking, many of the farmers were not being paid for their work in a beneficial way, but rather they were being paid in Continental currency (which was practically worthless), or in goods such as salted pork. The rebellion began on August 29th during which protesters, including many war veterans, shut down county courts in the months following to stop the judicial hearings for tax and debt collection. The rebel forces formed a militia and attempted to seize the federal Springfield Armory. However, their attempts were rebutted and the rebellion was broken apart.
ReplyDeleteThe Confederation had many successes, but along with those successes came many failures such as financial weakness, foreign weakness and domestic weakness. Hard money (silver and gold) was very rare in the US and the government printed so many "continental dollars" that they became virtually worthless. Barter became common and individual states began to print off their own currency. These problems caused a heavy financial burden on the government. Then there was foreign weakness. The separate needs and interests of each state often made it harder for the national government's of many foreign affairs. Outer powers such as Britain and France played on the jealousies of the individual states and this caused much enmity and difficulties when came to matters such as treaties (the treaty of Paris). Domestic weakness was also a large problem for the Confederation. Internal conflict and forceful actions such as the Newburgh Conspiracy and Shay's rebellion threatened America's young government. These are many ways in which the confederation was clearly failing at the time.
ReplyDeleteCompromises were a crucial part of the formation of the Constitution. Virginia present the Virginia plan, which proposed a bicameral legislation with representation by population. However, this plan didn't benefit the smaller colonies, so New Jersey presented a plan in which the legislation representation was equal for all the states. The big colonies sided with Virginia, and the smaller one with New Jersey. None of them wanted to give in but it was necessary to move forward, so they agreed to a compromise. The lower house representation would be based on population, while the senate would have equal representation for every state. Later during the Constitutional convention, an argument arose about the commerce. Although everyone agreed Congress should have a role in trade, people, especially Southerners were afraid their business would be hurt if Congress had too much involvement. However an agreement was eventually reached. Congress would have power over foreign trade and trade between states, but it couldn't tax exports or interfere with slave trade for twenty years. The other major disagreement that the founding fathers had was over whether slaves should count when determining the population for representatives in the house. To settle the problem that three-fifths compromise was created. It was decided that slaves would count as three-fifths of person, but states would also have to pay three-fifths of the taxes on them. If no one had agreed to compromise the Constitution never could have been completed. Everyone had to be willing to let go of something in order for it to work. Often we tend to hold too tightly to our opinions, and what would be best for us, and fail to see another persons point of view. Fortunately, our founding fathers understood the importance of compromise.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the result would have been if the three – fifths compromise was never passed? Would they have just worked it out? There may have been less bloodshed. We will never know. What was sad about this compromise was that the delegates (or at least one of them) thought “The States are the best judgment of their particular interest.” That is saying we are a judgment of our own interest! But if left to ourselves, we do not always make the right choices! We are not always our best judgment. I find it heartbreaking how the black race was treated. The advertisement in out book, on page 144, says, “A cargo full of Negros, all in good health” They could just be saying, “a cargo full of sheep, all in good health”, they didn’t consider them completely human. So the three – fifths Compromise stated that slaves would be considered three – fifths a person.
ReplyDeleteMr. Parker,
ReplyDeleteWhy does the computer test if I am a robot every time I post something?
Hmmm. That's odd, were you acting like a robot?
ReplyDeleteAs seen in this week’s readings, I think it is interesting how the failure of the Articles contributed to the Constitution’s success. It is impressive that one document was accepted by all thirteen colonies. The relatively quick ratification of the Constitution was thanks, in part, to the failure of the Articles. Those given power in the process of ratification could see and appreciate the changes put in place by the Fathers of the Constitution after the failures of the Articles. Specifically, seeing the downfalls of such a decentralized government probably made many hesitant leaders see the need for a more centralized national government. I am appreciative that these leaders were able to learn from their mistakes to create the powerful government we have in place today.
ReplyDeleteIn Thomas Jefferson's proposal of the Ordinance of 1784 he suggested banning slavery. This was a long time before slavery was banned but it startled me how people were already thinking about freeing their slaves. In my mind when I think of people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson I think of hard working men who would enjoy having slaves do the work needed done at home. I never really thought that any of them could really be interested about setting slaves free and letting them be their own person. However as I kept reading I learned that "Many of the delegates were opposed to the institution of slavery itself.” Once the 3/5 compromise was passes there was no way to go back and ban slavery, but it makes me wonder if some people wished that had happened. What would have happened if the 3/5 compromise was not passed? Would slaves have been set free sooner? Would we still have slaves? It’s such a weird concept but it does make me wonder.
ReplyDelete