Picture this, the thirteen original English colonies are punished and expected to pay outrageous taxes for a war—they had virtually no part in—are resentful: Ideas of independence and nationalism cloy to the settlements. Abruptly these harmless ideas transition into serious inquires of the process for American colonies to conclude all governmental ties with Great Britain. Thus pushing past the already in place self-government documents of the Mayflower Compact to begin constructing a constitution written by second, third and even fourth generation colonists. Famously tag-lined “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Lincoln,1836) by none other than Abraham Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address. The American Constitution is
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During the development of the constitution, the 1787 convention only had delegates from young, upper class and educated men who proposed the issues that needed to be solved with this piece of legislation. The delegates also had pronounced factions within the convention including pro and anti-slavery, nationalists and the juxtaposition of small states versus large states. A democracy is supposed to have accurate representation from all members of society. Thus only having white, upper-class and educated men to construct a document that equally represents all ethnic groups and cultures of a country is impossible to …show more content…
During the nationalist movement throughout the British colonies in America, it was common—particularly in the southern states— to own property in the form of land but also in the form of human beings. Beginning with the three-fifths compromise, this agreement helped settle the representation scheme for voting districts. (Bardes et al. 2017). While many of the northern states which relied on mercantile and artisan forms of employment, the southern states relied heavily on the plantation and farming industry to ensure survival. However, plantation owners and the surrounding communities wanted the slaves being integrated as a portion of the population ideal. This stems from the hidden agenda to have southern states have more representation because of the hold more of the total population. Thus one slave is equaled to three-fifths of one free person (Bardes et al. 2017). In article four, section two, it is explicitly states that; “No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequences of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Services or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.” (US Const, art. IV sec II) This takes shape to escaped slaves who must be rounded back up and shipped back to their home state to fulfil their
During the development of the constitution, the 1787 convention only had delegates from young, upper class and educated men who proposed the issues that needed to be solved with this piece of legislation. The delegates also had pronounced factions within the convention including pro and anti-slavery, nationalists and the juxtaposition of small states versus large states. A democracy is supposed to have accurate representation from all members of society. Thus only having white, upper-class and educated men to construct a document that equally represents all ethnic groups and cultures of a country is impossible to …show more content…
During the nationalist movement throughout the British colonies in America, it was common—particularly in the southern states— to own property in the form of land but also in the form of human beings. Beginning with the three-fifths compromise, this agreement helped settle the representation scheme for voting districts. (Bardes et al. 2017). While many of the northern states which relied on mercantile and artisan forms of employment, the southern states relied heavily on the plantation and farming industry to ensure survival. However, plantation owners and the surrounding communities wanted the slaves being integrated as a portion of the population ideal. This stems from the hidden agenda to have southern states have more representation because of the hold more of the total population. Thus one slave is equaled to three-fifths of one free person (Bardes et al. 2017). In article four, section two, it is explicitly states that; “No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequences of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Services or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.” (US Const, art. IV sec II) This takes shape to escaped slaves who must be rounded back up and shipped back to their home state to fulfil their