James Alex Plunk
Government 20
Rossum
In support of the newly proposed United States Constitution in 1787, three influential political theorists composed and published a series of essays, referred to as the Federalist Papers, in an effort to influence the vote in favor of ratification. The authors of the Federalist Papers were John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. The essays are held in high regards for their insightful and detailed arguments on the justification of the Constitution. They are among the most analytical observations of the Constitution ever written. The authors of the Federalist Papers’ understanding of several key elements of American government as outlined in the Constitution comes into contrast with the way that …show more content…
Displays of irresponsible decision making by the state legislatures had troubled the nation’s leaders, who realized the need for a stronger national authority. Consequently, the Annapolis Convention was held and called for a change in the underlying structure of government. The Constitutional Convention was then established for the purpose of revising the Articles, however the delegates soon decided that an entirely new document was necessary because the Articles were too fundamentally flawed. The majority of delegates came to the conclusion that a confederacy was not an optimal system because the national government was rendered too weak and threatened the unity of the nation. On the other hand, an excess of power in the hands of a national government created a unitary system which conflicted with the ideologies of the founders, who had just fought an entire war over it. Madison proposed that under a federal system, where authority was divided among the state and national governments, the people would be protected under “double security”. This idea stemmed from the prediction that with the division of power, state and national governments would limit each other and internally limit themselves. The Great Compromise of the constitutional convention concluded that the national government would be separated into three branches, …show more content…
The drastically negative effects of the economic crisis left the American people in a situation where help from the national government was essential. This dependency on the national government empowered it greatly, as it had the support of an overwhelming majority. Under president Roosevelt the reach of the executive branch was immensely expanded as a result of the increasing necessity for government intervention in the lives of the average citizen. Many government programs were started in order to aid the suffering population, and much funding was given to states through a system of categorical grants. Categorical grants were sources of funding given to state and local authorities strictly for the specific purposes determined by the federal government. Two important, and highly debated, modern day programs that arose from this era are Social Security and welfare. The intervention by the national government was uncontested and therefore enabled the federal government to attain a large amount of power during this time. The system of categorical grants connected the state and federal government in a way that Madison and Hamilton would most likely disagree with. This connection dissolved the Constitutional barrier between the two institutions and essentially deteriorated the power check that state governments had on the federal government. The ability
Government 20
Rossum
In support of the newly proposed United States Constitution in 1787, three influential political theorists composed and published a series of essays, referred to as the Federalist Papers, in an effort to influence the vote in favor of ratification. The authors of the Federalist Papers were John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. The essays are held in high regards for their insightful and detailed arguments on the justification of the Constitution. They are among the most analytical observations of the Constitution ever written. The authors of the Federalist Papers’ understanding of several key elements of American government as outlined in the Constitution comes into contrast with the way that …show more content…
Displays of irresponsible decision making by the state legislatures had troubled the nation’s leaders, who realized the need for a stronger national authority. Consequently, the Annapolis Convention was held and called for a change in the underlying structure of government. The Constitutional Convention was then established for the purpose of revising the Articles, however the delegates soon decided that an entirely new document was necessary because the Articles were too fundamentally flawed. The majority of delegates came to the conclusion that a confederacy was not an optimal system because the national government was rendered too weak and threatened the unity of the nation. On the other hand, an excess of power in the hands of a national government created a unitary system which conflicted with the ideologies of the founders, who had just fought an entire war over it. Madison proposed that under a federal system, where authority was divided among the state and national governments, the people would be protected under “double security”. This idea stemmed from the prediction that with the division of power, state and national governments would limit each other and internally limit themselves. The Great Compromise of the constitutional convention concluded that the national government would be separated into three branches, …show more content…
The drastically negative effects of the economic crisis left the American people in a situation where help from the national government was essential. This dependency on the national government empowered it greatly, as it had the support of an overwhelming majority. Under president Roosevelt the reach of the executive branch was immensely expanded as a result of the increasing necessity for government intervention in the lives of the average citizen. Many government programs were started in order to aid the suffering population, and much funding was given to states through a system of categorical grants. Categorical grants were sources of funding given to state and local authorities strictly for the specific purposes determined by the federal government. Two important, and highly debated, modern day programs that arose from this era are Social Security and welfare. The intervention by the national government was uncontested and therefore enabled the federal government to attain a large amount of power during this time. The system of categorical grants connected the state and federal government in a way that Madison and Hamilton would most likely disagree with. This connection dissolved the Constitutional barrier between the two institutions and essentially deteriorated the power check that state governments had on the federal government. The ability