By 1776, the Second Continental Congress decided that the 13 Colonies will be fighting for independence in the Revolutionary War, thus making them in need for a legal base of permanent union as States. A year later in November 1777 the Congress issued what it is considered today to be the first constitution of the United States: “The Articles of Confederation”. This written document was setting up a loose confederation of states, citing that: “each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction and right” (Goldfield, 176-7). It took almost four years, until March 1781, for these Articles to be ratified by all 13 future States, and six years until it was replaced by our current Constitution of the United
…show more content…
At the secret meetings of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, in Philadelphia, two plans where written in order to create a new constitution or reform of the Articles: the Virginia Plan by James Madison, and the New Jersey Plan by William Paterson. While Paterson asked only for the power of taxation to be added to the Articles, Madison was ready to create an entire new Constitution. James Madison’s plan was accepted by the convention. The new Constitution created a three branch Federal Government, each of the branch having equal power over the other two with a “checks and balance’” system. The executive branch had an elected president of the United States. The judicial branch, also known as the Congress was divided into two houses: the upper house, or Senate had two appointed officials of each state, and the lower house or The House of Representative with voted representatives proportional to the state’s population. And the last, but not least, the judicial branch with appointed officials for live representing the United States Supreme Court. The three enumerated branches of the government gave a stronger structure to the central government which was now visiblly bigger and more powerful. The United States grew into a more unitary political power as the central government expanded to numerous branches that controlled the issues of the nation not in just external, but also internal affairs. The new Constitution allotted the power of taxation to the central government giving an inexhaustible source of income to the
At the secret meetings of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, in Philadelphia, two plans where written in order to create a new constitution or reform of the Articles: the Virginia Plan by James Madison, and the New Jersey Plan by William Paterson. While Paterson asked only for the power of taxation to be added to the Articles, Madison was ready to create an entire new Constitution. James Madison’s plan was accepted by the convention. The new Constitution created a three branch Federal Government, each of the branch having equal power over the other two with a “checks and balance’” system. The executive branch had an elected president of the United States. The judicial branch, also known as the Congress was divided into two houses: the upper house, or Senate had two appointed officials of each state, and the lower house or The House of Representative with voted representatives proportional to the state’s population. And the last, but not least, the judicial branch with appointed officials for live representing the United States Supreme Court. The three enumerated branches of the government gave a stronger structure to the central government which was now visiblly bigger and more powerful. The United States grew into a more unitary political power as the central government expanded to numerous branches that controlled the issues of the nation not in just external, but also internal affairs. The new Constitution allotted the power of taxation to the central government giving an inexhaustible source of income to the