2.) Please briefly describe the political and historical factors that precipitated the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. What are some different accounts of the documents’ purposes?
Introduction
I will first describe the historical background that led to the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. After that, I will explain how the historical events influenced the creation of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I will then analyze the influence of political factors. In the historical and political factors paragraphs, I will also explain what the documents were trying to achieve and why the documents are set up the way they are.
Historical Background
I will firstly provide a brief historical …show more content…
The first factor was the wealth inequality between the rich and the poor: some sections of the constitution were designed to placate the masses. The second factor was the interests in trade. After the colonies became independent from Britain, about half of the people in charge were “New Money,” meaning that they were self-made business people involved with trade or deeply impacted by trade. Thus, many provisions are pro-trade. After the American Revolution, states favored businesses based in their own state. The state gave tax breaks to those businesses, which made interstate trade difficult, which in turn led to stifled trade. The Constitution aimed to “iron out” the “wrinkles” in the economy. The third factor is the states were powerful entities that predated the federal government and had their own separate interests. States were self-governing for about a century before the states joined together to create the United States of America. States were hesitant to give power to an umbrella government because the states had just fought a war against a centralized government (Britain) and the state leaders had tasted the power of complete control. The fourth factor is that there was an enormous need for unification for international relations and for the economy. America as a country was at the time new and therefore the military was extremely weak and vulnerable, and relations between states and …show more content…
It also “list(ed) grievances against King George III” (42). The Declaration of Independence was a form of anti-Britain protest because colonists were angry about the way Britain had treated them. Many parts of the Declaration were meant to be the opposite of the way Britain had run. For example, the Declaration called for public participation in government, contrary to Britain, where “only one in six British adult males had the right to vote for Parliament” (40). The Declaration is a reaction “against the limitation on the rights imposed by the British monarch and by royal governors in the colonies” (id.). Geer states that “the British…had a more limited view of both participation and representation” (40). On the other hand, the Declaration of Independence “declared the right of the people to alter or abolish governments that do not meet the needs of the people”
Introduction
I will first describe the historical background that led to the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. After that, I will explain how the historical events influenced the creation of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I will then analyze the influence of political factors. In the historical and political factors paragraphs, I will also explain what the documents were trying to achieve and why the documents are set up the way they are.
Historical Background
I will firstly provide a brief historical …show more content…
The first factor was the wealth inequality between the rich and the poor: some sections of the constitution were designed to placate the masses. The second factor was the interests in trade. After the colonies became independent from Britain, about half of the people in charge were “New Money,” meaning that they were self-made business people involved with trade or deeply impacted by trade. Thus, many provisions are pro-trade. After the American Revolution, states favored businesses based in their own state. The state gave tax breaks to those businesses, which made interstate trade difficult, which in turn led to stifled trade. The Constitution aimed to “iron out” the “wrinkles” in the economy. The third factor is the states were powerful entities that predated the federal government and had their own separate interests. States were self-governing for about a century before the states joined together to create the United States of America. States were hesitant to give power to an umbrella government because the states had just fought a war against a centralized government (Britain) and the state leaders had tasted the power of complete control. The fourth factor is that there was an enormous need for unification for international relations and for the economy. America as a country was at the time new and therefore the military was extremely weak and vulnerable, and relations between states and …show more content…
It also “list(ed) grievances against King George III” (42). The Declaration of Independence was a form of anti-Britain protest because colonists were angry about the way Britain had treated them. Many parts of the Declaration were meant to be the opposite of the way Britain had run. For example, the Declaration called for public participation in government, contrary to Britain, where “only one in six British adult males had the right to vote for Parliament” (40). The Declaration is a reaction “against the limitation on the rights imposed by the British monarch and by royal governors in the colonies” (id.). Geer states that “the British…had a more limited view of both participation and representation” (40). On the other hand, the Declaration of Independence “declared the right of the people to alter or abolish governments that do not meet the needs of the people”