Benedictine Confederation

After Shay’s Rebellion proved that the Articles of Confederation were ineffective and unable to manage the states and it’s people. It was evident that a new form of government needed to be crafted. But what kind of government and how should it operate? These were the types of questions that the Federalists and the Anti-Federalist grappled with and argued over, for many years. The Anti-Federalists and the Federalists both took inspiration from men like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes and…

During the great debate over the ratification of the American Constitution in 1787, two groups, Federalists and Anti-Federalists, were extremely concerned with the safeguarding of liberty. However, these two groups absolutely disagreed whether or not a strong national government would uphold or ultimately annihilate the liberty of the American people. The Federalists supported the Constitution and a stronger national government. The Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, opposed the final…

The Ferocious Fight Over The Constitution: Anti-Federalist vs. Federalist The year of 1787: the Constitutional Convention is held to discuss the errors of the current government, the Articles of Confederation. The government was falling apart in eyes of the elites, with financial and social controversy still rising. Through these problems, the Constitutional Convention breathed life into a famous document; the Constitution. However not everybody supported the document that would reshaped the…

As the political theorist and philosopher, Edmund Burke said; “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” The United States of America was ruled by a tyrant king in 1776; they fought back which lead them to declare freedom and seek a new form of government. How does our written plan of government prevent all the power from going to a single place? Our plan of government stops a single place from getting too much power by federalism, separation of…

Shays Rebellion Shays’ Rebellion was the final nail in the coffin for the Articles of Confederation. It managed to serve as the catalyst for the Founding Fathers to recognize the necessity for change to a stronger and more centralized government. The rebellion highlighted several of the documents’ failings that ultimately were due to the weak and decentralized government that the Articles of Confederation established. One of the most influential events that strongly affected the US…

In their book, Washington and Hamilton: the Alliance that Forged America, authors Stephen F. Knott and Tony Williams describe how the unique and “indispensable relationship” between George Washington and Alexander Hamilton became essential to the founding of America. Knott (a professor of national security affairs at the United States Naval War College in Rhode Island) and Williams (the professional development director at the Bill of Rights Institute and program director of the Washington,…

The populist party arose in the late 1800's because many farmers felt that the system was rigged- they worked, worked and did everything they possibly could yet still failed to get ahead. The United States was shifting from an agrarian to an industrial economy. This left farmers unable to sell their crops on a global scale, and left many of them in a lot of debt. Farmers from all over sought out better political representation and formed the Populist Party, which stemmed from the “Farmer’s…

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution Cristina Sanchez Devry University To have an effective system to govern the entire nation, the United States went through several debates. On November 15, 1777, the Congress of the United States adopted the Articles of Confederations. The document was the first law that governed the United States. Each state remained sovereign and independent under the articles of confederation. The article provided several options and process of…

When the Constitution was written in 1787 no one had expected the arisal of political parties. The first president of the United States, George Washington, even warned against “the danger of parties in the State” in his farewell address (Washington 1796). Yet, in what seemed like no time, two very different political parties had risen. The first of these parties to be created was the Federalist party which was lead by such men as Alexander Hamilton; The second party, which was created to oppose…

The Preamble to the Constitution was written on May 25,1787. After two hundred and twenty nine years later it is still being used in the United States. The Preamble was a great way to start the Constitution. It states the main points it will talk about. Lastly, it addresses to whom it is directed to. The first reason it’s important is because it talks about how to create a better government. In the colonial times they didn’t have a well functioning government. The british king taxed without…