“A brilliant solution: Inventing the American Constitution” by Carol Berkins introduces the birth of a new form of Government in America. Ten years after the Independence of America, America is not as prosperous as political leaders had expected. America is in debt, people fear that there is not a strong government and farmers are unhappy which ultimately causes a lack of nationality. State delegates realize there is a need for a convention to install order, therefore, over several years, state delegates assemble a convention to create a new constitution in hopes of saving their countries from their current issues and potential troubles.
Although the convention was essential, state delegates were not handling it as an urgent matter. Many delegates were unable to attend due to continuous complications at home. George Washington’s mother and brother had passed away due to health issues which also left Washington depressed. Benjamin Franklin had gout and was in his eighties but both knew it was of the essence to be there. Only seven delegates made their way to the convention which was held in Independence Hall, Pennsylvania. The convention resulted in the idea of electing George Washington to be the first President which would shape America into what it is today. This was very terrifying for his actions would be looked upon and would be a prime example of what a non-monarch government would be. This convention also led the start of planning a constitution, which is where the Virginia Plan is introduced.
The main struggle that occurs at first is how to separate powers, whether it should be two branches, how much power the executive gets, and how many will lead. The types of questions being demanded were questions such as these; should they trust the people to choose the right leader or should they just let the legislative branch choose. Should the president receive a pay, how much, or will it lead to corruption? How long is one term and can people be re elected and how many times.Many speculated whether to even have an executive branch and most arguments lead to a dead end and sometimes tyranny.
127 our experts are availableright now
The delegates finally came to a conclusion that there will be three branches which are the Executive, Judicial and Legislative. The idea for the three branches was disliked by states for they thought they were losing their rights. James Madison then created the Bicameral Congress which consists of a House of Representatives and a House of Senate to create proportional representation. After a 4th of July break they created a 3/5 fraction for a slave to count as. After taking care of most of the Legislative and Judicial branch, they move back to tackle the largest problem, the Executive branch.
Delegates did not feel comfortable with the popular vote because they felt that citizens vote would be bias instead of looking deeper into a candidate and his qualifications. This is where John Wilson came up with the electoral college vote. No one wanted the Legislative Branch to vote so a House of Representatives would be appointed. A major problem with this was that some states had a larger population. To settle this contentious problem, Sherman came up with the idea, “one state one vote” plan to equalize the amount of votes per state. All agreed this was fair except Delaware because Delaware is a baby. So with a 10-1 vote the matter of election was resolved.
The end of the nearly half year long convention was drawing to a close. With all the large components tackled only small ones were adjusted or rejected. The only larger change was that the senate vote had to be 2/3 instead of 3/4 in order to veto the President. Even though the new government was just about wrapped up some delegates started to question on whether they should have even made a new constitution, in fear of the Central Power being too strong and leading to an overload type leader sending the nation back to square one. Edmund Randolph, a Virginian lawyer, wanted to send the constitution to the states so they could have their own council and basically repeat the same process. Exhausted from the over extended convention most of the delegates declined the idea, which lead to Edmund along with George Mason and Elbridge Gerry to not sign the Constitution, even though Edmunds Virginia plan was one of the main reasons for its existence. Benjamin Franklin had his doubts but made a speech explaining how it is necessary. With everyone’s signature minus the three it was complete. Now the real task, ratification by the states.
Not everyone was in favor of changing the constitution. A group of people that did not want to lose state sovereignty called, Anti-federalists were advocates for states rights and were opposed to ratifying the new constitution. Federalists such as John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison defended the constitution by publishing federalists papers known as “Publius” which promoted the ratification of the new constitution. Most states voted to ratify the constitution except for some states that were strongly opposed such as North Carolina, New York, Virginia and New Hampshire but later signed because many did not want to secede.
George Washington was headed to New York to be appointed the first President. George knew he was going to be appointed although he wanted to be a retired farmer. There were no campaigns and no speeches were held because every state representative knew George Washington was qualified to lead as president. Everything seemed to go uphill but Washington was in debt and in poor health. Every time he stopped in a town or city people would greet him and hold celebrations and parades.
John Adams was elected as vice president, this not the greatest idea as the two didn’t necessarily like each other. He later would also find out Gerry was a congressman and Randolph was a General which was odd for Washington because at first he refused to sign. After he pledged with his hand on a bible from the St. John’s Masonic Lodge, he gave an inaugural speech about wanting to keep political unity. This later would prove to be Washington’s fear when views parted and the political parties were born.
The constitution has been kept for centuries with some advances. Alexander Hamilton envisioned America to be industrialized while James Madison wanted America to remain a cultivated land. Disputes of beliefs between Hamilton and Jefferson would lead to the production of the two political parties. “A brilliant solution” explains how the constitution has affected the presidency and the future of our government. The whiskey rebellion added on to the executives role by also creating a large control on the armed forces. The production of a national bank would urge America to become a industrial and create a stronger commercial economy. By leaving Article V in the constitution, which lets us amend their work as times change to fit our needs, the founding fathers essentially made the constitution a law system that could last for generations to come.
