The Historical Event Position Essay:
Through this course, studying the history from the pre-Columbian era to 1865, I believe that the most significant event that has shaped America into the nation it is today is the forming and implantation of the Constitution in 1789. The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States and without it I believe we would not have a country as great as we do today. The Constitution, in its entirety, including all the amendments, especially the Bill of Rights, has shaped our Country and has had a major impact on decision making in all aspects of Government, even to this day.
The Constitution did not come easily for our forefathers to create and adopt. After the Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation in 1776, it took our Country 13 years of debate and almost mutiny from the thirteen colonies until the Constitution was formulated and which replaced the Articles of Confederation. In 1787, many delegates from most of the thirteen colonies gathered at the Philadelphia Convention to discuss and debate the merits of such a Constitution.
I believe that during the Convention the delegates tried their very best to formulate a Constitution, thus they would not have even traveled the distance and spent the time to argue their view points.
I think George Washington’s arguments for the Constitution are the most powerful and convincing in that he wrote, “My decided opinion on the matter is, that there is no alternative between the adoption of it and anarchy… All the opposition to it that I have yet seen is addressed more to the passions than to reason. General government is now suspended by a thread; I might go further, and say it is really at an end…” (Source- ch. 15 source 4, CI) George Washington believed that the Country needed something to hold it together because they were on the brink of losing all that they had fought for.
Benjamin Franklin seemed not to have much faith in the Constitution because he cautiously wrote, “I doubt too, whether any other Convention we have obtained, may be able to make a better Constitution. For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected?” (Source- Ch.15 source 1, CI)
Even with all the delegates prejudices, passions, errors of opinion, local interests, and selfish views, they were able to construct a Constitution that has held up for centuries.
This new Constitution is the national frame of government. It describes the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches, the legislative, executive, and the judicial. It also describes the rights and responsibilities of State governments and the relationships needed between the States and the Federal government.
The Constitution was a continual work in progress because many believed the government was too powerful. Patrick Henry spoke very strongly against the ratification of the constitution. He stated, “I need not take pains to show, that the principles of this system, are extremely pernicious, impolitic, and dangerous. Is this a Monarchy…? Is this a Confederacy…?” (Source- Ch.15 source 9, CI)
Patrick Henry also described this adoption of the Constitution, “as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain.” (Source- Ch.15 source 9, CI)
I believe Patrick Henry was afraid that the Government was becoming too powerful and was stripping away the privileges of the people that they fought so hard against when they battled the King of England. He was fearful that the President could easily become King, and the Senate was imperfectly constructed by a small minority. Patrick wanted to see more checks and balances in the Government. I also do not believe that Patrick Henry was alone in this belief, which is why there was so much debate and opposition from some states. It took several years for all of the States to ratify this Constitution and except it as the supreme law of the land.
I can see Patrick Henry’s problems with the Constitution because in 1788, the Bill of Rights hadn’t been formulated and added as amendments to the Constitution. It wasn’t until June 8, 1789, that James Madison introduced a series of thirty-nine amendments to the constitution in the House of Representatives. James Madison proposed that that they should insert these amendments into the Constitution, but 10 of the amendments, later referred to as the Bill of Rights became supplemental additions to the Constitution. If the Constitution was first formulated with the Bill of Rights, I believe Patrick Henry’s worries would have been lessened.
The Bill of Rights is so important and I believe is as necessary to our Country as the Constitution is because the Bill of Rights gives the people freedoms and protections from the Government. Such freedoms as“religion, freedom of speech, a free press, and free assembly; the right to keep and bear arms; freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, security in personal effects, and freedom from warrants issued without probable cause; indictment by a grand jury for any capital or infamous crime, guarantee of a speedy, public trial with an impartial jury; and prohibition of double jeopardy.” (Source- Wiki, United States Bill of Rights)
I believe that when James Madison introduced these amendments to the House of Representatives, he felt that these Rights should be a foundation in our Country’s birth giving all the people protections. These rights are similar to the English political documents which were the Magna Carta. I believe that these rights were what the people of America did not have when they were under English rule, such as the right to practice whatever religion a person chose, the right to bear arms, the right to assemble and have free press. These and other rights were was so important for them to create, so their government wouldn’t impose such strict and imposing laws on them again.
These Bills of Rights, was imperative for our Country, from the time that it was attached to our Constitution, to today. The founding fathers,who envisioned these rights and had the forethought to create such of an important document has been incredibly important in so many key points of our Country’s history.
The Reflection:
President Abraham Lincoln wrote that our Country’s government and constitution is a test that had never been tried before, and that the whole world was watching. (Source- Ch. 28, CI) There are so many laws telling people what they can and cannot do. I do believe that if it hadn’t been for the Bill of Rights that the Government would have trampled over these fundamental rights that our Country fought so hard to gain from England in the Revolutionary War. Even with these, Bill of Rights entrenched into the Constitution and a foundation for our Country; there are people and special interest groups that strive to take away some of these Rights that we enjoy today.
Our second amendment, which gives the people the right to bear arms, is under attack from some in special interest groups and some in government. For the past few years we have seen debates from both sides of the right to have guns, what types of guns a person can possess, where to carry them, when a person can carry them, and about what type of ammunition a person can have. I fear that if the government find causes to strip away some of these protected rights because they believe they are doing what’s right for the greater good or for public safety, the government will soon then strip away other rights they do not approve of at that given time. It is a slippery slope, in that if the government starts to attack these fundamental rights, then they have created the precedent, and they will start to attack our other protected rights.
This was just one example of such attacks that is being done against our Constitution and Bill of Rights. There are so many fundamental rights that we should all hold dear, such as the freedom of speech, freedom of a free press, protection against unlawful search and seizure, and the protections of a speedy trial by an impartial jury. Each one of these rights, have been attacked by different groups recently today.
I have learned from previous courses that I have taken, that these rights are under attack within our Country. During my recent Criminal Justice course, I learned some of the laws that Police Officers need to abide by during their investigations of individuals and what they need to do before they can search and seize individuals and/ or their property. I believe these rights enable us all to be treated fairly within our society.
I hope that our government will not start to enact laws that take away these rights, because I believe this Constitution and the Bill of Rights is what makes our Country so great today, and why so many people from around the world want to come to this Country to enjoy the same freedoms and rights that we enjoy day to day.