The constitution - Essay Example

of Essay Factors that led to the drafting of the constitution In 1780’s America faced the critical period for their new nation. There was discontent and reconsideration caused by the danger of the economic crisis the disillusionment that came with the collapse of revolutionary expectations for dramatically improved conditions. A new plan for the country had to be developed, and this was the federal constitution, which was drafted by a group of national leaders in Philadelphia in 1787, who then presented it to the whole public for consideration1.

Why it was necessary to change the articles of confederation The articles of confederation were considered far too weak and ineffectual in running a national government, so a combination of factors further pointed to the need of a stronger government than the articles of confederation provided. Congress could not provide protection for local industries because it did not have the powers, and so America’s manufacturing had failed to grow. Settlers in the west demanded a more aggressive policy on land cessions and wanted more to be done to protect them from Indian attacks2.

Merchants wanted a government that could get them advantageous trade agreements abroad.While changing the Articles was not viewed as urgent among the southern and Mid-Atlantic States, their leaders too appreciated that free navigation of the Mississippi River and a solution of the dispute with Spain needed a response from a stronger government.Why some white males who owned were opposed to the new constitution. Before the new constitution, only white males who owned property were allowed to vote.

The new constitution, however, would allow all citizens to vote. It was also going to abolish slavery, meaning the propertied white would have to find an alternative source of labor3. How the constitution considered poor white males, slaves, women and Native Americans.The preamble of the federal constitution has the words ‘we the people’. These words can be interpreted to be meaning all the citizens of America. This is not true though, what it actually meant is that it excluded slaves, poor white males, women and Native Americans.

These groups of people were not allowed to vote, for example. It denied congress the power to abolish the slave trade before 1808. It also required that fugitive slaves should be returned to their masters.Unrepresented groups The unrepresented groups in the American constitution include the Hawaiians, the Indians and many other ethnic minorities living widely as small minorities. A constitutional republic meant that whereas other people enjoyed the privileges brought about by the new constitution, the unrepresented did not since they were not properly recognized by the constitution.

For example, the unrepresented people lost the right of suffrage. Though they lived in America, they could not vote as citizens of that country4. Bibliography.“Drafting the constitution” U.S History pre-columbian to the new millennium. Accessed October 25, 2011. http://www.ushistory.org/us/15.asp“Drafting the constitution” Cliffs Notes. Accessed October 25,2011. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Drafting-the-Constitution.topicArticleId-25073,articleId-25024.html Riggs, W. Fred.

“REPRESENTING THE UNREPRESENTED: A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION”. Updated 1999. Accessed October 25, 2011. http://www2.hawaii.edu/~fredr/usic.htm