United States Constitution Essay

Constitution PaperChristina WitherellHis/110October 27, 2014Thomas Ward
Constitution PaperHow the Constitution addressed the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation is best described if we can discuss a few weaknesses and the constitutions solution to each problem. We have five weaknesses here that we can discuss the solutions to. (1) No Executive branch (Article II, Section 1). With no president the government would have lacked a leader and someone to make the ultimate decisions on actions. The Constitution addressed this weakness by a solution that the President and Vice President have the executive power and must hold office during a term of four years although at this time there was no actual limit on terms. (2) No power to tax or regulate Commerce (Article II, Section 1). National government didn't have power to tax and all revenue came from the states. It couldn’t force states to obey its laws and taxation was ignored because of this. The Constitutions solution to this weakness was that congress was able to have the power to set and collect taxes and also regulate commerce with foreign nations. (3) No federal courts (Article III, Sections 1 and 2). The Constitutions solution to this weakness was to make it so one Supreme Court and all Inferior courts would hold the judicial power. (4) Unanimous vote needed to amend the Articles of Confederation (Article V). There would be only one vote per state regardless of the size and any changes at all required every vote to count which would inevitably lead to very long delays in implementation. The Constitutions solution to this weakness was to propose an Amendment to the Constitution where two thirds of both houses would vote in order to pass an Amendment and to ratify an Amendment, three fourths of the state legislature must approve it. (5) No power to control military service (Article 1, Section 8). This meant that there was no national Navy or Army to assist in implementing laws. This meant that Congress had the power to create and support an army and navy and also make rules and regulations for them to abide by. ("Bill Of Rights Institute: Constitution Of The United States of America", 2010)
There were many complaints and grievances in the Declaration of Independence that the Constitution needed to address. In the Declaration of Independence, the king exercised absolute power above all. So the Constitution divided the power among three branches of government and created a checks and balances system to make sure that no single branch got too powerful. Colonists were taxed without their consent, which upset the colonists greatly. The Constitution gave congress the power to tax the colonists by a representative that they elected. Another grievance was that the king made war against the American colonists. The Constitution gave congress the power to declare war while troops and militia can only be used inside the United States to stop an invasion or to enforce laws passed by Congress and the President. The king also suspended trial by jury and both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights guaranteed the right to a fair trial. The king kept standing armies in colonies and made the colonists house them. Thanks to the constitution the 3rd amendment protected people from having to house soldiers during times of non-war. ("Wikipedia: Petition To The King"). That the keeping a Standing army in these colonies, in times of peace, without the consent of the legislature of that colony, in which such army is kept, is against law. ("Library Of Congress: The American Revolution", n.d.).
The Great Compromise was one of the most important compromises. It was a way for each state to find out how they would be represented in Congress. The Great Compromise saved the Constitutional Convention; the problem of representation was the threat to destroy it. The Great Compromise confirmed that the Convention would continue and not stop. It called for proportional

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Constitution Of The United States