You have found the "BEST" Term Paper site on the Planet!
PLANETPAPERS.COM!

We GUARANTEE that you’ll find an EXEMPLARY College Level Term Paper, Essay, Book Report or Research Paper in seconds or we will write a BRAND NEW paper for you in just a FEW HOURS!!!

150,000+ Papers

Find more results for this search now!
CLICK the BUTTON to the RIGHT!

Please enter a keyword or topic phrase to perform a search.
Need a Brand New Custom Essay Now?  click here

An Elitest Constitution

Uploaded by jmurdoch on Nov 11, 2001

Did the American Constitution embody the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence? The prima facie answer would be yes. Looking deeper and remembering that during the Age of Empires the world ran on money, force of arms and enlightened self-interest, that the answer is now it depended on who you were. Application of the occasional Machaivellian twist to some of the Founding Fathers decisions will be used to support this view point.

The Declaration of Independence said that “men were entitled as a Creator given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. And that as long as a government did not infringe upon these it could have the obedience of the people. The document was influenced by philosophers such as Montesquieu and Thomas Paine - notably his “Common Sense”. The famous phrase “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” was inspired by the “Second Treaties on Government” writen by the English jurist Locke. Although in Locke’s version, the last word was one more in keeping with reality than revolutionary rhetoric it was “property”.

In 1787 representatives of the 13 states met in Philadelphia to revise the articles of confederation. These representatives were mostly from towns on or near the coast and also ranked amongst the financially successful of the time. Indeed 40 out of the 55 were owed money by the treasury department. Instead they created a new totally new national government And the democratic society that Americans had fought for on the War of Independence was to shortly become an elitist capitalistic republic.

So what was wrong with the Confederation and also the colonial system they had just broken away from ?

Madison said, referring to the Confederation, "A government which relies on thirteen independent sovereignties for the means of its existence, is a solecism in theory and a mere nullity in practice" cited by Mitchell(1975)

Under British rule the founding fathers had seen the effects where any one branch of a government managed to wield too much power and wanted they to create a system where such ministerial abuse would be impossible. Contrasting this was how to balance the freedom of the citizen from interference from central government while maintaining a system that protected the rights of minorities from an abuse of majority rule in a republican structure without exposing the government to the dangers of mob rule.

The delegates considered that the states of the Confederation were...

Sign In Now to Read Entire Essay

Not a Member?   Create Your FREE Account »

Comments / Reviews

read full paper >>

Already a Member?   Login Now >

This paper and THOUSANDS of
other papers are FREE at PlanetPapers.

Uploaded by:   jmurdoch

Date:   11/11/2001

Category:   Politics

Length:   7 pages (1,622 words)

Views:   2215

Report this Paper Save Paper
Professionally written papers on this topic:

An Elitest Constitution

  • Sports Gambling Legalization

    In five pages this paper argues in favor of legalizing sports gambling particularly as it involves college athletics. Four source...

  • Labor Migration of Refugees

    In five pages Latino refugee migration is considered within the context of Alejandro Portes and Ruben G. Rumbaut's Immigrant Ameri...

  • The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner

    In five pages economic thought is pondered as this text considers the contributions of such economic philosophers as Keynes, Malth...

  • Chrysler's Stock Performance

    In five pages this paper examines Chrysler Corporation in terms of its stock performance with market valuation and long term viabi...

  • Economist Thomas Robert Malthus

    In seven pages the life and contributions of 18th century English economist Thomas Robert Malthus and his Principle of Population ...

  • Independence and Auditing Fraud Issues

    In five pages this paper discusses independence and fraud issues as they pertain to auditing. Five sources are cited in the bibli...

  • Overview of the SEC

    The Securities and Exchange Commission is the focus of this comprehensive research paper consisting of twenty two pages which incl...

  • Minimum Wage and Government

    In five pages this paper discusses minimum wage and the effects of government intervention in its determination. Nine sources are...

  • Economics and Fundamental Inflationary Tendencies

    In seven pages this report discusses economic theory and practice in terms of the considerable influence wielded by inflationary t...

  • Auditing and Ethics

    In seven pages independent auditors are examined within the context of the ethical issues that pertain to their operations. Seven...

View more professionally written papers on this topic »