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The Writing of the Constitution
A constitution is the legal structure of our political system, establishing
governmental bodies , determining how their members are selected , and
prescribing the rules by which they make their decisions .
The nation's founders , fifty-five men , met in Philadelphia in the summer
of 1787 to write a new constitution and to form a new government. George
Washington was elected chairman of the convention.The founders were all
very well-educated. Over half the delegates had collage degrees, which was
rare in the North American continent at that time.
They also had experience in governing . More than forty of the delegates
held high offices in state governments , including three who were governors.
The founders believed in the idea that the purpose of government was the
protection of individual life, liberty and property.
Following the election of George Washington as president of the convention,
Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia presented a draft of a new
constitution .The Virginia Plan proposed a two house legislature. A lower
house directly elected by the people of the states based on the population ,
and an upper house elected by the lower house.The congress was to have
broad legislative power ,with veto over laws passed by state legislatures .
The President and cabinet would be elected by legislature. The national
judiciary would be elected by legislature , and their would be a "Council
of Revision" with power to veto laws of Congress.
Delegates from New Jersey , New York and Delaware did not agree to the
Virginia Plan due to the great power delegated to the national government .
William Paterson of New Jersey submitted a counterproposal .The New Jersey
Plan proposed a one-house legislature, with equal state representation
regardless of population. Congress had some legislative power, including
levying some taxes and the regulation of commerce.The plan also proposed
separate executive and judicial branches , elected by Congress and
removable by petition from majority of state governors.The judiciary was
appointed by the chief executive .The plan also included the supremacy
clause , stating that the Constitution and federal laws would supersede
over state constitutions and laws .
After several months of debate , Roger Sherman of Connecticut came forward
with a compromise.The Connecticut Compromise proposed a two-house
legislature , with numerical representation in the directly elected House
and equal state representation in the indirectly elected Senate. It also
gave Congress broad legislative power, including the power to levy taxes
and to regulate commerce . It proposed a single executive , chosen by an
Electoral College .The judiciary would be appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate .It also included the Supremacy Clause. This
compromise was approved by the convention on the 16th of July,1787.
Over time, constitutional changes have come about as a result of formal
amendments, judicial interpretations ,and presidential and congressional
actions. The most common method of constitutional amendment has been
proposal by two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress followed by
ratification by three-fourths of the states. In my opinion , two of the
most important amendments to the constitution are the Fifteenth
Amendment(1870): the right to vote shall not be denied because of race, and
the Nineteenth Amendment (1920): the right to vote shall not be denied
because of sex.
In the future , the constitution will continue to be changed and modified ,
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