Classification Essay about the US Constitution
The United States constitution was drafted in Philadelphia in 1787 and ratified in 1788. It divides the governmental powers between the nation and the government of states through the federal system. It separates the government into executive, legislative and the judicial sections that serve as checks and balances upon each other. This constitutional film enables the learner to develop an ability to observe the motion pictures. This gives the learner a sense of feeling thus makes judgment about the production that gives clear constitutional understandings. Therefore, the constitutional film makes the reader to understand the contents of the movie and performance such as the states, the convention and different plans presented.
The movie is eight-part series about the conventional history in the United States. The constitutional convention was a landmark in the history of America. From the experience of the movie, the United States’ constitution and the representatives of people in the constitution has profound influence on subsequent experiments in the government. Among the chief issues presented in the constitution is how much power the central government needs. It also held an issue on the number of representatives in the congress in each state and the criteria of selecting them. The constitution therefore stands as a model of cooperative diplomacy and the art of compromise.
The United States’ constitution in the movie indicates that it was signed by 39 delegates on September 17, 1787. These delegates are the powerful individuals in their home states being selected to attend the convention. Most of them are well-educated individuals in the area of political philosophy. The constitutional convention delegates held in Philadelphia signed the United States’ convention. Every state has a delegate in the convention but not all the delegates signed the constitution as the final approval indicates. Some delegates such as George Mason intentionally did not sign it, saying it was not democratic enough (Peterson 19).
The aim of the convention was to campaign to change the first government charter of the United States in the Confederation Articles. Politicians seemed worried about the problems that face the confederation because they thought the government was too weak to solve the conventional issues. Former associates such as Spain, France and the Great Britain controlled trade thus hindering the development of America and its territories in the Western parts. The confederation faced various problems such as lack of power to resolve boundary disputes between the states. They wanted to avert states from imposing heavy tariffs and other inter-state commercial restrictions. It lacked an independent revenue source and planned to grant congress authority to levy import taxes of 5% but it failed.
The advocates of reform wanted the convention to revise the articles, laying the foundation for interstate conference and conventions to seek similar goals. The delegates from Maryland and Virginia held a meeting in Mount Vernon Conference in 1785. They set a model of reform hoping to succeed on the issue. Some met in a convention for commercial matters at Annapolis and Maryland. In September 1786, twelve delegates from five states gathered and made a report arguing on a general convention encouraging the call for the federal convention. The report was written by one of the delegates known as Alexander Hamilton of New York.
In early 1787, the confederation congress adopted a declaration authorizing the government but restricted its authorization to modification of the articles. Many states by then had named their delegates and citing the Annapolis report of the convention. They authorized the government to take some actions to render the government constitution sufficient to the demands of the congress. The constitution consequently begun with an inconsistent authorization discussed in the congress by various members. These were the state governors, chief justices and attorney generals. Others included various delegates who presented the confederation congress and many distinguished Americans. Although, it has some other members such as lawyers, physicians, merchants, clergymen and soldiers, most delegates were prosperous members of their states’ leaders.
In the convention, Washington was elected as the president of the United States and appointed as a committee member to set up rules. Two of these were crucial to the success of the convention. First, the convention met its secrets that would allow full and free discussion since it is a routine among legislatures in the Anglo-American world. Secondly, the delegates found a free chance to alter their minds and revive any matters for further debate. The delegates revolved between sessions in full convention and committee meetings of the whole house. Later, a useful parliamentary procedure allowed informal debate, freedom of giving views and flexibility in giving suggestions and reconsidering discussions.
The selected committee in the convention worked out cooperatively, prepared drafts and formulated a wide range of solutions to a given problems. The delegates attacked questions little by little, discussing and concluding on the individuals views. Frequently, a debate on a certain issue would need them to re-evaluate other decisions made earlier. The traced a twisted, crisscrossing way, at times pausing in shock as they would appreciate that the vote they had already voted for had not yet fulfilled their requirements. They discarded the articles and changed a completely new constitution in the convention. These declarations planned the formation of a supreme state government that separated the lawmaking, executive and judicial sections (Peterson 16).
The chief task of the convention was to plan for a state legislature. The delegates decided on the authorities they wished to amend in the new congress but differed on how the states and Americans would correspond to them. To secure the state equality principles, delegates from small states assembled behind the New Jersey plan of William Paterson. These plans were to preserve each equal vote of the state in a congress house with augmented supremacy. However, the delegates rejected the New Jersey plans that took them nearly a month of further disagreement before they accepted them. Each state had two votes in Senate in which the House of Representatives were to be appointed.
In addition, other difficulties they encountered included the electing method of the chief executive and the president. There was a dispute over the need for a bill of rights that was proposed in the convention but later rejected. However, the delegates offered little attention to the authority of the president. Almost none of the judiciary structure or the executive branch gave their little attention to presidential powers thus the entire issue was left to the new congress. The United States approved the constitution in September 17 that had a brief outline of government articles summarized in four thousand words. The constitution was signed by thirty-nine delegates and later handed to the confederation congress for submission to the states to be ratified (Peterson 27).
In conclusion, this constitutional film gives a clear view on constitutional history. It shows how the constitution was implemented in the United States. Different methods that were followed in the process are clearly indicated, such as use of debates and voting. Consequently, it shows all the delegates who represented the states in the implementation and ratification of the constitution. The movie contents and performances such as the convention and different plans presented are clearly observed thus helping the citizens to understand them well.
Works Cited
Peterson, Christine. The U.S. Constitution. Bloomington, MN: Capstone Press, 2009. Print.
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