The New Constitution

Essay by loveasylumHigh School, 12th grade August 2006

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The Federalist authors and delegates used logical argument to attack prejudice. They emphasized on the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the need of a stronger central government, and defended the new Constitution.

The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Before, the nation's leaders had a national government under the Articles of Confederation. But the Articles gave independence to each individual state. The thing that the articles lacked was the power to make the states work together to work out national dilemmas. Each state acted like an independent country. Each solved its own problems the way the wanted too, with little or no concern for the rest of the nation.

Worst of all, people began to think of using weapons in order to solve their problems. In Massachusetts during 1786, hundreds of farmers and peasants under the influence of Daniel Shays rebelled against the state government.

State soldiers finally had to put Shays's Rebellion to an end. George Washington was just the one to do this. By doing so he put to end these rebellions and began to bring peace to the nation by forming a new national government through a new document called the Constitution. This new constitution would have to be strong enough to achieve obedience over all the other states.

Through the process of ratifying the constitution delegates often disagreed on various details. The delegates from the large states disagreed with those from the small states about representation in the national government, but all agreed in the desire of a new government that would be strong enough to rule the nation and yet at the same time protect the liberties of the states and individual human rights.

The delegates were not the only group with issues about the new...