The Founding Fathers



Roach v Beard EssayThe Founding Fathers ... were impelled by class motives ... but they were also controlled ... by a statesmanlike sense of moderation and a scrupulously republican philosophy.Assess the merits of this statement with reference to all of the following: the politics of the Constitution Convention in 1787, the specific provisions of the Constitution, and the general structure of the government established by the Constitution. (6 pts. total)Politics of Convention Roche: practical politicians, statesmanlike, shared belief in strong national gov. (republicanism) & weakness of Articles of Confed., recognized new gov. was absolutely necessary so they had to compromise (maybe it wasn’t the best, but it had to be done), needed to appease diverse interests of many people, all had energy & talent & a genuine dedication to the success of the new nation & some role for common manBeard: convention itself was a secret, they were actually supposed to revise the gov., not re-write it, they knew they would be the men serving in gov. so they wrote it to their personal liking, the most democratic politicians (Jefferson, S. Adams, Paine & Henry) were absent the most elite politicians were present looking out for their own self-interest, they were not actually majoritarian men, but rather skeptics of common man & his abilities & interests, true democracy was not established, ratification process was not legalStructure of Government:Roche: separation of powers, checks & balances & federalism allow power to be divided & shared among many,founders actually attempt to avoid tyranny of majority, protection of minority rights under majority rule, power is not concentrated solely in the national government & there is an opportunity to participate for all citizens, ratification of document was determined by special conventions elected by the people, no one branch can act without the other in most casesBeard: separation of powers, checks & balances & federalism are stable aspects of the document, but not popularly elected at federal level (with the exception of Representatives), larger states have more power (they have more land, more money, more slaves, & more elitist views) in Electoral College & House, Congress has ability to tax and has taken advantage of that power, Supreme Court is too powerful, President controls large army & directs military at his discretion, no specific provision that threatened slavery, ratification was actually illegal based on the law (Articles of Confed.) b/c should have been unanimously approved statesSpecific Provisions:Roche: House of Reps is closest to people & they are elected popularly every 2 yrs., compromise on representation led to bicameral legislature which is fairly well-balanced, Senate is appointed by state legislatures who are popularly elected, presidential candidate with popular vote wins election normally, no property qualifications to vote(left to the states to determine voter qualifications.) procedure for amendments is 3/4 rather than unanimous so change is possible, ambiguity of language & compromises allowed for future adjustments & reflections in changing societyBeard: not reflective of popular majoritarianism, Senate is appointed, Supreme Court is too powerful, President appoints S.C. & then approval is by Senate (not popularly elected), Electoral College is not direct vote, Senators are more powerful & serve 6 yr. terms, property qualification was absent b/c of lack of agreement on the provision which was originally proposed, 3/5 Compromise helps plantation owners (many who were delegates) with property (slavery), President has control of army & could use it to his discretion, Congress has power to tax & could take advantage of common person, Article VI guarantees all debts to paid (many of the founding fathers had debts owed to them) ................
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