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week 1 timeline

Articles to Constitution

Part 1: Timeline (5 events in order)

Date	Title	Description
July 4, 1776	Declaration of Independence	Stated that the colonies would no longer be dependent on Great Britain and based their political authority on the approval of the ruled. It conditioned the ideals of foundation that further shaped the values of the constitutional principles like the popular sovereignty and individual rights.
March 1, 1781	Articles of Confederation Ratified	Developed the first national system, yet made the central government too feeble to tax, to control trade effectively or enforce national decisions. These vices later propelled the process of having a more powerful constitutional system.
September 11 to 14, 1786	Annapolis Convention	An occasion initially devoted to trade issues between states. Its attendance was not high enough to yield instant outcomes, but it generated an appeal to a wider convention to eliminate structural drawbacks to the national government.
August 1786 to February 1787	Shays’ Rebellion	Revolt in Massachusetts, which brought out economic unsteadiness and failure of the national government to act decisively. It increased the apprehensions that the Articles system was incapable of providing order and stability.
May 25 to September 17, 1787	Constitutional Convention and Signing	The representatives convened in Philadelphia to amend the Articles, but they instead worked on a new Constitution which enhanced federal authority, consisting of three branches, and establishing checks and balances. On September 17, 1787 the final document was signed.

Part 2: Summary

The change between the Articles of Confederation and the present constitution of the United States of America was important since the Articles formed a national government which could not be trusted to address the national issues. Congress did not have the practical powers under the Articles, either to raise revenue by taxation, or to regulate interstate and international commerce, or to enforce many of its own decisions. Significant steps needed extensive consensus between the states and the national government used to rely on the voluntary collaboration. Consequently, the nation had to deal with severe problems such as economic instability, unbalanced internal policies, trade wars, and problems in responding to civil strife. These issues led to the belief among many leaders that the country required a more powerful system that would be able to guarantee liberty besides offering good governance.

The Constitution responded to such failures by establishing a federal system in which there were distinct powers that were assigned to the national government and states. It created three arms, legislative, executive, and judicial, to stop the creation of power concentration, as well as allow the government to take action. Congress was empowered to tax, control commerce and enact laws to perform its duties. The executive branch was created to apply the laws uniformly and the judicial branch was created to interpret the Constitution and adjudicate on the cases. This system countered the major flaw of the Articles the lack of a binding national authority.

The Constitution is also one that is in the process of development. It establishes general principles, which should be applied to the new realities in the long run, such as social evolution, technological advancement, and the national priorities. Constitutional language is interpreted in certain cases by courts and that interpretation has an effect on the practical operation of rights and governmental power. Moreover, the formal amendments also take place through the amendments that enable the country to rectify the issues, broaden the rights, and act on the lessons of history and preserve the basic structure.

The process of amendments is deliberately not a simple one to ensure that any changes are based on the general national consensus. Article V The amendment may be proposed by two thirds vote of the House and Senate, or by national convention summoned by two thirds of the legislatures of the states. In order to be added to the Constitution, a proposed amendment needs to be ratified by three-quarters of the states, either by state legislatures or state conventions, as Congress has indicated. This is a process that ensures that there is stability and at the same time, the Constitution remains flexible enough to withstand the times when the country is ready to reach a strong point of agreement that change is required.

Sources

Course textbook, Constitutional Law: Governmental Powers and Individual Freedoms, Chapter 1

“Road to the U.S. Constitution” (course resource)