The Problem Of Liberty Apush Dbq Outline

The Bill of Rights was like a pinky promise made between the new government and the States. One of the more well known promises made by the Bill of Rights was the second amendment which protected the rights of the populace preventing the federal government from infringing on “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” (Bill of Rights, 1791). This was originally intended to preserve the ability of the people of the United States to once again overthrow tyrants if the need arose. Not coincidentally, George Washington himself was afraid that even he could become a tyrant.

The United States Bill of Rights came into being as a result of a promise made by the Fathers of Confederation to the states during the struggle for ratification of the Constitution in 1787-88. A great number of the states made as a condition for their ratification, the addition of amendments, which would guarantee citizens protection of their rights against the central government. Thus, we have a rather interesting situation in which the entrenchment of a bill of rights in the American Constitution was done by the virtual demand of the states, they themselves fearing a central government which was not legally constrained and restricted as far as its powers were concerned.

When the Second Constitutional Convention wrote the Constitution in 1787, there was a controversy between the federalists and the anti-federalists surrounding whether or not to have a Bill of Rights. The anti-federalists claimed that a bill of rights was needed that listed the guaranteed rights that the government could never take away from a person i.e. “inalienable rights.” A Bill of Rights was eventually deemed necessary, and has worked for over 210 years. There are many reasons why the ten amendments are still valid to this day, and the best examples are the First Amendment, concerning the freedom of religion, the Fifth Amendment, and the Sixth Amendment.

a. Jefferson states that the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable.

Some of the leaders of the American Revolution were influenced by Enlightenment ideas which are, freedom of speech, equality, freedom of press, and religious tolerance. American colonists did not have these rights, in result, they rebelled against England for independence. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about American's natural rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These ideas came from the Enlightenment, the ideals led towards the American Revolution soon after (Fisk). "The American Revolution must be considered as an anticolonial war for independence, not only a war of liberation from overseas rule but a war for freedom. The American Revolution was a movement to fulfill aspirations to acquire more property" (Morris, 3).

One of the most important parts of the Declaration of Independence is its preamble, and, more specifically, certain phrases contained within the preamble. Thomas Jefferson does an excellent job of explaining why the colonies are doing the things they are doing, and is very clear in stating what he and his associates think are the “unalienable rights” of the American people. Among these are “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Probably one of the most famous lines in American history, I have chosen to focus on this phrase and what those three things might have meant to Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers as they prepared this document, as well as what they mean to us today.

Federalism helped to protect against tyranny by dividing the power between two governments: states and federal. According to James Madison, Founding Father, “The different governments will each control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” This quote, from the text Federalist Paper #51 refers to how the state and federal have individual responsibilities, but are also connected enough to keep other’s powers in check. This quote reminds the readers that the Constitution formed the separate state and federal governments to provide a double security against tyranny by splitting the power between two governments, making sure that the decisions made were the best for the citizens. Ultimately, federalism prevented tyranny by separating the power between two governments, which guarded against a possible tyranny in the

Much like George Washington, many others did not want to upset or undermine state societies and economies.

In the late eighteenth century, North American British Colonies worked to free themselves and create their own governing body. Some ideas stated by revolutionaries helped to unite the colonies in a single governing body and revolt against the existing government. The primary driving forces of the revolutionaries included the belief that humans had the right to freedom and to govern themselves, and that they had certain natural rights that the ruling government of Britain was not allowing them, as well as a general hatred for the ruling power of the European monarchy. These ideas that were so prevalent in the colonies were stated by many different revolutionaries, but many of them held the same idea, freedom was a right that was shared by all

When the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution, they were planned to shield the public from the national government and not the states. States had their individual constitutions, and their laws only had to comply with their constitution. The founders of our country were very concerned about creating too powerful of a centralized government that might overstep on the given civil liberties of the public. As a protection of individual liberties, the Bill of Rights was formed. The Bill of Rights contains the first ten amendments of the Constitution and protect and preserve inalienable rights against abuse by the federal government.

17. The Bill of Rights was created to guarantee rights such as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms. 18. Popular Sovereignty stated that the government can only govern with the people’s

The Framers of the United States Constitution gave more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments. They did this because they wanted to bring the United States together under one government. Federalists and Anti-federalists had their own views on the Constitution. Many people believed that the Constitution was a good thing that would be a success for the United States. Other people believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the Executive branch. The writers of the Constitution gave more power to the Federal government instead of the state governments because the Federal government did not receive enough power in the Articles of Confederation.

3b. Which amendment states that the powers not specifically delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states?

But the articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws. Because of this, the central government had to request donations from the states to finance its operations and raise armed forces. The states attempted to limit the power of the national government because they feared that it would become a monarchy. In an effort to limit the power of the national government, Congress created one without enough power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems.

Secondly, the Bill of Rights did not address every foreseeable situation. One failure of the Bill of Rights was the first amendment of the original Bill of Rights. The amendment concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and was never ratified. It said that once the House has one hundred members, it should not go below one hundred, and once it reached two hundred, it should not go below two hundred (Mount 1). Another failure was The Anti-Title Amendment. This amendment said that any citizen who accepted or received any title of nobility from a foreign power, or who accepted without the consent of Congress any gift from a foreign power, by would no longer be a citizen (Mount 1). Basically, this said that if someone received or accepted something from a foreign power, that person would no longer be a citizen. The Anti-Title Amendment was submitted to the States in 1810 and was ratified by only twelve states, the last being in 1812 (Mount 1). Thirty-eight states are required to ratify to add an amendment. The Slavery Amendment was another failure of the Bill of Rights. This amendment was not ratified because the House did not want any amendment to be made to the Constitution which would authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any state, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of