American Politics and Constitution

¶ … nation's "first constitution," the Articles of Confederation, provided a framework and blueprint for American politics and government (Kernell, Jacobson, Kousser and Vavreck 24). Far more anti-federalist in nature than the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation provided only for a loose confederation of states. States had the power to override almost any federal law. Moreover, the states appoint federal officials rather than reverting to citizen voters to elect national leaders and lawmakers.

The Articles of Confederation lacked the balance of powers embedded in the future Constitution, and for which the Constitution is renowned. Without an executive branch in the federal government, and without a federal judiciary, the new nation seemed precariously weak under the Articles. Federalists affirmed the need for stronger centralization, particularly to bolster the American position vis-a-vis its European counterparts. Although the anti-Federalists retained some of the core principles of states' rights in the Constitution, ultimately the federalists gained the upper hand when it came to the structure of government.

Unfortunately, though, the anti-Federalists stymied some of the more valuable tenets of centralized government, leading to unresolved problems mainly related to the perpetuation of slavery and the denial of universal enfranchisement. The Constitution, eventually fully ratified in 1788, overcame many of the core weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation. Those weaknesses would have proven disastrous had the United States been forced to defend its boundaries.

The Constitution allowed for the creation of a standing army functioning under federal jurisdiction, yet preserving the citizens' rights to bear arms as stated in the Second Amendment. Another core weakness of the Articles of Confederation was the inability to collect federal tax money or create a national bank system. Resolving those economic issues allowed the United States to trade more aggressively and successfully with European counterparts.

The Constitution also provided greater popular sovereignty, influenced by Enlightenment philosophers like Locke who believed that only a government that had the tacit consent of its people would be deemed legitimate (Doernberg). Therefore, the Constitution ensured that the government of the United States was legitimately democratic, not comprised of an elite group of appointed officials. The anti-Federalists made some valid points, raising fears related to an overly strong central government that potentially became tyrannical in nature as well as out of touch with the common people.

Therefore, the states retained many rights and privileges to self-govern. Matters related to population dispersion in rural areas were resolved with the bicameral legislature that offered both proportionality and direct representation. The drawbacks with allowing too much anti-Federalist philosophy into the Constitution included the reversion to States' rights privileges for issues like slavery. Had the framers been willing to offer federal mandates against the practice of slavery, the practice would have ended firmly, decisively, and without the Civil War.

The anti-Federalists offered too much leeway for regional factions to emerge, and those factions continue to haunt the nation today, injuring its integrity and core character. Although the Federalists did gain the upper hand in their debates, enabling the designation of a revolutionary Constitution,.