2nd Continental Congress Attempted to Bring Us

¶ … 2nd Continental Congress attempted to bring us through the Revolutionary War, but the members soon realized that we needed a form of central government on a permanent basis. The arguements began between Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist, and Thomas Jefferson, the anti-Federalist, over how much power the central government should actually be given. This assignment will address these issues and has several parts. Make sure you answer all parts of the question and write an essay at least 4 pages in length. 1. Discuss the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the reasons it failed. 2. Describe the makeup of the Constitutional Convention and the priorities of the delegates. 3. Compare Hamilton and Jefferson in their political and economic philosophies and their concept of Federalism. Do you feel Hamilton had too much influence under the administrations of Washington and Adams? I want you to give an assessment as to the success or failure of Hamilton and his policies and the effect they would have on the future of the United States. You need to read chapters 6 and 7 for this essay.

The Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress is virtually the most important congress in the history of the United States of America, representing the very formation of the country. The Congress had initially met to deal with the American Revolutionary War, but ended up adopting the Declaration of Independence and forming the government of the United States.

Two of the more notable participants in the Congress were Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson was an anti-federalist and Alexander Hamilton was a declared federalist, and conflicts rose between the two relative to the degree of the power that should be granted to the government.

Overall, the Second Continental Congress was a successful process which resulted in the formation of the United States. But the process was also tedious and complex and it involved several problems. For instance, the Confederation created several articles, yet these revealed several weaknesses, and they as such failed. Then, issues were also observed at the level of the makeup of the Constitutional Convention and the priorities of the delegates. Last, there was the already mentioned ideological conflict between Jefferson and Hamilton. In order to better understand the Second Continental Congress, each of these issues would be addressed throughout the following lines.

The Articles of the Confederation represented the first underlying principles of the functioning of the American government. They were created during the American Revolution that united the thirteen colonies and they went into effect on the first of March, 1781. Eight years later however, they were eliminated and, instead, the United States Constitution was created and enforced. In such a setting, a question is being posed relative to the traits which led to the demise of the Articles of the Confederation. In other words, the following lines reveal some of the more notable weaknesses of these articles:

The articles did not differentiate based on the size of the states; in other words, each of the thirteen states were only granted one vote in the Congress, regardless of the number of people they represented.

Throughout the Articles of Confederation, the Congress was not granted the ability to tax; this feature virtually made it impossible for the new formed country to be adequately administered.

The Articles did not grant the Congress the power to regulate the trade conducted by the states among themselves, nor the trade between the states and other foreign regions. This led to the inability to regulate imports, exports and promote national economic interests.

Then, the Articles did allow the Congress to adopt and pass various acts and bills, but there existed no executive branch to actually enforce the decisions of the Congress. This rendered pointless the entire effort of the Congress in the absence of an ability to actually implement the policies developed.

The Articles of Confederation did not create a judicial power within the new formed country, meaning as such that there did not exist a national court system. In the absence of such a system, the respect for legislations became optional.

Then, another important weakness of the Articles was that they allowed amendments to the Articles, yet these had to be unanimously accepted by all delegates. In such a setting, it became virtually impossible to modify the Articles, since all members could not agree.

Last, the final weakness of the Articles of Confederation is represented by an expansion of the previous limitation, in the meaning that the Congress had the power to create new laws, but could only enforce them upon receiving a majority of 9 votes out of 13 (Kelly).

Having recognized the shortages of the Articles of Confederation, representatives of the U.S. states met up to adjust the Articles. However, the delegates ended up creating a new document that would better address the issues identified within the United States. The Constitutional Convention was as such formed from educated men, better educated than the average American citizens, and most of them had a strong background by having fought in the American Revolution.

These men shared common visions and the intellectual capacity to see them implemented, but they also encountered differences in beliefs and perceptions. They nevertheless formed the Constitutions, which remains through today, the cornerstone of the American society.

In terms of the specific makeup of the framers of the Constitution, these include, it has to be noted that some of the more notable representatives include George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton or Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Jefferson did not attend the Convention, having then been delegated as ambassador in France; upon return, he revealed some concerns regarding specific elements in the Constitution.

The priorities of the delegates in the Constitutional Convention were multiple and the delegates emphasized most on the issues in which they believed the most. Some for instance placed an increased emphasis on education, whereas others focused on slavery, the rights to vote, the extent of the power of the government, the individuality of the states, the committee to be advising the president or the freedom of the press.

Thomas Jefferson was the leader of the Antifederalists and he militated for the rights of the state, whereas the Federalist, led by Alexander Hamilton, militated for more rights for the government. Thomas Jefferson envisioned a country led by a rather weak government, with the primary concern of representing the United States in foreign affairs; Jefferson's ideal was that of creating an agrarian country, based on production and power of the people.

On the other hand, the approach implemented by Hamilton envisioned a strong government, which became involved in all state affairs, both within the country as well as in its international relationships. The government envisioned by Hamilton would run on principles of efficiency and effectiveness and would focus on economic growth through industrial stimulation and commercial activity (Country Studies).