Mid 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mid 2 - Essay Example Firstly, the Articles had no separation of powers (Brinkley, 201). Another problem with the Articles is that there was no strong form of central government (with a President) as seen today, as much of the power rested with the States themselves (Brinkley, 208). Bearing this in mind, it was very difficult to change the Articles because any amendment to them had to have universal approval from the 13 states and any law passed had to be approved by at least 9 (Brinkley, 211). The original Constitution did not have a bill of rights, so the first major amendment was to add this in 1789, with many states ratifying the Constitution before this date on the premise that this would be added to protect citizens (Brinkley, 220). The Federalists also acknowledged that to make the more centralized system work would require that the central government would need to take on existing debt, which would create a very large national debt (Brinkley, 220). Washington and Hamilton played large roles in mak ing the new federal government work. Hamilton founded the federal bank to ensure that there was a developed banking system in the United States (Brinkley, 225), which was needed to tackle the aforementioned problems of national debt. Hamilton was also the founder of the first U.S. political party (the Federalists) which made him an important player in developing the U.S. political system as we know it today. Washington played a role in securing national identity and developing the constitution, as seen by his role in the Whiskey Rebellion (Brinkley, 243). Despite this initial strong start for the Federalists, there was a split between this group and so-called Anti-Federalists (or Republicans), partly because of some of the dangers that were posed by a one-party state. The Republicans opposed the Federalist structure because they felt it resembled British structure (Brinkley, 243), which was evidently not popular and believed to be corrupt. Additionally, Republicans like Jefferson we re believed in the need for independent farmer citizens (Brinkley, 235). After Washington retired, the next President was John Adams. There was increasing tension during his rule between the U.S. and France, partly because France wanted Jefferson to be president (Brinkley, 235) and the Washington and Adams both wanted to stay out of European conflicts (Brinkley, 240). The Quasi-War with France had led to the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts (Brinkley, 240), which led to more fighting between Federalist and Republican parties. The 1800 election was important because it was one way of figuring out the divide and coming to some sort of resolution between the two political parties (Brinkley, 249). The votes for Jefferson and Burr were tied so Congress had to choose a winner (Brinkley, 250). Evidently, Jefferson won the 1800 election which began an important time for Democratic-Republicans in the United States and allowed some of the more important founding features of the era to c ome to the fore in politics. Part TWO: From Jefferson to Jackson: Tell me how Jefferson’s vision of America contrasted with the Federalist one. How did Louisiana, Marbury vs Madison, the North African war and strained relations with Britain modify Jeffersonianism in practice? How did the War of 1812 become a Second War of Independence? What was the war’