Who Is the Father of the Constitution, and How Was It Made?

While the United States was still not formed, and the 13 colonies of Britain were still waging war for their freedom, the continental Congress was created by the representatives of the colonies. They started the project of creating a set of laws for the new country. The first attempt was the Articles of Confederation. It was the first document that served as a form of Constitution for our Country. But the problem was that it did not grant enough power to the Federal Government. In the end, a Congress created a new Constitution that covered the weaknesses of the Articles. So, who is the Father of the Constitution? Well, it was James Madison. He wrote the model that was used for the creation of the Constitution. But the first thing that you need to know is the problems that the Articles had, and how the term of limited government in the constitution appeared.

As you can imagine, the articles had many flaws, and in the end, no solution could make them work properly. But the main problem was the limits of the National Government. There are too many and too important limits that should not have been imposed. The government lacked the ability to:

• Introduce a single currency. Without the ability to unify all the currency of the Country into a single currency, it made it very hard for the new Country to function properly. And the biggest problem was that there was no way for the Congress to change the Articles enough to be able to eliminate this weakness. And this was also one of the smaller problems that created the term of the limited government in the Constitution. In short, the Articles didn’t grant enough power to the Federal Government.
• Collect taxes for its own operation. The operations of a government cost money. But without imposing taxes, it becomes impossible for it to function. And the Articles didn’t allow the National government to do this. If they were to be used, then the new government will dissolve after a certain period. That could not be allowed. So, yet again, the need for a completely new Constitution became apparent. And you know https://foundershope.com/ who is the father of the constitution and some of the reasons for which he wrote the new one.
• Regulate trade tariffs and sign treaties. This type of limited government in the Constitution didn’t even have the power and right to remake trade treaties. And although this was not a fatal flaw, the problems it creates are not small at all. A partner Country would have needed to sign the same treaty with all the states, one by one, which could become quite troublesome.
• Enforce its laws. As you can see, the limits of the government were too limited, to the point where they couldn’t even enforce their own laws. If the Articles were to be used as the controlling document, then the government itself would be useless. It will govern in name only.
• Create a National Judicial System. The government not only could not enforce its laws. But they also lacked a national judicial system that would allow them to punish anyone that broke the laws. And with all these problems, it became clear that an entirely new document must be created to replace the Articles. And now you know who is the Father of the Constitution and why it was created.

The New Meaning of the Limited Government in the Constitution!

A lesson has been learned from the Articles of Confederation. If done without proper consideration, then a Federal Government can have more limits than are necessary. And that will end up harming the nation as a whole. And this is why you should know who is the Father of the Constitution and how his contribution ensured that these flaws were corrected. But it also placed mandatory limits on the Federal Authority. So, it can serve its purpose, but it is not possible to abuse its power. And this is the real meaning of the https://foundershope.com/ limited government in the constitution .

And the principle through which the constitution limits the authority of the government is by separating it into 3 co-equal branches, and a list of the powers granted to the Government. And each branch has its own Article that establishes the rules that it must abide by. There is an additional Article where the rules for the interactions between the 3 branches are specified.

• The Legislature. It defines the Legislative branch, which consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. It also has sections that limit the power of the Congress, including the types of laws that are allowed to be written. In Article 1, Section 8, known as the “Enumerated Powers”, the authorities granted to the Legislature are specified. And all of them have a single goal. To create a Legislative Branch that has enough power to accomplish its purpose, but not enough to be abused.
• The Executive Branch. The second article describes the Executive Branch. The power of this branch is vested in the President. While initially the President could serve any number of four year terms, the 22nd Amendment, ratified on February 27, 1951, limited the President to two terms. Currently, only the President is limited to a specific number of terms. Several additional amendments, the 20th, 22nd, and 25th in particular, are written to affect the President. For the most part, these amendments address procedures, such as Presidential succession, rather than the authority granted the President. Article 2 also specifies that the military is subordinate to the civilian power. And you can also find the rules for the cabinet members, appointments to high positions with the “advice and consent” of the Senate, as well as the pardons that can be made.
• The Judicial branch. The Judicial Branch is defined in Article 3 of the Constitution. The Constitution provides a single “Supreme Court”, and allows for additional lower Federal Courts as may be needed. This was essential as our Country grew from its initial 13 States to the 50 States we now have. Our Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments, grant specific rights to all citizens, and also provides the foundation of our legal system. This includes Trial by Jury, eliminates self incrimination, limits searches and seizures, and provide other protections for citizen’s rights.
• The States. The fourth Article defines the rules for the interaction between the rest of the branches, and the relationship between the States. For example, the first section of the article specifies that every state has the obligation of respecting the actions of the rest of the states. It also presents a good example. An individual that is convicted in one state shall be convicted in all of them because the other ones must respect that verdict. Now you know who is the Father of the Constitution, how it was made and what purpose it has. And all of these ensures that we have a limited government in the constitution.