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Essay / The Country's Original Constitution
James Madison of Virginia is historically known for being one of the founding fathers of the United States as well as being the individual who drafted the United States Constitution. The Constitution, adopted in 1789, is the most important historical and political document ever written. However, this is not the original state constitution. Before the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, the structure and role of government was governed by the Articles of Confederation. However, the articles were not enough. This ultimately weakened the structure of government, causing much disarray in the Nation. According to these articles, the government's role has created disorder at both the federal and state levels. Its failures included a weak centralized government consisting only of a unicameral legislature and believing that Congress did not hold the power to regulate commerce. In an effort to restore the nation, the Founding Fathers began drafting revisions to strengthen the Articles in an effort to bring order to the government. However, they ended up replacing the documents in their entirety. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe new proposed constitution sets out a new framework for government. It would serve as a precise organizational guide for establishing a new system of government. The framers built the constitution on two fundamental principles: establishing the purpose of government and establishing a government whose power is limited. But it is the structure of the Constitution that is most important. It is divided into three distinct parts – the preamble, the articles and the amendments – each with a concise justification of its purpose. The Constitution begins with the preamble. This is a short opening sentence that justifies why the constitution was written with the six objectives of government in mind. It informs the American people that all people hold the power of government and that the sole purpose of government is to serve them. Next, the Seven Articles establish the functions of government. First, in Articles 1 through 3, it describes the three branches of government and the responsibilities that each branch must carry out. To ensure that each of the three branches has limited power, the system of checks and balances would be implemented to prevent one branch from holding too much power. Next, Article 4 explains the relations between states. Next, Article 5 specifies the process of amending the Constitution. Article 6 contains the debt, supremacy and oath clauses. Finally, Article 7 explains the ratification of the Constitution. The last part confirms the ratified amendments to the Constitution. Currently, it includes twenty-seven amendments in total. The first ten are called the Bill of Rights and represent the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to all individuals..