Creation of Government: The Protection of God
Faith: How did faith help guide the Founding Fathers in the creation of a new government?
Prior to the new system of government, the Thirteen States followed the Articles of Confederation, which were created by the Second Continental Congress and agreed to by the states in 1781. And although these articles created a central government, it was too weak to regulate the arguments between the states.
In declaring their independence, early American leaders relied upon their faith. Having faith and sticking to it no matter what they faced had gotten them their independence, so it remained through the creation of a new system of government.
Leading the Constitutional Convention was no easy task. There were many disagreements, but they were eventually overcome by compromise. There were disagreements on how people would be elected to the Senate; whether the amount of representation would be determined by population or land size; and whether the executive’s power should be with a single President or divided. Furthermore, how a President would be elected and for how long they could serve was strongly debated. Slavery was a further point of great disagreement, with many in attendance as slave owners themselves.
After much debate and compromise, the Constitution was agreed upon by thirty-nine out of fifty-five men in attendance. And a new system of government for the United States of America was born. It established the fundamental laws of the United States of America, guaranteeing certain basic rights for its citizens. The Constitution provides a set of principles and rules by which the United States is governed and framed the government of the United States of America as a federal one. This means that the power is shared between the national and state governments.
To separate powers, the federal government is divided into three independent branches. Separating and balancing the powers of government helps to ensure that each branch has specific functions and no one branch can become too powerful.
Separation of powers is achieved by dividing the federal government into three branches – (1) the legislative, (2) the executive, and (3) the judicial branches. Making these branches independent from each other and providing them with different responsibilities was key to a strong and centralized system.
- The legislative branch is made up of Congress. They are responsible for making laws.
- The executive branch is made up of the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet. The executive branch is responsible for carrying out laws.
- The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. They are responsible for interpreting laws.
Let’s Reflect
Have you ever broken something?
- What do you do if something is broken?
- And, if it can’t be fixed, what should you do then?