Young Writers Society

WHat is a good speech for John Lansing of why the Constitution should not be written??? He is an Anitfed. I think

You are supposed to do your own on it, aren't you?


Consider the problems of creating a list of rules and guidelines that people cannot and have not agreed on completely. Many parts of the Constitution were changed repeated times, even the basic rights were disputed and fought over. People knew what they wanted, but it conflicted with others and lead to much problems and squabbling between everyone.

Consider doing it with a group of different people, you'll find you share many commons like Free Speech and Religion, but when you get right down to it you have the problems of property and taxation, who represents and how the government is going to work. Creating a system that can be balanced and still be abused was the original way in which every other nation worked. Kings and Queens, feudal lords, this was a new way to govern and the specifics were very fine details that people fought over.

Such are the term of office. 4 years creates massive competition and frequent problems, but a long term leader can be corrupt and harmful. Another is how you elect people to the Senate and House and how long they are to be there for. Also which branches of the government exert what balance and checks on other parts.

Read the Constitution in its entirety and disect it, you'll see that many people would easily be opposed for many good reasons, from logistical to corruption.

XD

Poor Jefferson. He watched in horror as his masterpiece was ripped to shreds verbally during the Second Continental Congress. The Southern Party were a bunch of shmucks. The Consitution was not written for all free people. It was only written for "whites." Jefferson and Washington were prepared to free their slaves but the Southern party of course would have nothing of that. Oh, no!

To add fuel to the fire, I'm a firm believer that because of that little fact, the Consitution is the prime link which led to the American Civil War. After all, the Revolution WAS a mini civil war on its own. A world war too.

Knowing these facts I hope will allow you to distinguish whether that document was written justly or not.

The 18th Centery is my forte. I should be able to help with specific questions or anything in general.

John Lansing might not have wanted the Constitution to be written for several reasons.

One of the biggest reasons was because he might not have wanted too much "big government". Remember, the colonists had just fought a war to separate themselves from a tyrannical king who had broken covenant with them. This new Constitution in essence set up a large, dominating government who was in charge of overseeing all of the colonies as a whole. Remember another thing, the states were not one country, they saw themselves as independent colonies who just so happened to fight a war together as united under the Articles of the Confederation. George Washington said himself when traveling to New York from Virginia, "Alas, I must travel to far away lands to deal with a strange people whose language and customs are far beyond me."

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I'm not quite sure if he said "just" that, or if it was even George Washington, but it was close. The point is that the colonies did not see themselves as a united sovereign single government. Not until the end of the South's War for Independence -also known as the American Civil War- did the country really become one single sovereign country.

Another reason Lansing might not have wanted the Constitution to have been written is because how it differed from the state constitutions that were in place at the time.

Incidentally, my great-great-etc. grandpa wrote the Constitution of South Carolina.

The state constitutions in effect at that time were covenants between the people and God, like the Mayflower compact. The US constitution begins with the phrase, "We the people". This phrase comes right out of John Locke's Social Contract Theory. Locke was a deist, apart from some people's belief. He did not acknowledge the deity of Christ- heresy back then- nor did he believe in the interaction of God with people. Locke was one of the major "idea-holders" behind the Constitution and since he was not a Christian, Lansing wouldn't have cared for that.

Patrick Henry, a famous Christian patriot, would not attend the Constitutional Convention either, saying, "I Smell A Rat."

Anyway, I know this is probably too late to do you any good, but I saw the topic and I just had to say something.

Incidentally, my great-great-etc. grandpa wrote the Constitution of South Carolina.

A little off track... But to the said with the quote, do you have the original document or a copy of it? I'd like to read it. And, I think that is outstanding. Good for you for just knowing. South Carolina, eh? The Backcountry were, well, don't make those sort unhappy. At least in the 18th Century.

I already did the speech like a week agog and I never actually checked this! Oh well, it went great anyway...