whiskey rebellion essays

whiskey rebellion essays In 1790 a new nation was on the rise. With the help of the French, the people of the thirteen colonies of America had united together to defeat the greatest empire of the world. This was the shining moment of America. Freedom was theirs, and this is what they have been wanting since the pilgrims arrived almost two centuries before. They were now going to take on an even greater task then fighting the British: establishing a system of government that would be fair and that would be accepted throughout all of America. One thing the founding fathers knew they had to do was establish a document that would unite the states under one system of laws, so they would be a single country. The Articles of Confederation were too weak and could not meet the demands the country as whole needed, so they drafted a new constitution. This new constitution was a brilliant document that expressed how there is no true sovereign power because the power ultimately lies in the people. This document, created in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, was to become the foundation for our country and is still the chief document that the America of today follows. Nevertheless, there were still some people opposed to this document. The Anti-federalists, as they were called, believed that if the constitution was enacted then the central government would become too powerful. They believed America would then become a tyrannical government, which is what America fought so hard to get away from. The anti-federalists said a bill of rights was needed to stop the national government from being tyrannical. It was clear that this country would need a bill of rights, so one of the main jobs of the first Congress was to create one. In 1789 twelve amendments were approved by congress and by the end of 1791 they had been ratified by the states and had become the Bill of Rights. They were the first ten amendments to the constitution, and they prevented a national governm...