Declaration of Independence versus the Constitutional Government - Paper Example

Introduction

The Declaration of Independence called for the pronouncement of freedom to the thirteen American colonies under Britain. After Jefferson wrote down the statement, a radical transition had to occur, which a lot of adapting to install a function and a sustainable government. And therefore, several political experts came up with theories defining how an ideal government should be formed. Agreeably, many of these theorists had primitive experiences with governance since this period was the epitome of establishing an American federal government.

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However, a lot of factions developed, and governance was impractical. Many leaders suffered insecurities due to mistrust and diverse ideologies (Political thought of the articles of confederation and constitution 1). That called for the introduction of a constitution. Since the developed government lacked critical survival components, a constitution was meant to regulate the faction's harmful effects and provide a standardized decision-making framework. After analyzing the two provided documented, this paper will focus on spotlighting the similarities of the ideal forms of governments being suggested in the paper.

Declaration of Independence

The main reason that led to the Declaration of independence was to free the thirteen states from colonial oppression. With twenty-seven justifiable reasons as to why the colonies should be free from the British rule was drafted. This Declaration aimed to bring an end to the war between the colonies and the colonialist. In many cases, the reasons for developing a constitution and Declaration were in line since they were intertwined. In the Declaration, sentiments insisted on equality and freedom Political thought of the articles of confederation and constitution 3). Freedom of will, liberty, and life were among the few alienated rights emphasized in the Declaration. Therefore, the Declaration championed the American colonies' freedom breaking all the links between the United States and Britain.

In the first article, the focus was detaching the US colonies officially from British rule. Cutting links from the British influence created room for self-governance. Confederation incorporated the thirteen states and initiated their sovereignty as part of the United States Political thought of the articles of confederation and constitution 3). In the quest to adjust and accommodate these states, various confederation articles were written to describe the most suitable approach that can be adopted. In November 1777, the continental Congress produced the first article, which created a skeleton of the confederation process.

However, in the analogy of this relationship, the government was weak due to a lack of executive members. Another challenge was the lack of a universal judicial system since each state executed its laws independently. Without a comprehensive judicial system, the administration of justice across the country was not sufficient. Any unifying symbol did not solidify the link between member states. Therefore, the relationship between the member states as compared to the United Nations and its member states (Political thought of the articles of confederation and constitution 1). The Congress, in this context, acted as a channel of communication to other states. Regarding foreign currency, the member states had the leverage to discriminate against other member states. Since the state locally controlled currency and trade, the value range was devastating since inflation rates were hiking.

Another crucial aspect of confederation had its epitome when America won the Revolutionary war. After this success, the British were in power, which called for the establishment of a government. After establishing the governing body, a few challenges posed a hindrance to the normal functioning of the government. The government could not collect taxes due to a lack of coordination and overseeing bodies. Lack of adequate funds to cover military expenditures affected the sovereignty of this formed country. Apart from the currency crisis, the government was generally undergoing unfavorable times. With that, a need to create a practical constitution to enforce these solutions seemed too vital. Based on the first article, the government was channeled towards democratic leadership with equality and freedom as the primary virtues.

The Constitution

In the second article, the constitution was developed to guide the established government. However, since the government was still crude in this era, the ratified constitution had many issues and seemed ineffective (“Federalism and Jeffersonianism”). Since the government was young during this era, many ambitious individuals had varied suggestions on adopting strategies. Even though the constitution had similar ideals similar to those of the Declaration of independence there initiation modes were different. Manage the impacts of factions, federalists’ perspectives were adopted.

The federalist papers helped defend the constitution from philosophical dissatisfaction. The constitution, however, triggered some political rivalry, which brought into existence various political ideologies. For instance, Hamilton’s attention was channeled towards the commercial impact of the constitution (“Federalism and Jeffersonianism”). He stated that the constitution was not sufficient since it did not give the national government mandate to develop a bank, which would be crucial for regulating the currency. Jefferson failed to counter Hamilton’s idea by generalizing that the constitution needed to be established to favor the public good.

The constitution was interpreted in three crucial perspectives. Pluralism believes that the constitution was developed as a result of uncontrolled factions in the developing body. These vices allowed for their selfish agendas to be incorporated in the constitution. Elitism focuses on the economic power of the constitution (“Federalism and Jeffersonianism”). In that case, Elites believes that the constitution aimed to depoliticize the general public and protect economic experts. However, framers despised these arguments stating that they are not proto-capitalist, supported by property possession analysis. Lastly, liberal republicanism takes a non-divergent stand in the interpretation of the constitution (“Federalism and Jeffersonianism”). In this case, both the Declaration and the constitution do not interfere with its authenticity. However, both Hamilton and Madison had contradicting beliefs on whether what to be done should be naturally right or public good.

In conclusion, both the Declaration and the constitution had positive impacts on establishing the United States Government. Even though the constitution faced barriers, it worked towards achieving proper governing and positively impacting decision making. Constitution-making is an independent process every country undertakes. But for America, the constitution was drafted at a critical moment. Therefore, this allowed for the existence of some loopholes and challenges. However, a sound amendment makes it an ideal and functional constitution. With comparisons between the Declaration of independence and the constitution, there is an apparent similarity that they both propelled America towards its current democratic state. More so, America’s financial superiority originated from the struggles to incorporate commercial control in the government. Therefore, the two papers advocated for the same system of government. It is wise to agree that even though they slightly differ in ideologies, they aimed at attaining a democratic and constitutional guided government.

Works Cited

Vogelsang-Coombs, Vera. "Political Philosophy, the American Constitutional Heritage, and Constitutional Thinking." The Political Ethics of Public Service. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2016. 131-157.

Van Cleve, George William. We have not a government: The Articles of Confederation and the road to the constitution. University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Górnisiewicz, Arkadiusz, and Bogdan Szlachta, eds. The Concept of Constitution in the History of Political Thought. De Gruyter Open, 2017.

Corwin, Edward S. Corwin on the Constitution: The foundations of American constitutional and political thought, the powers of Congress, and the President's power of removal. Cornell University Press, 2019.