Introduction
A handful of leaders gathered in Philadelphia between the May and September of the year 1787 in a bid to solve the problems facing the less powerful central government that was in existence under the Articles of Confederation. The result of the meeting was a stronger constitution that gave more specific powers to the federal government including those in relation to the conduction of relations with foreign governments (National Archives, 2016). A significant number of responsibilities for the foreign affairs fell under the executive branch authority under the reformed federal system although the most influential powers like the ratification of the treaty remained the responsibility of the legislative branch.
State conventions had gone a long mile to fulfil various purposes beyond the legal need to ratify the constitution. The conventions in charge of ratifying the constitution served the key function of educating the public of all provisions of a new government that was proposed. The conventions further served as the best forums for both the proponents and those opposed to the same to voice their opinions before the citizenry (USHistory.org., 2016). It was the state conventions that made the agents of ratification and not the congress. The approach made sure the authority of the constitution came from the representatives of people that were selected specifically for the principal purpose of either approving or disregarding the given charter which resulted in an accurate reflection for the electorate will (National Archives, 2016). The constitution also avoided amendments that would disable jealous states from yield authority to the national government.
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The constitution
The federal government experienced significant challenges in conducting foreign policies under the Articles of Confederation majorly because of its inability to either pass or enforce laws that certain states found contrary to their interests. The debts owed to the British government by the American government were to be honoured after the war according to the Treaty of Paris of the year 1783 (National Archives, 2016). The treaty further insisted that British loyalists were allowed to the bringing of suits into the courts in US in order to recover the confiscated properties. The provisions remained unpopular leading the British military to refuse vacating the US forts in US territory. Moreover, British traders flooded US markets with products from England while the Confederation Congress lacked powers to regulate the trade.
The convention in Philadelphia
In an attempt to resolve the aforementioned issues together with problems arising from the debt payment from the revolutionary war as well as other domestic issues, the Constitutional Convention saw it fit to create a government model that depended on the series of checks and balances by making divisions in the federal authority between the Judicial, Legislative and the Executive government branches (Rosenfield, 2003). Initially, the constitutional framers had opted for a less powerful presidency and a very strong legislation that would be divided into a representative’s house as well as the senate (Rosenfield, 2003). It was expected that the Framers would handle the important issues and the executive to attend to matters of less consequences. However, the executive branch gained more powers as the deliberations continued to take place gaining more powers to deal with certain key issues that had brought forth a section of tension that overwhelmed the Articles of Confederation thus allowing the president powers to oversee foreign relations.
URL Description
Ratifying the Constitution
http://www.ushistory.org/us/16.asp
The constitution was ratified and made well to ensure powers are properly acquired by certain departments in the government. The presidency was deemed very weak and as such called for immediate and necessary changes that led to the Presidency gaining powers to see through foreign relations (USHistory.org, 2016). The convention in Philadelphia gathered to ensure the executive branch had access to key powers in the house to facilitate constitutional balance of powers.
References
National Archives. (2016). Observing Constitution Day Educator Resources, 1(1), 1.
Rosenfield, M. (2003). The European Convention and constitution making in Philadelphia Int'l J. Const. L., 1, 373
USHistory.org. (2016). Ratifying the Constitution [ushistory.org] Ushistory.org. Retrieved 9 September 2017, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/16.asp
