Keizertimes., June 28, 2019, Page PAGE A3, Image 3

JUNE 28, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
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What came before independence?
BY LAUREN MURPHY
Of No Adults Allowed
When America was fi ghting for
independence in the Revolutionary War
it was loosely governed by the Articles
of Confederation. Many of the colonies
were still very upset with Great Britain
for the way they were treated and
they feared a strong
central government.
The
Articles
of
Confederation bound
the 13 states together
each with its own
independent entities.
They looked out for
their state fi rst, and
other states when it
was necessary.
The
Articles
weren’t working out
so well, during the war
Congress
(America’s
government)
had no
money. Soldiers often went
without necessities like food,
blankets, supplies, medicine, and
clothes because the government couldn’t
aff ord to give them any.
After the war things were even worse.
The states made laws that benefi ted
themselves, often at the cost of other
states. Virginia passed a law that allowed
it to take ships that did not pay them taxes.
The law wasn’t intended for ships from
other countries like England or Spain, it
was meant for Maryland, Massachusetts,
and Pennsylvania, which are part of the
United States.
The rest of the world was watching
America, this quirky little country that
fought a global superpower, barefoot,
and won its independence; that doesn’t
happen everyday. People knew the
Articles weren’t working out, but no one
could agree on what to do instead.
The Founding Fathers, the group of
men – that included guys like George
Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas
Jeff erson and Alexander Hamilton –
who helped draft the Constitution and
structure the new government, met in
Pennsylvania. Each of the 13 states was
represented, except for Rhode Island, and
the 55 delegates began the long process
of reworking the nation.
Some people wanted a strong central
government, something to hold the
whole country together, like a king or
a monarchy. Others wanted no central
government and more of a treaty
between 13 diff erent countries like how it
was under the Articles. The problem with
no central government is that every state
After the fi reworks,
celebrate founding a
unique government
Three branches of government may
seem a bit excessive but they all serve
an important purpose. One of the things
the Founding Fathers were afraid of was
government control. The three branches
had a system of checks and balances, so
that, in theory, one no one could have
all of the power. The legislative branch
makes laws, the executive branch en-
forces them and the judicial branch in-
terprets them.
Within Congress, or the legislative
branch, the House of Representatives
and the Senate have the power to veto
each others bills (a bill is a potential law).
If Congress decides to pass a bill, the
President, or executive branch, can veto
it. The Supreme Court, or judicial branch,
can declare a law unconstitutional.
The President can sign executive or-
ders, nominate Supreme Court Justices
and they’re the head of state, which is
had: their own military, their own form
of currency and their own laws, which
makes it diffi cult to keep all 13 states
happy and peaceful.
There was also the issue of how
states should be represented within our
government, if it was based of population,
like the larger states wanted, then the
smaller states would rarely have a say in
anything. If it was equal representation
(two delegates per each state), like the
smaller states wanted, it would not
accurately refl ect the demographic of the
country.
That was only one of the many issues
the committee debated. Eventually after
months of talking, debating, researching,
and compromise they came up with a
three-part system.
The legislative branch makes the laws,
that’s Congress. The second part is the
executive branch, that’s the president and
a whole lot of other people, they enforce
laws. The fi nal part is the judicial branch,
that’s the Supreme Court, they judge the
actions of the President and Congress to
make sure everything is constitutional.
The Executive Branch enforces laws
like the face of the country. If the Presi-
dent does something illegal or uncon-
stitutional Congress has the power to
take them out of offi ce through a pro-
cess called impeachment. The Supreme
Court
has
the
power to declare
presidential acts as
unconstitutional.
Congress can also
pass a law over a
presidential
veto
with a 3/4s majority
vote.
The Supreme
The Judicial Branch
Court is the highest
interprets laws
court in America.
The President nom-
inates the judges and Congress approves aren’t behaving correctly.
Each branch of the government
them. They have their job for life unless
they decide to retire. Congress can also has certain powers and each branch
take a judge out of their position if they has power over the other two branch-
The Legislative Branch
makes laws
es. This system was designed to keep
people like King George III from com-
ing into power and taking advantage of
the American People.
NO ADULTS ALLOWED 500
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