The Framers built the Constitution to fix the failures of th…
The Framers built the Constitution to fix the failures of the Articles of Confederation, but they disagreed sharply about whether the new national government would be strong enough to work or too strong to be trusted. Federalists like James Madison argued that a large republic with separated powers and checks and balances would control both factions and ambitious leaders. Anti-Federalists like Brutus argued that a national government of that size would inevitably overpower the states and lose touch with the people.Write an essay that does the following:1. Explain the major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and describe how the Constitution addressed them through separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism. Be specific about which structures solve which problems.2. Take a position on this question: Based on the design of the Constitution and the way the Supreme Court has interpreted it in McCulloch v. Maryland and United States v. Lopez, whose prediction has proven more accurate, Madison’s or Brutus’s? You must choose one side and defend it, but you should also explain why the other side has a point.Support your argument with specific evidence from the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution (name the clauses you are relying on), Federalist 10, Federalist 51, Brutus 1, and the two court cases. You do not need to use every one of these, but a strong essay will draw on most of them.
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