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Danielle Sipes

Ms. Diane Nicole

8th Grade History

November 7, 2017

Flaws and Fixes of the Constitution

After the Constitution was ratified and its many flaws were acknowledged, even today

the government is still trying to solve these problems, even though no matter what, they have

never and will never be perfect. Evaluate the major debates that occurred during the development

of the Constitution and their ultimate resolutions in such areas as shared power among

institutions, divided state-federal power, slavery, the rights of individuals and states, and the

status of American Indian nations under the commerce clause. The constitution has divided

power among the federal and state governments so that everyone's voice is heard and taken into

consideration. After coming out of King George III’s ruling, the Americans wanted to liberate

and highlight the rights of humans, especially minorities. This is so that everyone is treated

fairly. Although, this doesn’t hold true for certain minorities. Take the example of slaves and

American Indians. Even after the constitution, slaves and American Indians were still

discriminated against and denied of their equal rights.

Our founding fathers needed to create a way of government where everyone's voice was

heard and there was no corruption. To solve this matter, they divided the power of government

among the centralized government, and state governments. “As a result of living under the

tyrannical rule of English kings, the Framers of the Constitution feared centralizing power within

a single governmental institution. Therefore, when drafting the Constitution, they gave some
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powers exclusively to the national government, shared some powers with both the national and

state governments, and reserved some powers only for state governments.” This information is

from the website, “The Texas Constitution,” written by Michael Coleman. The federal

government has what is called enumerate and implied powers. Enumerate powers are powers that

are listed in the constitution. Implied powers are powers that are necessary for the enumerated

powers, but aren’t specifically stated in the constitution. There are also concurrent powers. These

are the powers that are shared among the federal and state governments. This includes ideas like

taxes and criminal punishments. State governments are granted with reserved powers. These

reserved powers allow states to regulate education, their police system, and give out licenses.

Even after the Constitution was ratified, it still contained many flaws. One of these was in

fact how the government had too much power. “The Constitution might never have been ratified

if the framers hadn't promised to add a Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the

Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today's

Americans most valued freedoms.” This quote is from the website “National Archives”. The

government was overrun by power, until ten years later when the Bill of Rights was passed. This

document contained 10 amendments that listed the rights of individuals and states. Because the

government had had too much power before the Bill of Rights, they could have abused people's

unalienable rights, but this document allowed for them to be protected so that no one could take

these rights away from the Americans. The first nine amendments were purely focused on

individual rights. Some examples of individual rights are freedom of speech, the right to bear

arms (to have a weapon for protection), the right for public trial if accused of crime, etc

(“National Archives”). These rights were crucial for every American is treated as an equal and
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given fair laws that avoid corruption and tyranny. Lastly, the tenth amendment allowed security

and protection for state rights. It says that any right that is not listed in the constitution does not

belong to the federal government, but rather is given to the states or people (National Archive).

All in all, the Constitution provided an overextended amount of power towards the government,

so the Bill of Rights provided protection for unalienable rights.

The Bill of Rights was created to protect everyone’s rights, but it betrayed its purpose.

Even though many citizens rights were soon acknowledged, certain human rights were still

abused. This includes slaves and Native Americans, who the majority of were citizens as well.

These two minorities were greatly mistreated even after the Bill of Rights declared their liberty.

The website, “Bill of Rights Institution”, written by Documents of Freedom, “Native Americans

have experienced discrimination at the hands of European settlers during the colonial era and the

white majority in the United States for over four hundred years. In that time, there have been a

wide variety of policies towards Native Americans, some with good intentions and some bad, but

none seemed to resolve the clash of cultures and the difficulties faced by Native Americans.

They have rarely enjoyed liberty and equality in the American system of self-government.”

Native Americans have been discriminated against from the very first step the colonists took on

America. And even after the Bill of Rights was passed and promised equality to everyone,

Native Americans still didn’t qualify. At least they weren’t the only marginalized individuals.

Slaves were in the same position (“Bill of Rights Institution”). They were still forced under their

masters rule and treated as objects rather than people. These two minority groups didn’t deserve

to be treated unfairly, and that’s when they rose up to rebel. 74 years after the the Bill of Rights

was ratified, the 13th amendment was passed by president Abraham Lincoln in 1865. This
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amendment officially declared the end to slavery. It stated that no one was could be involuntarily

in servitude, unless someone committed a crime (“Our Documents”). After the 13th amendment

was passed, not only slaves, but also Native Americans were for once seen as an equal and

treated as anyone else.

The constitution was formed as a guideline that all Americans are required to follow as

the law. It states various matters on the topic of division of power, individual and state rights,

and mistreated minorities. The division of power among states and government helped keep from

corruption and allow the minorities voice to be heard. The constitution lists many unalienable

rights given to us as a human when we are born. The constitutions job is to protect these rights

and make sure every citizen remains equal. Even with all of these rights stated in the

constitution, many minorities were still deprived from these rights and discriminated against.

Overall, the constitution was created as a form of government that divides power among

everyone and protects the rights of every human being. There are still, and always will be flaws

in the government, but it still has helped the United States thrive and function for 241 years, and

will continue to do so as the American dream lives on.

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Works Cited

“America's Founding Documents.” National Archives and Records Administration, National

Archives and Records Administration, ​www.archives.gov/founding-docs​.

Coleman, Michael. “Federalism: A Division of Power.” Home,

dlc.dcccd.edu/txgov1-2/federalism-a-division-of-power.

“Currently Reading: Native Americans.” Bill of Rights Institute,

www.docsoffreedom.org/student/readings/native-americans​.

“13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865).” Our Documents - 13th

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865),

www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=40​.