Essay Sample on Origins of the Constitution

Introduction

The United States Constitution is the supreme document that provides a legal guideline to the nation's judicial system. The document outlines the fundamental laws as well as basic rights entitled to all citizens in the nation. Additionally, it was enacted in 1787 in Philadelphia, the United States by delegates of the Constitutional Convention. There have been numerous theories that strive to explain the origins of the constitution. Among such explanations are provided by Woody Holton in his publication Unruly Americans. The analysis of 'Origins of the Constitution' reveals that the primary sources support Holton's conclusions on the motives of the authors of the constitution.

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Holton's Arguments on the Origins of the Constitution

The promotion of a healthy economic environment in the United States is arguably one of the primary reasons why the nation's constitution was enacted. The primary sources of the United States Constitution as illustrated in the Holton's publication revealed that the nation's constitution was created to protect the public credit. In addition, before the enactment of the constitution, the Articles of Confederation gave the States the power to issue national currencies to the public. As a result, few influential debtors who had no money pushed their state governments to print depreciated currencies and to create policies that would enable them to postpone the payment of such debts to creditors.

The aftermath of such an occurrence was the massive degradation in the economic development of the United States economy in comparison to other major global nations at the time. However, through the Constitution, policies that provided a guideline of how debts were to be settled and the repercussions of forfeiture of such debts were outlined. Ultimately, Holton also believed that the Constitution was a way for the United States to affirm its virtues as a liberal and democratic nation to both its citizens and to the global community. That is because, before the enactment of the Constitution, America was largely perceived as corrupt and depriving towards its publics by the rest of the world.

Primary Sources Supporting Holton's Arguments

The author of the primary publication Curtis supported Holden's need for a constitution in that he/she believed that it was economically unviable for creditors to be paid with worthless or "paper" money by debtors. According to the author of Curtis, all debts that had been issued by creditors was their hard earned wealth and one that required to be paid on a profit. Otherwise, paying the debtors with a worthless or depreciated currency, such as the US $5.8 million printed in New York, Rhode Island and Georgia before the Constitutional Convention, would have made debtors refuse to loan. Instead, the unfavorable economic situation in the United States would have made them seek other external markets for their goods a move that might have also affected the economy of the United States Constitution.

Holton's theory on the origin of the Constitution can also be supported by a different primary source, My Countrymen. According to the source, the British had already colonized the United States and the latter was already a liberal nation. As such, in order for the United States to remain strong and free from all future forms of colonization, it had to strengthen its currency and economic position compared to other major nations around the world. According to the author of the publication My Countrymen, before the creation of the Constitution, the British were in possession of Canada, having relinquished their control of the United States forts.

As such, it was possible that the British would have taken advantage of other weaknesses of the United States like the low ebb of public credit to further enhance its control of the latter nation. Additionally, this revelation by the publication My Countrymen supports Holton's argument that the Constitution needed to be created in the United States to strengthen its economic position in comparison to other global nations. In a different primary resource titled George Washington Reacts to Shays's Rebellion (1786), George Washington made a response to General Knox stating that there were disorders with the nation.

In the resource, Washington believed that the nation was being known by the rest of the world by its negative aspects of corruption as well as depravity towards its citizens. As such, there was a need to create the Constitution, which would have provided the United States with a national framework for defining public morals to both its citizens and the global society. The premise by the source supported Holton's argument that America's Constitution needed to be created to affirm the image of the nation as a liberal and democratic nation to the rest of the world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the analysis of 'Origins of the Constitution' reveals that the primary sources support Holton's conclusions on the motives of the authors of the constitution. For instance, the author of Curtis supported Holden's need for a constitution in that he/she believed that it was economically unviable for creditors to be paid with worthless or "paper" money by debtors. In a different primary source titled My Countrymen, the Constitution needed to be created to enable the United States to remain strong and free from all future forms of colonization by external powers. That is by strengthening its currency and economic position compared to other major nations around the world. Lastly, the publication Washington Reacts to Shays's Rebellion (1786) showed that the United States needed the Constitution as a national framework for defining the public morals to both its citizens and the global society. Subsequently, this would have helped to enhance the image of the United States as a liberal nation to the rest of the world.