Making of a Nation: Writing The Constitution
January 03, 2013
US Constitution - We The People
From VOA Learning English, welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in Special English. I’m Steve Ember. This week in our series, we continue the story of the United States Constitution.
In May of 1787, a group of America's early leaders met in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They planned to amend the Articles of Confederation. That document established a loose union of the 13 states. Instead, they wrote a completely new constitution. It created America's system of government and recognized the rights of its citizens.
Last week, we talked about the debate at the convention over the Virginia Plan. The plan was prepared by James Madison and other delegates from the state of Virginia. It described a national government with a supreme legislature, executive and judiciary. Some delegates feared that such a central government would take away power from the states. But in the end, they approved the proposal.
On June 1, they began debate on the issue of a national executive.
It seemed every delegate at the Philadelphia convention had something to say about the issue. They had been thinking about it for some time.
Almost every delegate was afraid to give the position extended powers. Almost no one wanted America's chief executive to become as powerful as a king. Still, many of the delegates had faith in the idea of a one-person executive. Others demanded an executive of three people.
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