US History to 1876: Creative Writing

US History to 1876: Creative Writing

Introduction

It is almost not surprising that the discovery of America was once celebrated as the most significant event in human history since the incarnation of Christ. However, the impact of the accidental encounter was blunted at the time because Columbus believed he had landed in Asia (Ferling, 2011). Even when it became clear that he had found a continent unknown to Europeans, many were more concerned with trying to find a sea route around it. Spain took the lead in colonizing the West Indies before moving onto the mainland (Henretta, 2007). Close behind were the Portuguese, whose arrival in Brazil followed another accidental discovery. Expeditions sponsored by the English soon made their landfall in North America. These encounters with the New World seemed to fulfill classical and biblical prophesies of vast riches and earthly paradises, but by forcing Europeans to confront unknown cultures, they also added to the Renaissance debate about the essence of human nature (Ferling, 2011). The United States has etched itself in history by drastically and rapidly evolving as a nation. Thus, undoubtedly American history is fascinating and complex.

Discussion

This interesting fiction starts with the affirmation of independence in July 1776, when the colonies in the United States turned out to be independent states (Henretta, 2007). Proprietary and royal charters were kept out-of-the-way and new state constitutions were planned. This provided the opportunity to the new states to correct mistakes that were seized to subsist under former governing policies (Henretta, 2007). Also of importance was what was not declared by the new state constitutions. No rights were given to the increasing numbers of slaves. Females were not provided a role in the political procedure.

After a number of bloody battles, Washington's army defeated the British in 1781 with some help from the French, and America became independent (Ellis, 2004). In 1787, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, during which the written U.S. Constitution delineated a representative form of government (Chemerinsky, 2011). The Constitution was ratified in 1788 and went into effect in 1789 (Chemerinsky, 2011). Thus, the story turned out to be more interesting when the Constitution was drafted by the founders of the nation in 1787 (Chemerinsky, 2011). Provisions in the U.S. Constitution allowed the various branches of government to place limits on each other's power. A government system was created that featured 3 separate branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. In order to prevent any one branch from exercising too much authority and dominating the others, the Founders reserved certain powers to each branch. By doing so, they ensured that the three branches had to work together to pass laws and set government policy.

Under the system established by the Constitution, the legislature has the sole authority to make laws, collect and distribute revenue, declare war, approve or reject treaties, and confirm certain presidential nominees (Chemerinsky, 2011). The president, in turn, may veto laws passed by Congress, oversees congressional spending, acts as commander in chief of ...