The Fight to Secure America's Liberties
In "The Fight to Secure America's Liberties," Carol Berkin describes how the lawmakers bravely assembled despite the difficult circumstances. With a single goal in mind, they endured the subpar lodging and bad weather. Their primary objective was to save their nation, which was given to them by the people who were entrusted with that responsibility. A legitimate government was required to defend its subjects' interests and safeguard their liberties, which meant that they had to do so. Their intention was to ensure that the citizens were well treated by ensuring that a new tyranny that would not impose tax, restrict trade and commerce would not take over, "The constitution they had drafted, was in many ways, a defense against a new tyranny".
The Bill of Rights
The bill of rights did not reflect the original intent of the founding fathers because it aimed at amending what the founding fathers had developed. They had put in so much to develop a constitution which was being changed by adding more details to make it better. This was done because the bill of rights wanted to bridge a gap which the constitution did not consider and what the constitution was not able to assist.
The Empowerment of the New Government
According to Carol Berkin, delegates discovered that the government was faulty and they decided to develop a new one which had more power so as to be able to take over the previous one. This is the reason why Madison saw the need to amend the constitution so as to empower the new government, "Ardent nationalists like Madison, Hamilton and Pennsylvania's brilliant and flamboyant Gouveneur Morris wanted to provide a full panoply of power: the right to tax, to regulate foreign and interstate trade, to raise an army for defense and to establish a uniform currency".
The Settlement of Issues and Strengthening of the Constitution
The national politics at the time faced a tough opposition and compromise. It took a strenuous amount of time and effort in aligning all the delegates towards one cause, in the development of structure and shape of the new government and settlement of issues. Berkin's argument should not challenge the way in which the modern politicians and citizens view the bill of rights. Berkin noted that the Antifederalists were given freedom to express themselves. The main reason to this is because it had an aim of strengthening the constitution and it put citizens as priority. It aimed at ensuring that the welfare of the citizens is improved and individual liberties were safeguarded. Also the bill of rights went a long way to ensure that the powers given to the federal government were fully utilized.
