The Clashing Interests of The Founding Fathers Essays -- American Hist

The Clashing Interests of The Founding Fathers The framing of the American Constitution resulted in several conflicts dealing with economic issues, political concerns and dynamic conflicts of interest between the delegates. Each separate force had a perspective, usually clouded by personal motives, on how the new governmental system should operate. During the framing of the Constitution, the central conflicts were between the small states and the big states while in the ratification period the struggle involved the anti-federalists and the federalists. Each opposing force struggled for the power to have their personal interest and beliefs represented in the new governmental system. The different sectional interests were incorporated into the larger goal of creating the national government. Power, in of itself, is not evil. When coupled with the self-interest and motives of man, power becomes evil and destroys all possibilities of liberty, law and right. Bernard Bailyn, author of The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, correctly notes that what "gave transcendent i...