Humanities Homework Help

I’m working on a american studies writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

1. Is the government created by the Constitution of the United States ‘democratic’? Citing at least three (3) facets of the U.S. Constitution, tell me why or why not. (Note: this is YOUR definition of democratic.)

2. In Federalist #10, James Madison identifies factions as the primary danger to the health of any democratic society and suggests that the political system proposed by the new Constitution will alleviate the danger. Tell me three things about his argument: (1) what does he identify as the problem of factions, (2) how does he believe that the Union will help, and (3) do you believe he was correct in his assessment of the problem and solution?

3. The central conflict of the Constitutional Convention was the fight between the big states and small states over representation in Congress—exemplified in the Virginia and New Jersey Plans—and the Great Compromise (between the two) was largely about representation as well. Explain the different type(s) of representation desired in the VA and NJ plans, and tell me what type of representation emerged in the compromise between them.

4.I argued in lecture that the Founders were ‘whigs’ (note: I DO NOT mean the later American political party), and as such favored a more powerful legislative branch over a more powerful executive. Keeping that in mind, I want you to tell me this: what proof do we see (identifying, at minimum, two points) of their desire for legislative supremacy in the Constitution?

Extra credit: What does Frederick Douglas argue about the Constitution’s relationship to slavery in “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?”