The Constitution was written by men of wealth and power. Their original intent was to revise the Articles of Confederation, but they soon realized that would be impossible due to the way the Articles were organized. Using their knowledge of government, especially the government of the Romans, John Locke's writings, Montesquieu's theories, and other such resources, they framed their own Constitution and system of government. The Founding Fathers feared placing direct power in the hands of the common people. They shared the belief that men were naturally bad and needed government to control them. The tyranny and power bestowed upon the monarchy of England however forced the Founding Fathers to create a grey area, a compromise between a monarchy and an absolute democracy. So the Founding Fathers opted for a Republic. A Republic, or representative democracy, allowed the government to check the common people as well as give them a voice in national/state matters.
The Articles of Confederation were in desperate need of revision. The Articles were established under the pretense that a weaker government was better. The Americans were still returning home from the battles of the American Revolution and refused to create a government like that of Britain. The monarchy of Britain had become a tyrannical power controlling every cent and life under its domain. The colonists were in no hurry to subject themselves to a monarchy after they had fought so hard for freedom of tyranny. The Articles of Confederation were proposed in 1781 as the governing policies of the new country. The Articles suggested a government run jointly by the states rather than one central government. The colonists argued that if a government were given little power, it would not have power to abuse. The Articles granted Congress very little power. Each state had one vote in Congress; the size of the state was irrelevant. Congress had the power to make peace, coin money, and run the post office.
