Covenantal vs. Unitarian Approach to Civil Government

camp, Hamilton. These men, however; did not realize the extent their thinking would lead to, and many of them had an honest desire to see America prosper under a Christian government. Nevertheless, this does not mean the new concept of federalism is correct.

When it actually came down to applying the new federalist thinking, the leaders had more concern. Their desire to create a new constitution demanded that every one of the states certified it. This was a difficult task in a day filled with controversy. Using compromise, influence, underground work, and persistence they were able to talk all thirteen colonies into signing the document, despite the threats of abandoning the union and refusals to sign the document.

Due to the union’s victory in the mid-1800s, the influence of new federalist thinking continues today. Although the old federalism slowly dissipated, new federalism continued to climb. The success of this experiment was still questionable as New York discussed leaving the union as late as 1789. Nevertheless, this same federalism has dominated the remainder of American history, leading to the anarchy and tyranny we see today.

Some say, that the new federalists were obliged to build a more centralized power in order to deal with the increasing problems of slavery and dept. Under the Articles of Confederation the states simply did not have the power to deal with the issues a new nation faced. The Articles did not give the government the power to raise much money, keep a standing army, coin money, borrow, or regulate territories.

Was it necessary to throw out the security of the Articles just for a few issues that could have been amended? Without the ability to go into debt, the government could have avoided the trillions of dollars in debt it has collected today. The irony of it all is that giving the national government more power in order to “stop slavery,” as it was falsely termed, gave them the power to enslave themselves.

The build-up of these new federalist ideas has sadly marked the enlargement of America’s government and the beginning decline of western civilization. We have considered the two basic thought patterns of the mid-1700s. This paper failed to discuss the deeps roots of these ideas, the classical writings which endorsed them or the opinions on the issues of debt and slavery they held.

Works Cited

Grant, George, The Twilight of Federalism. Franklin: Tennessee, Gileskirk Curriculum,

2003. DVD.

King James Version. Indianapolis: Indiana, Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc., 1964. Print.

Scheikart, Larry, and Allen, Michael, A Patriot’s History of the United States. New York:

Sentinel, 2004. Print.