Articles of the Confederation

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Introduction When a prolonged period of objective economic and social developments is followed by a somewhat shorter period of sharp reversal, revolutions are more likely to occur. For instance, the fear of subjectively losing the ground gained with great effort is perceived to have been the backbone of American Revolutionary War, a political upheaval of the 18th century (1775 - 1783). Nonetheless, a series of social, intellectual and political transformations in the government and the American society was the primary cause of the Revolution (Book, 2012). Before the Revolution, thirteen colonies in North America were part of the British Empire which subjected them to aristocracies and the concept of royal rule by divine right that controlled Europe at that time. The rejection of the authority of Parliament of Great Britain by the colonies to govern them and the subsequent expulsion of all the royal officials lead to the establishment of a Provincial Congress in each colony. In response to this move, the British sent combat troops as a way to re-establish its royalist control, but the Americans managed the armed conflict (Culver, 1987). In 1776, the thirteen states declared independence after defeating the British army, but they were not yet under one central government. After the last battle of the Revolutionary War which took place in 1781, the states set up set up a federal government under laws that were known as the Articles of Confederation. Although there were many challenges that accompanied the war, including war debts and a weak military, leaders were convinced that a new government to replace the Articles of Confederation was undeniably necessary. This was attributed to the fact it came with numerous drawbacks, for in... ... middle of paper ... ...f the constitution since it allowed the population to control one house and the other by two representatives from each state (Siegel, 2013). A compromise on the executive elections was also reached because some delegates advocated for a popular vote and others believed that the people couldn’t be trusted with such a big decision. Nonetheless, creation of an electoral college appeased the opponents. References Book, S. (2012, June 30). Characters share Revolutionary War tales. Sun Journal (New Bern, NC). Siegel, N. S. (2013). Collective Action Federalism and Its Discontents. Texas Law Review, 91(7), 1937-1967. Culver, D. M. (1987). Shays' Rebellion and the Issue of Liberty and Power in a Free Society. New England Social Studies Bulletin,44(2), 8-13. Dougherty, K. L. (2001). Defending the Articles of Confederation: A response to Sobel. Public Choice, 109(1/2), 141.

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