The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781 represented the former colonist’s first attempt to establish a new government after the Revolutionary War. These Articles provided a weak political document that was meant to keep the states united temporarily. The states had all the power, so any changes made to the Article of Confederation would take every state to approve it or amend it. In February 1787, Congress decided that a convention should be convened to revise the Article of Confederation (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2009). Congress felt the Article of Confederation was not enough to effectively deal with the young nations issues. Congress knew it was time for the country to move forward, and to do that, there would be some big changes ahead, and that was the end of the Articles of Confederation, and the beginning of the created US Constitution. Reasons for the Constitutional Convention After the Revolutionary War, Congress had faced a huge debt. The United States owed money to the French since they aided support to the war. The government did not have a straightforward plan to meet its financial debt. They did not have right to tax; they could only request money, and had no control over commerce. Americans bought bonds to help support the war and in return, would be repaid in full at an agreed-upon interest rate. A government refusing to repay its war debts, including the interest owed to bondholders, would seem untrustworthy to lenders. Citizens would hesitate to invest their savings in U.S. government bonds, or in new businesses, knowing that the government might break its promise to repay or might allow others to do so. In other words, the U.S. government was severely restricted in its capacity t... ... middle of paper ... ...stitutional Rights Foundation. Retrieved Feburary 10, 2014, from The Major Debates at the Constitutional Convention: http://crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-25-2-the-major-debates-at-the-constitutional-convention.html Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. (n.d.). The Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from The Constituional Convention of 1787: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/convention1787.html The U.S. National Archives. (n.d.). National Archives. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from Observing Constitutional Day: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/ratification.html Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (2010). Gateways To Democracy The Essentials. In J. G. Geer, W. J. Schiller, J. A. Segal, & D. K. Glencross, An Introduction To American Government (pp. 43-49). Boston: Suzanne Jeans.
Before the Constitution was drafted, the United States’ budding government, now independent from Great Britain, acted under a dysfunctional constitution called the Articles of Confederation. Although this constitution kept the new nation running, there were still flaws that needed to be fixed. The Articles of Confederation lacked a developed executive or judicial branch and a method for the main government to collect taxes from state governments, according to the background essay of the DBQ Packet. An assembly of fifty-five men eventually gathered for a Constitutional Convention in order to write a new constitution that would better satisfy the people’s needs. The trouble of creating another constitution lied behind creating a document
In an effort to limit the power of the national government, Congress created one without enough power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. One of the main weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation was its incapability to regulate trade and levy taxes. The states controlled all of their “cash flows.” Sometimes, the states were in debt because of tariff wars that they would engage in with one another.
The Articles of Confederation was America’s first constitution. The Articles of Confederation failed to create a strong central government, however. With the demise of the states in sight, the need for a stronger and more structured central government became apparent. An invitation was sent to all thirteen states in February 1787 by the Confederation Congress to resolve the matter. The events that took place over the next several months would create the United States Constitution. Going down in history as a revolutionary form of government, the U.S. Constitution would give life to a country that is still running strong over 200 years later.
Schiller, W. J., Geer, J. G., & Segal, J. A. (2013). Gateways to democracy: introduction to American government, the essentials. (2nd ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth ;.
The Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the states on March 1, 1781. It was a modest attempt by a new country to unite itself and form a national government. The Articles set up a Confederation that gave most of the power to the states. Many problems arose and so a new Constitution was written in 1787 in Independence Hall. The new Constitution called for a much more unified government with a lot more power. Let us now examine the changes that were undertaken.
The Articles of Confederation were developed after the Revolutionary War, and were a good idea to help set standards for America. However, they had some major problems that needed to be solved in order for America to become a strong nation. After these problems were addressed the Constitution was developed.
In comparing the Articles of Confederation with the U.S constitution that was produced by the federal convention in 1787, it is important to note that the U.S operated under both documents. During March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation went into effect when it was ratified by Maryland. However, the U.S constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation as soon as it was ratified on June 21, 1788 by New Hampshire. The main difference between the Articles of Confederations and the U.S Constitution is that the constitution didn’t force the laws, but established the why of the constitution. In establishing the why, it warranted the farmers to work on the government being better than the Articles of Confederations. They wanted the government
The 1787 Constitutional Convention was paramount in unifying the states after the Revolutionary War. However, in order to do so, the convention had to compromise on many issues instead of addressing them with all due haste. This caused the convention to leave many issues unresolved. Most notably were the issues of slavery, race, secession, and states’ rights. Through the Civil War and the Reconstruction, these issues were resolved, and in the process the powers of the federal government were greatly expanded.
Some people have always wondered whether the making of Constitution of the United States was, in fact, supposed to happen at the Constitutional Convention or if it was even supposed to be drawn up in the way it was. In this essay, I will summarize to different views on what went on at the Constitutional Convention and how the Constitution of the United States come about. I want to emphasize that none of these views or theories discussed in this essay are my own. The convention that is referred to was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It began In May of 1787.
First, the formation of the Articles of Confederation was the first constitution in the United States. The Articles of Confederation was not the best constitution out there since congress could make decisions, but had no power to enforce them. There was a requirement for unanimous approval before any modifications
The United States at this time was faced with such economic and political problems domestically. Such economic problems as a trade barrier created such turmoil. In the text it is described that Spain, England and France on conditions of trade by saying that “Immediately following the war, Britain, France, and Spain are all restricted from American trade with the colonial states.” Our nation was also faced with one such problem as debt. The wars and battles our great nation has gone through in the past has created such a debt at this point in time that is almost not comprehendible for any normal human. In order to regain a financial balance the federalist came up with 3 solutions. They created an executive cabinet made up of heads of departments and they created a Judiciary Act of 1789. The Judiciary Act allowed for laws to be declared unconstitutional and put power back at a National level instead of state.
Constitution of the United States. (n.d.). National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/
"Bill of Rights Transcript Text." Bill of Rights Transcript Text. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. .
A concept many Americans fear when they hear, is the term “debt” due to the negative connotation it is given. Debt happens everywhere, and has been for hundreds of years due to the demand of people’s wants and needs. In chapter 4, General Washington received news that Benjamin Franklin in Paris, convinced France to join the war against the British. That then meant the Rebels would have to pay the French money to help them win the war. (Beck,65) The Rebels barely had money to begin with, which would put them in debt. George Washington once claimed that “there is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money";... for when money can be had in this way, repayment is a seldom thought of in time, the interest becomes a moth,
The next step of the convention was more democratic, in that there were delegates sent to Philadelphia by the state legislatures (Roche 18). Since the legislatures were chosen by elections in the states, the delegates to the convention were indirectly chosen by the people. Rhode Island did not send delegates, but there was an opportunity for them to do so. They decided against sending anyone since they knew they would not be welcomed by the convention.