Kaniya Goodman U.S. Gov Ms.Crouse 10-19-17 The first written constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation in November 15, 1777. Congress was also given the right to make treaties and alliances to maintain the armed forces and the money. Also, the central government was lacking the ability to tax and regulate commerce which led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the creation of the federal law. Since the American Revolution, the U.S. congress felt that they needed a stronger union and a government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. The central authority inhibited the creation of such a strong government that shared political theory held that a republic could not serve a large nation such as the United States .To many of the americans and their union seemed to be simply a league of confederated and also their congress representing thirteen independent polities. There were six drafts of the Articles that were prepared before congress settled on the final version in 1777.Benjamin Franklin was the first one who wrote and presented it to Congress in July of 1775.John Dickinson of Pennsylvania wrote the fourth draft version,and the text that revision the basis for the Articles approved by Congress.Dickinson’s draft was prepared in June 1776,but it was revised by committee of Congress and discussed in late
On September 28, 1787 Confederation Congress sent out the draft of the Constitution. This was the first time in history for the people to debate, discuss, and decide with a vote for how they wanted to be governed. There were two groups that debated the thought of the Constitution. They were called Federalists and anti-Federalists.
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
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.
In 1774, A Summary View of the Rights of British America was the first of Thomas Jefferson major political writings for the revolutionary debate. June of 1775 Thomas Jefferson took a seat in the Second Continental Congress that is when the revolution started. In June of 1776, he joined Benjamin Franklin and John Adams on the special committee to draft The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was surprised to find himself at the head of the committee to prepare this paper. After Benjamin Franklin and John Adams went over the rough draft the Thomas Jefferson summited to them, they revised it and sent it to Congress. On July 4,1776, the Declaration Of Independence was signed and published.
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.
The Continental Congress created the Articles of confederation which was the first constitution of United states on November 15, 1777 and was written during the time of Revolutionary War. Article of Confederation main purpose was to give some colonies sense of unified government. It was the plan to make all the 13 states unified and strong so that these new nation can act together to become a new and powerful nation. They wanted to create a new system that helps to run the government smoothly. They had the belief that the new Constitution will make their government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. After the constitution was confirmed by all the 13 states, it made the all the states supreme but had limited judicial functions. As the
Contrary to popular belief, the Constitution was not the first form of government, the Articles of Confederation was in fact the first form of governmental structure. The Articles of Confederation encompassed all thirteen states that fought in the American Revolution. They went into effect on March 1, 1781 and lasted until March 4, 1789, when the US constitution replaced them. The Articles of Confederation had many downfalls to its structure. It gave as much independence to the states as an individual as possible, leaving The United States in control of defense, security of liberties, and the general welfare.
The Articles of Confederation, written by the Second Continental Congress in 1777, became the first national constitution for a league of friendship among the American states. Previously living under the oppressive strong national government of Great Britain, the writers of the Articles wanted a congress with limited powers and no national executive or judicial branch. The weaknesses of the decentralized power was evident concerning taxing, regulation, and state disputes. In the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not tax states; it could merely request contributions from the states. To solve this issue, the Constitution gave the national government the power to tax. Regarding the regulation of trade, Congress was given the power to regulate
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
By the late eighteenth century, America found itself independent from England; which was a welcomed change, but also brought with it, its own set of challenges. The newly formed National Government was acting under the Articles of Confederation, which established a “firm league of friendship” between the states, but did not give adequate power to run the country. To ensure the young nation could continue independently, Congress called for a Federal Convention to convene in Philadelphia to address the deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation. While the Congress only authorized the convention to revise and amend the Articles the delegates quickly set out to develop a whole new Constitution for the country. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the new Constitution called for a national Executive, which was strongly debated by the delegates. There were forces on both sides of the issue trying to shape the office to meet their ideology. The Federalists, who sought a strong central government, favored a strong National Executive which they believed would ensure the country’s safety from both internal and external threats. The Anti Federalists preferred to have more power in the hands of the states, and therefore tried to weaken the national Executive. Throughout the convention and even after, during the ratification debates, there was a fear, by some, that the newly created office of the president would be too powerful and lean too much toward monarchy.
The Articles of Confederation, one of the first attempts at a nation-wide government, was created in November of 1777 (Roark p. 229), though it was not adopted until 1781 (Roark p. 230). Instead of a large and powerful central government, many of the framers sought a looser confederacy of states, with a central government that could only declare either war or peace, engage in foreign relations, establish a postal service, and regulate trade (Roark p. 229). They also sought to create a government that would not have an executive branch and would be unable to issue direct taxes. In essence, the framers did not want to create the very type of sovereign power that they had just rebelled against.
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787, in Philadelphia contained of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and fifty-five men gathered, to resolve the issue of slavery, and the structure of government. The need for slaves was scarce, because without slave labor, trading plantations would not have been abundant. “Slavery became connected with the color black, and liberty with the color white.” The need for equal rights for all, was a huge dilemma at the Constitutional Convection. (Norton & Company, Chapter Four)
The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of this, the Constitution was written....
The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. The Articles had created a very weak national government. At the time the Articles were approved, they had served the will of the people. Americans had just fought a war to get freedom from a great national authority--King George III (Patterson 34). But after this government was put to use, it was evident that it was not going to keep peace between the states. The conflicts got so frequent and malicious that George Washington wondered if the “United” States should be called a Union (Patterson 35). Shays’ Rebellion finally made it evident to the public that the government needed a change.