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Comparison of articles of confederation and the constitution
Reflection on federalism
Reflection on federalism
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Articles of Confederation and the Constitution The Articles of Confederation was essentially the first document after America gained its independence from Britain that established how the country would run. The Articles of Confederation were written in 1777 but were not ratified by all thirteen states until 1781. Later these documents would become what we know today as the Constitution in 1787 (Comparing the Articles and the Constitution). Looking at the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution you can quickly see without reading the documents some of the main similarities between them and some of the differences. They both are sectioned by “articles” but the constitution further sections off the articles with “sections” in the articles. The Articles of Confederation has 13 articles while the Constitution has only 7 …show more content…
Although they kept some things in the Constitution they did make key changes that would make an impact on the U.S and how things would be run. There were key differences between the two documents, e.g., The voting power for states was based on committees and each state had one vote in the Articles of Confederation; the Articles of Confederation had a single legislature but the Constitution created a bicameral system. So, the Constitution stated that for each state each legislative representative (Senator and House Representatives) would have a single vote. Some similarities between the two documents was that they both stated that no states were allowed to enter any treaty, alliance, or confederation without the consent of Congress, and no state could go into war by itself. Both documents state that the government oversees the value of money, and there will be term limits for the different offices in the government. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution both say that every state had to observe and obey the law of the
Each one came from eleven different colonies to change the Articles of Confederation because it wasn't working out. The states had too much power and the national government have little to none of the power. There was no army or taxes. They needed to change it so the nation could stay together and not fall apart. So they made the Constitution. The constitution protected America by, Federalism, Separation of Powers and checks and balances.Federalism helps protect America from tyranny. It lets the states and the government both have power. (Doc A). There is only certain things the state can do as well as there is certain things only the national government
The purpose of a constitution was to remove the royal authority 's institution and still govern the people with a popular sovereignty. Each colony developed their own constitution in different ways based on the economic, political, freedom, and social demands of the people as well as the states ' experiences. The Virginia constitution and the Massachusetts constitution were the two of the many states that created a constitution. Both of the constitutions have their similarity and difference, but they are more in common. In fact, It is said to be that the Massachusetts constitution was often overshadowed by the Virginia constitution. Nonetheless, the similarity between both constitutions is the structure of a commonwealth. That being the case, each state 's government are related to the federal government.
With these different balances to control the powers throughout the new government, the problem of tyranny wasn’t as such of a problem as it was when the Articles of Confederation were in place. The states were now represented justly, the national and state levels of government fairly empowered, and the three branches within the national government were balanced. Even the three branches within balanced each other out, so one wouldn’t become too under or over powered. The new government created by the Constitution was a good answer to protect against
The Federalists and Anti-federalists shared the common beliefs of John Locke’s Enlightenment ideals such as all men were born equal (even though most of these men owned slaves), but their opinions about the role of government were different. Both parties had their own visions of how a new government would function and how the Constitution would support the government being proposed. Many argued that the Articles of Confederation had created a very weak government with very limited power. Specifically, the amount of power or the absence of power of a central government was the main disagreement between the Federalists and Anti-federalists. As a result, the Federalists and Anti-federalists argued about the ratification of a new constitution, which would give the central government more power.
There were many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. At the end of the American Revolution the free states needed some sort of control that would generate to a unified country. Issues arose such as: How should power be divided between local and national governments? How should laws be made, and by whom? Who should be authorized to govern those laws? How could the government be designed to protect the unalienable individual rights? Their first attempt at solving this issue was the Articles of Confederation, which was a failure for the most part, but not completely. After the failure of the articles, the state delegates tried to revise the articles, but instead, constructed the Constitution. There were so many changes made and very little remained the same.
One of the key differences between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation is in the way that they set up the Legislature. In the Articles, it is established as a unicameral legislature which it refers to as a Congress. The Constitution on the other hand establishes a bicameral legislature with an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Representatives. The reason for this change was because different states wanted the number of representatives to be selected in different ways. Under the Articles of Confederation all States were represented equally and the bigger states felt that they should be getting more say in the decisions that the Country would be making. Needless to say the smaller states did not readily agree to this.
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.
habit of printing new paper money to cover the new republic’s war debt and the
Researching and reading about both documents entirely enforces the notion that to govern is to control, influence, or regulate. All these laws and rights make for a controlled environment to live in which is being constantly questioned and infracted unpin everyday. The Founding Fathers put forth an amazing document that will live on for years and years to pass.
The Articles of Confederation was a plan of government that was based on the principles that were fought for in the American Revolutionary War. Even though The Articles of Confederation were based upon principles we fought for, it contained major flaws. The government had no power of national taxation and had no power to control trade. The biggest weakness of The Articles of Confederation was that it had no direct origin in the people, the states were in control. Each and every state had the power to collect its own taxes, issue currency, and provide for its own military. The Articles of Confederation was a transition between the Revolutionary War and the Constitution. Without The Articles of Confederation it would have been impossible to create the United States Constitution, mistakes were made with the first, and fixed later with the Constitution.
The United States Constitution and the Articles have several ever present difference that some considered to be too radical. In terms of levying taxes, the Articles Congress could request states to pay taxes while with the Constitution; the Congress has the right to levy taxes on individuals. The Articles government had no court system while the Constitution created a court system to deal with issues between citizens and states. The lack of provisions to regulate interstate trade the Articles possessed created large economic problems, leading into a depression in the mid 1780's. The Constitutional Congress has the right to regulate trade between states. The Constitution has a strong executive branch headed by our president who chooses cabinet and has checks on power of the other two branches; the Articles had no executive with power. The president merely presided over Congress. The Articles took almost 5 years to ratify due to the fact that 13/13 colonies needed to amend the Articles before it could go into affect, with the Constitution, 2/3 of both houses of Congress plus ¾ of the states legislatures or national convention had to approve. During the years under the Articles, foreign soldiers occupied US forts during our early years, we were unable to force them out due to the fact that Congress could not draft troops, and they depended on the states to contribute to the forces. Under the Constitution we have the ability to raise an army to deal with any sort of military situations. In terms of passing laws, under the Articles 9/13 states needed to approve legislation while under the Constitution, 50% plus 1 of both houses plus the signature of the president is needed to pass a law. The Articles had a huge problem when it came to state representation. Under the Articles every state only received one vote, regardless of its size, this hindered the power of the larger states. With the Constitution, the upper house (Senate) has 2 votes and the lower house (House of Representatives) is based on population. When two states had disputes the Articles had a complicated system of arbitration to go through before any resolution was reached, under the Constitution, the federal Court system handles disputes between states.
The Articles of Confederation are considered the U.S.’s “first constitution.” After much debate, the document declares that the states receive the majority of power. It also creates a grouping of sovereign states that have “…a firm league of friendship” rather than an official union. The articles
In conclusion, both of the constitutions are similar but they have their differences. One focuses on our individual rights while the other on the state. The states have reserved powers and their own governments. In the end, the governments are made to separate power and protect our rights and freedoms. What more could we ask
The United States Constitution and Texas Constitution are similar, but not indistinguishable. One can see that the constitution was made to prevent tyranny in the states from the idea of the federalists who wanted to build a strong form of government that gave people rights without giving their representatives too much power. In the U.S. Constitution, the elites made the decision that they would form a representative government with a Bill of Rights in order for the anti-federalists to agree to sign. The constitution established a stronger form of government, which helped the economic and social tensions. The constitution consists of: the preamble, which states the general principles for a government, the Bill
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.