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Creation of the US constitution
Chapter 5 review articles of confederation
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The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of the document.
As adopted, the articles provided only for a "firm league of friendship" in which each of the 13 states expressly held "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." The People of each state were given equal privileges and rights, freedom of movement was guaranteed, and procedures for the trials of accused criminals were outlined. The articles established a national legislature called the Congress, consisting of two to seven delegates from each state; each state had one vote, according to its size or population. No executive or judicial branches were provided for. Congress was charged with responsibility for conducting foreign relations, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, settling boundary disputes, establishing and maintaining a postal service, and various lesser functions. Some of these responsibilities were shared with the states, and in one way or another Congress was dependent upon the cooperation of the states for carrying out any of them.
Four visible weaknesses of the articles, apart from those of organization, made it impossible for Congress to execute its constitutional duties. These were analyzed in numbers 15-22 of The FEDERALIST, the political essays in which Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay argued the case for the U.S. CONSTITUTION of 1787. The first weakness was that Congress could legislate only for states, not for individuals; because of this it could not enforce legislation. Second, Congress had no power to tax. Instead, it was to assess its expenses and divide those among the states on the basis of the value of land. States were then to tax their own citizens to raise the money for these expenses and turn the proceeds over to Congress. They could not be forced to do so, and in practice they rarely met their obligations. Third, Congress lacked the power to control commerce--without its power to conduct foreign relations was not necessary, since most treaties except those of peace were concerned mainly with trade.
The thirteen states formed a Confederation referred to as the “league of friendship” in order to find a solution for common problems such as foreign affairs.The Articles of Confederation was the nation’s first Constitution. The articles created a loose Confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to the central government. Each state would have one vote in the house of Congress, no matter the size of the population. Members of the one-house Congress, such as Pennsylvania, agreed that the new government should be a unicameral legislature, without an executive branch or a separate judiciary. Under the articles, there wasn’t a strong independent executive. There wasn’t any judicial branch but Congress had the authority to arbitrate disputes between states. Congress was responsible for conducting foreign affairs, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy and a variety of other lesser functions. But the articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws. Because of this, the central government had to request donations from the states to finance its operations and raise armed forces.
Under the Articles each state could send between 2 and 7 delegates to Congress. In the Constitution each state was allowed 2 members in the Senate and 1 representative per 30,000 people (this number has now increased greatly) in the House of Representatives. As I stated earlier each state wanted to be represented according to different factors. The states with bigger populations wanted representation to be based solely off of population. The states with smaller populations wanted there to be a fixed number of representatives per state, regardless of size or population.
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.
One country that had imperialism was India. By the mid-1880s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. The cause of British domination was that the land was very diverse and the people could not unite and that the British either paid local princes or used weapons to get control. Positive effects of imperialistic rule in India were that the British set up a stronger economy and more powerful industries. They built roads and railroads. British rule brought peace and order to the countryside. They revised the legal system to promote justice for the Indians regardless of class. Indian landowners and princes, who still owned territory grew rich from exporting cash crops such as cotton and jute. The British introduced the telegraph and the postal system as a means of communication. These improvements and benefits from British rule eventually lead to Indian nationalism. The exposure to European ideas caused an Indian nationalist movement, the people dreamed of ending Imperial ...
The Articles of Confederation were drafted between 1776 and 1777 and they were to define the collective sovereignty of the states. The following year, The Articles of Confederation were presented to the states for ratification, but only eight states had ratified the document by July 1778. This created a problem because all thirteen states needed to ratify the Articles before they were put into action. This didn’t happen until 1781.
Preston, Richard A., Alex Roland, and Sydney F. Wise. Men In Arms: A History of Warfare and its interrelationships
The Articles failed to provide a solid monetary system to ensure that taxes would be paid or to protect commerce. Congress had no way to collect taxes to pay off pre-war debts. This led to chaos and anarchy when soldiers realized that there is a delay in what they requested (Document C). Each State had its own money, but there was no national money system. Since the money had no value from state to state, the people began to use the barter system of trade. This reduced the amount of trade and importation of goods. There was very little economic progress and growth during this period even though the population was increasing. (Document B). Self interest of the States and of individuals added to the cause of the problems. For example, John Jay tried to create a treaty with Great Britain that would have been bad for the merchants of the United States but it would have paid off the war debt.
It is interesting and even surprising that the two major strategies regarding war were developed by European contemporaries of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. Antoine Henri de Jomini (1779-1869) approached his philosophy of war in a structured, scientific manner. Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) took a more fluid, open-ended approach to his philosophy of war. The fact that they lived during the same time period in Europe is also fascinating in that they likely knew of each others’ writings as well as potentially influenced and were influenced by the philosophy of the other. Jomini’s scientific approach is more applicable to the tactical and operational levels of war while Clausewitz approaches war as more of an art or interaction between people that is more appropriate to the strategic and political levels of war. Although their two war strategies are presented as opposing strategies, by comparing concepts from each of the theorists to the other theorist’s work shows that they are actually more complementary than competing in that they are addressing different levels of war. The concepts to be evaluated are Clausewitz’s “Trinity of War”, “war as a continuation of politics”, and the “unpredictability of war” as well as Jomini’s definition of strategy and his “Fundamental Principle of War”.
The American Revolution stirred political unity and motivated the need for change in the nation. Because many Americans fought for a more balanced government in the Revolutionary War, they initially created a weak national government that hampered the country's growth and expansion. In the Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Mrs. Adams complained about the inadequacy of power that the American government had to regulate domestic affairs. The Articles of Confederation was created to be weak because many had feared a similar governing experience that they had just eliminated with Britain. The alliance of states united the 13 local governments but lacked power to deal with important issues or to regulate diplomatic affairs. Congress did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, or draft people for war. This put the American citizens at stake because States had the power to refuse requests for taxes and troops (Document G). The weakened national government could not do anything about uprisings or small-scale protests because it did not have the power to put together an army. The deficiencies of the confederation government inspired the drafting of the American Constitution. The document itself embodied the principle of a national government prepared to deal with the nation's problems. In James Madison's Federalist Paper, he persuades the American public to adopt the Constitution so that the government can protect humans from their nature and keep them out of conflicts.
Readers can sympathize with his romantic efforts and mistakes as he cowardly chases a married woman. Some may say “Gatsby’s pursuit of his dream takes on a mythical quality, mirroring the dream which led Americans to conquer the frontier. Gatsby 's “frontier,” however is an ill-advised pursuit of a vacuous woman not worthy of his love” (Pavlovski 113). I agree with the following idea because Gatsby was forced to explore a one sided love that evolved into obsession and ultimately lead to his tragic death. He wanted Daisy so immensely that he devoted his life to a woman who wasn 't worthy of his love, and in the end it costed him his life. Daisy is married and ‘in love’ but doesn 't hesitate to play with his life and emotions, regardless of being aware of his feelings toward her. Events such as when Gatsby seeing past the fact that daisy had a daughter evoke sympathy and create a mood of desperation and obsession that is further developed as the novel
A V Dicey, Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (10th ed 1964) 40.
With concern over global warming growing, people are starting to turn a more serious eye toward cleaner sources of energy. Instead of solar power making a comeback as the ideal form, we are seeing a growth in the use of wind power. Wind farms are beginning to crop up all around the country. This new trend has gathered significant attention. Questions are being raised concerning the effects wind farms may have, from critics and supporters alike. Michelle Nijhuis, in the article “Selling the Wind” discusses the arguments on behalf of and in opposition to the increasing use of wind power, addressing what the consequences may be on the United States.
In the end, though the era of British Imperialism in India played a significant role in India’s development into the modern world, it also came at a price. Regardless what was lost, a great deal was gained because India was able to not only increase its population, but also make the people smarter and healthier in the process. The way some of India’s residents were living before the age of Imperialism was not good, so if it didn’t do anything else positive – it helped them live better!
The glorious British Empire, at its height the most powerful régime in the world. Just a small island off the western coast of Europe, Britain grew to the span across the entire globe, effectively creating am Empire where the sun never set. Colonization, industrialization and a sense of nationalistic destiny drove the once expansive Empire. We still see effects of British imperialism today, which our global economy, as well as national tensions that germinated as a result of decolonization. Moreover, industrial revolution and push for independence manifested as a result of British influence. The same features that defined the British Empire, nationalism and commerce, lead to its demise.
In this paper, I will briefly talk about the current status of wind energy, the pros and cons of wind energy technology and wind farms, and also, show several recommendations for wind energy’s further development.