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Comparing articles confederation vs. constitution
Comparing articles confederation vs. constitution
Comparing articles confederation vs. constitution
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Shortly after the war, many americans feared a powerful national government that would abuse it’s power. In response to this, the Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation. The articles demonstrated a loose confederation of strong state governments that opposed a centralized national power. After many difficulties under the Articles occurred, many believed that a strong centralized government was needed. The Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses such as Congress could not levy or collect taxes, Congress could not regulate interstate commerce or foreign trade, and each state had only one vote in Congress. Following the Revolutionary War, America was bankrupt in financial debt. Congress did not have the authority to
The Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1871 and considered to be the first Constitution of the United States. The goal of the Articles of Confederation was to ensure each states maintains its independence, sovereignty, and freedom. The Articles were ratified by all 13 states. (Daniel, P.14, 2010) The Confederation Congress called for a convention to meet in 1787 to be held in Philadelphia. The nature of the convention was to revise the articles of Confederation. The Confederation congress wanted the Constitution to be changed in a way that would render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union. (Daniel, P.14, 2010)
The unpredictable failure of the Articles of Confederation to the continental congress was a huge problem. The Articles of Confederation was made so the states would have more power, And limit the powers of the national government. Main contributors for this action was the fear that the national government will gain too much power and overstep its authority.This would have a negative effect on the nation, because tensions will start to rise for the ineffectiveness of this new system of government. A Rebellion best known as Shays rebellion, took place shortly after The adoption of the Articles of Confederation. The states, in which shays rebellion has taken place, were becoming unjust/unfair the way in which the state collected taxes. Since the Articles of Confederation was a complete failure
The Continental Congress, renamed the Confederation Congress after the Articles of Confederation were ratified, was not an ineffectual body. It led the United States through a war against Great Britain, gained independence, negotiated the Treaty of Paris, and set up an unprecedented system of government. Ultimately, however, this government did not solve many of the new nation’s problems. The ruling document of this Congress, the Articles of Confederation, created a government without the power necessary to perform the tasks it was charged with and claimed the states were sovereign nations while depriving them of essential powers.
The Americans after obtaining independence from England needed to establish a form of government. Before the war had ended, the Second Congress of the Confederation called for the drafting of a new government in order to govern this new country, which the Articles of Confederation established. The Articles of Confederation built a government solely based off republican ideals, such as civic virtue, the idea that the states and the people will make sacrifices to the common good in order to benefit everybody. Relying on civic virtue did not pull through as successful for the young country. The Articles of Confederation shone through as successful in organizing and establishing states in the Old Northwest, spreading republican ideals; however, the success of the Articles of Confederation was trumped by its failures. The Articles of Confederation failed to provide a new and young United States with an effective government in its inability to collect tax revenue to pay debts, controlling the mobocratic uprising of upset factions, and dealing with foreign policies; additionally, the failure of the Articles of Confederation revealed the inefficiency and failure of republicanism.
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.
Under the Articles of Confederation each state had its own sovereignty. And the central government was to provide thing such as national security, treaties, courts, and currency. However the government could not tax. If the states didn't pay their bills to the government there was nothing the government could do about it. This is just one of many reasons why the Articles didn't work. In 1786 Virginia tried to get the Articles modified by holding a meeting known as the Annapolis Conference. This meeting failed because only five states sent delegates. A few months later another meeting was held in Philadelphia.
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.
There were many short comings to The Articles of Confederation. More than half of the states had to agree on decisions before bills could be passed. The Articles only gave congress the power to handle foreign affairs, command war, control branches of the military, create post offices and regulate coined money. According to U.S History Scene, “the main cause of this ineffectiveness stemmed from a lack of a strong, central government. From the absence of a powerful, national government emerged a series of limitations that rendered the Articles of Confederation futile” (Brackemyre 1). The government the Articles of Confederation established was limited and gave the states too much
The Articles of Confederation was the United States first attempt at creating a democratic government. Instead of giving power to the central government they divided it up among the states (Kelly). This fact left the Articles with many weaknesses that ultimately led it to fail. The lack of a strong central government led to economic disorganization, no central leadership and an ineffective legislative, all which led to its downfall (Brackemyre). Leaving power to the states left the nation in a state of economic disorganization. Without the national government having the power to levy taxes, it was left with the states (Murphy). The legislature only had the right to request taxes, and it was left up to the states how they wanted to raise them, but they oftentimes weren't (Brackemyre). There was also no uniform system of currency which made trade between states difficult. The fact that states instead of Congress regulated trade led to a lack...
The Articles of Confederation were incapable of providing the United States with an effective form of government. The Articles of Confederation presided weakly over the government as it allowed little or no power to tax, control trade, and branches of government were missing. In addition to this, the thirteen states acted as separate nations and the national government had little control over them.
The years following the American Revolution, better known as the Critical Period, were some of the most vulnerable moments in the extensive history of the United States. The Critical Period is infamous for a post-war recession, disorganization and competition of states, as well as a total lack of unity about the nation. The Articles of Confederation, ratified during the onset of this tumultuous period, added new dimension to early Americans’ idea of national government. The Articles formed a loosely united country under a highly restricted federal government. This apparent aversion of strong central government was rooted in the former colonists’ fear of a sequel to their monarchial horror that was England. Some believe that the Articles proved an efficient government for post-Revolution America serving as a successful conclusion to the war. However, while effective in avoiding an executive power, the Articles of Confederation proved ineffective in the successful governing of the United States. By the lack of assistance in solving post-war financial issues, the inability to maintain law and order in events of opposition, along with the disorganization of diplomatic relations exposed the shortcomings and the inadequate nature of the Articles of Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation had impacted the farmers of the south the most in a negative way. The ones that had affected the farmers the most was the fact that every state had a different currency, unfair taxes where put in place by the state without regulation and the farmers didn't have a faire representation in the government. Since every state had a different currency, farmers could not sell there crops in other states, this is because they would receive money that was worthless in their home state. farmers where also taxed unfairly because of the large amounts of land that they owned. Since congress couldn't impose taxes on the people they couldn't set regulations that limited the taxes farmers had to pay. The farmers also had a lack
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.
rights of the small states against the large states and wished to expand upon the Articles
... purposes of the Federal Union that we shall soon molder into dust…” wrote George Washington in 1783 (Humphrey 2003, 110). It was apparent to the country’s leaders that the Articles of Confederation had failed. The central government was far too weak and did not have enough power over the states to control even minor things. Without a source of revenue, a system of trade, or any kind of organization of the states, the country was failing. The Articles of Confederation lasted just over eight years, finally being replaced on March 4, 1789 (Henretta et al. 2010). Delegates had to come to a compromise between a weak and disorganized central government, and a strong one with limited but essential power. This led to the creation of the United States Constitution, which unlike the Articles of Confederation, has stood the test of time due to its strong central government.