A comparison and contrast of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of 1787

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A comparison and contrast of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of 1787. The Articles of Confederation voted on and adopted by the Continental Congress, November 15, 1777 (Carey, 2013). It was the first constitution of America, though complete ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not take place until March 1, 1781. After some of the states realized that the Articles of Confederation did not adequately resolve the national and international issues that the United States was facing. As a result, on March 4, 1789, the Articles of Confederation were then replaced by the new Constitution of 1787. This new constitution was signed by the members of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia (Grubb, 2006). In the new constitution, members tried to strengthen the central government. The new constitution was the demand of time. It was more practical. It was broader than the article of Confederation. Under article of Confederation, states were free to form their military. But under the new Constitution of 1787, this power was taken from the states and given to the centre. In new constitution, foreign affair and defense department was given to federal government. No state was given power to sign treaties with other nations. Some changes were also brought in the composition of congress under the new constitution. Now, seats in Congress were decided on the basis of the population of each state. On various instances, it was observed that the Articles of Confederation was insufficient and ineffective to tackle the problems. In 1786, Shays' Rebellion occurred in the western Massachusetts area in a major protest to the rising debt and terrible economy (Monty, 2011). Th... ... middle of paper ... ...he articles of confederation. Public Choice, 109(1-2), 205. http://search.proquest.com/docview/207143359?accountid=44759 KEITH, L. D., & MICHAEL, J. G. C. (1997). Marginal cost sharing and the articles of confederation. Public Choice (1986-1998), 90(1-4), 201. http://search.proquest.com/docview/194644735?accountid=44759 Keith, L. D., & Jac, C. H. (2006). A pivotal voter from a pivotal state: Roger Sherman at the constitutional convention. The American Political Science Review, 100(2), 297-302. http://search.proquest.com/docview/214442876?accountid=44759 Monty, G. M. (2011). The measurement of democracy and the means of history. Society, 48(1), 24-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12115-010-9390-7 Public administration under the article of confederation. (1990). Public Administration Quarterly, 13(4), 433. http://search.proquest.com/docview/226967799?accountid=44759

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