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Chapter 5 review articles of confederation
•Write a report analyzing the Articles of Confederation
The strengths and weaknesses of the articles of confederation
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Recommended: Chapter 5 review articles of confederation
Articles of Confederation
Analyze the degree to which the Articles provided an effective form of government with respect to any two of the following: Foreign Relations, Economic Conditions, or Western Lands
In 1777, the states enacted the Articles of Confederation to preserve democracy and prevent tyranny from those who sought to centralize power. But in their efforts to keep their independence, the states created a weak central government that was unable to improve an insolvent economy and poor foreign relations.
Although the confederation gained some substantial powers, the crucial powers to tax and regulate commerce remained with the individual states. Each state passed their own currency, and therefore created inflation and made “Continentals” in circulation worthless. Compounded with restrictions on trade to Great Britain and down the Mississippi River, the states became mired in a heavy depression. John Fiske, of the conservative view, realized the precarious situation when he stated “the Nation was under the verge of collapse and near-anarchy and that the five year period after 1783 was the most critical time in American History.” Robert Morris, secretary of finance, resorted to desperate measures with the Newburgh conspiracy in an attempt to raise funds for a depleted military; but it took an impassioned plea from General Washington himself to put down the rebellion. Furthermore, the Articles allowed for personal rights abuses such as unsubstantiated foreclosures...
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 article, there wasn’t a strong independent executive.
The power to tax is key to a successful government. If a government is to act it needs the means to do so. The Articles withheld the power of taxation from Congress and gave it to the local governments. Congress could only appeal to the states for money. Unsurprisingly, the states did not respond with any of the requested money. This was a serious problem because the U.S. was in an incredible amount of debt as a result of the Revolutionary War. If money cannot be collected, how are debts to be paid? Some in Congress believed the problem could be solved by printing more money. However, this strategy only led to inflation, which weakened the economy furthe...
The Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the states on March 1, 1781. It was a modest attempt by a new country to unite itself and form a national government. The Articles set up a Confederation that gave most of the power to the states. Many problems arose and so a new Constitution was written in 1787 in Independence Hall. The new Constitution called for a much more unified government with a lot more power.
During the period 1800-1817, the Jeffersonians to a great extent compromised their political principles and essentially “out Federalized the Federalists”. While traditional Jeffersonian Republicanism advocated a strict interpretation of the Constitution and an emphasis on an agrarian economic system, the actual policies of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were markedly different from their theoretical principles. This obvious compromise of Jeffersonian principles is evident in the Federal government’s assumption of broad-based political powers and institution of capitalistic Hamiltonian economic reforms, both of which stemmed from Jefferson and Madison’s adoption of broad constructionist policies.
According to the Federalists in the early stages of the American republic, a strong central government was necessary to provide uniform supervision to the states thus aiding in the preservation of the Union. This necessity for a more organized central government was a result of the ineffectiveness of the Article of Confederation’s government that was without a unifying government body. One component of this philosophy was the creation of an executive and other federal branche...
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.
The Colonies were excited about having won their independence in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, but they still had to be able to create their own system of government which they thought would create a strong government which would not have an overpowering central government as they thought Great Britain had had. With this was the creation of the Articles of Confederation. These articles were meant to create strong local and state governments while not granting any power to the central government with the idea that it could not have any power over the states. The states were allowed to conduct their own diplomacy, or war, from nation to nation or even from state to state. States were allowed to create their own currency and put heavy import taxes on goods from other states. The federal government had no independent executive, nor could it levy taxes on any part of the states. It could not create or maintain a militia; this duty was left to the states. All decisions had to be ratified by all thirteen colonies. In thought, this was a great idea because only the most popular decisions would be ratified and stronger states could not hurt the smaller states through majority rule. In practice it did not work very well because it could be thwarted by a single stubborn state.
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.
Homeschooling is becoming more popular in today’s society then before. Homeschooling is teaching school subjects to one’s children at home (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). But is homeschooling the best way to educate children? Homeschooling can bring more positive outcomes versus public or private schooling. This is because homeschooling can bring many benefits such as family orientation, no worries about bullies, less exposure to bad influences like drugs. Also it has a good success rate, adaptable cost, and flexibility. Homeschooling will keep increasing year by year. According to Dr. Brian D. Ray about 2% to 8% per annum was the growth over the past few years. For these and many more reasons is why parents choose to home school their children.
Louis Armstrong was known as the King of jazz, a trumpeter and singer who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Famous for his innovative methods of playing the trumpet and cornet, he was also a highly talented singer blessed with a powerful voice. Known for his skills on being able improvise, he would bend and twist the many lyrics and melody of a song with dramatic effect. As his popularity grew in the mid-20th century America when racism was more prevalent, he was one of the first African-American entertainers to be highly popular among both the white and the colored segments of the society. Fondly nicknamed Satchmo or Pops by his fans, he is often regarded to be the founding father of jazz as a uniquely American art form. Born into poverty in New Orleans, he had a very difficult childhood after his father abandoned the family. As a young boy, he
Depression is a mental illness in which a person experiences deep, stable sadness and discontinued interest in nearly all activities. People also use the term depression to describe the temporary sadness, loneliness, or blues that everyone feels from time to time. In contrast to normal sadness, severe depression, also called major depression, can dramatically lessen a person’s ability to function in social situations and at work. People with major depression often have feelings of despair, hopelessness, and worthlessness, as well as thoughts of committing suicide.
As we look at the way pro gun control parties are planning on enforcing gun control, you may begin to question why we would even consider using such drastic means. The idea that limiting the size of a magazine or regulating the type of gun you can purchase or even doing something as simple as a background check can stop murders like the Connecticut shooting from happening is very far-fetched. In Making Gun Control Happen the author, Patrick Radden Keefe, writes from a pro gun control standpoint. He describes that one obvious change would be to “mandate a criminal background check for all gun purchases” as it would obviously stop criminals from getting their hands on a weapon (Keefe). It takes certain smarts to live as a criminal; many criminals most likely have snuck their way out of the database and would therefore be able to b...
Bootlegging is a common way citizens with a criminal background to purchase firearms. Organized criminal groups can obtain guns through dealers who purchase firearms and then sell them in an underground market. Southern states, especially Mississippi, have the highest amount of illegal gun trafficking in the United States, attributable to nearly non-existent laws pertaining to purchasing weapons (Ansari, 2013). Not only are criminals able to obtain common firearms such as shotguns, rifles, and handguns, they can easily access semi-automatic guns and assault rifles as well through bootlegging. Since each state has various laws about gun control, bootlegging further allows the distribution of powerful firearms. Another type of bootlegging, and even more common, is the distribution of firearms through close friends and family (Vizzard, 2015). The shooter who killed nine people at Umpqua Community College in Oregon on October 1, 2015 had six guns that were legally bought by family members, and given to the shooter. This “loophole” exists in part because individual states have different firearm laws, which suggest the federal government needs to pass legislation so all states share one common method for purchasing guns. Having one distinct federal gun law instead of individual state laws could, in theory, lead to a decrease in
Depression is an illness within itself that affects the “whole body”. (Staywell,1998) The body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior are all immensely altered when someone is depressed. It is not a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be wished or willed away. For some people depression is just temporary, but for others it can last for weeks, months and even years.
Homeschooling has been taking place since public schools started in the mid nineteenth century, and parents have many reasonable excuses to have their kids participate in it. Some popular reasons for parents pulling their children from public schools are religious beliefs, desire to spend more time with their children, being able to control schooling to the child’s pace, and teaching kids more life skills that public schools generally do not teach. Some parents also believe that it is their responsibility to take care and teach their own child, not a public school teacher that only teaches what is on the standardized tests. Parents may choose to begin homeschooling at the beginning of their child’s educational career. Others