Articles Of Confederation Analysis

526 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chapter 5 review articles of confederation

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. It took place in 1787, when delegates from twelve of the thirteen states gathered in Philadelphia prior to the official end to the revolutionary war because of weakness in this government. It was originally used as an experiment in the constitutional government. Since there was a fear of gaining a British- style government, the Articles were created without a single, whole leader to enforce law, therefore they were considered weak and causing chaos. Due to this week government each state only had one vote in congress, regardless of size. The excitement from the fight with the British lead the Article of confederation to be more of a “league of friendship” than a …show more content…

The constitution on the other hand gave us the bicameral system which is the senate and the house of representative. Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state, had been the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. (Keene, 2013) written during the Philadelphia Convention- known as the Constitutional Convention in 1787. One of Jefferson’s goal was to reduce the size of the government such as the army and Navy and paid off the government debt. Jefferson felt that the central government should be “rigorously and frugal and simple.” (US History 2017) Five States, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut- ratified in a quick succession. However, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document, as it failed to reserved undelegated powers to the stated and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion and press. (History.com) The constitution left out slaves, women, poor people, Jews and Native American. After writing to the men who wrote the constitution, they asked for equal rights along with the wealthy white men. Along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, James Madison penned the federalist papers, supporters of the constitution called themselves federalist and their opponents

Show More
Related

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was the mid-late 1700s, and America had finally achieved and received independence from Great Britain. Peace in America on the other hand, not so much. After gaining independence, the Articles of Confederation were made as a system of government for the United States, but gave very imbalanced power between federal and state levels. For example, on the federal level, the national government couldn't force a state to pay taxes. To try to amend the Articles, in 1787, a meeting made up of delegates representing the states was called up, but instead, what would be created is what we now know as the Constitution. But how exactly did this document remedy the flaws of the Articles, and prevent tyranny from unjust amounts and usage of power? The Constitution helped stop tyranny in government with a

    Read More

  • The Similarities and Differences between the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Federalist papers were for the constitution being ratified. They were written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. They consisted of 85 articles and essays. Most of them were published between 1787 and 1788 although; the author’s names were kept a secret until 1818. Hamilton decided to sign the papers “Publius” to keep his name anonymous. Hamilton was the first to publish an essay and soon picked Madison and Jay to assist him. To their surprise, the Federalist papers influenced many of the New York people to vote for having the constitution ratified. On the contrary, the Anti-Federalist papers did not agree entirely with the new Constitution. They were written by many different authors. Although, some of the more popular Anti-Federalists were Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Sam Adams, etc. They were also 85 Anti-Federalist papers. Much like the federalist papers, they Anti-Federalists adopted the name “Brutus”.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq Analysis

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    During and after the turmoil of the American Revolution, the people of America, both the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, strove to create a new system of government that would guide them during their unsure beginning. This first structure was called the Articles of Confederation, but it was ineffective, restricted, and weak. It was decided to create a new structure to guide the country. However, before a new constitution could be agreed upon, many aspects of life in America would have to be considered. The foremost apprehensions many Americans had concerning this new federal system included fear of the government limiting or endangering their inalienable rights, concern that the government’s power would be unbalanced, both within

    Read More

  • Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    The thirteen American colonies were under the British control until they declared their independence from British in 1776. A year after the declaration of independence, the continental congress established the Article Of Confederation, which was the first constitution in the United States. According to manythings.org, “During that war, the colonies were united by an agreement called the Articles of Confederation”. It was later ratified in 1781, but it had many negatives because it was very weak. According to manythings.org, the Articles Of Confederation did not: organize a central government, create courts or decide laws, nor provide an executive to carry out the laws, and all it did was just create a Congress. This congress was very useless

    Read More

  • The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution: An In-Depth Analysis

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ratification of the Constitution and the Louisiana Purchase

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Federalist wanted to ratify the Constitution while the Antifederalist despised the idea entirely. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay eventually compiled 85 essays as the Federalist Papers. These supporters of the Constitution believed that the checks and balances system (a system in which the different parts of an organization (such as a government) have powers that affect and control the other parts so that no part can become too powerful )would allow a strong central government to preserve states' rights. They felt that the Articles of Confederation was too weak and that they were in need for a change. The Articles of Confederation had “errors” that needed to be corrected argued the Federalist. Ratifying the Constitution lead to an improved more advanced country.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Articles Of Confederation And The United States Constitution

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. They wanted the government

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Democratic and Undemocratic Aspects of the Constitutional Convention

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Did The Continental Congress Created The Articles Of Confederation

    251 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Continental Congress created the Articles of confederation which was the first constitution of United states on November 15, 1777 and was written during the time of Revolutionary War. Article of Confederation main purpose was to give some colonies sense of unified government. It was the plan to make all the 13 states unified and strong so that these new nation can act together to become a new and powerful nation. They wanted to create a new system that helps to run the government smoothly. They had the belief that the new Constitution will make their government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. After the constitution was confirmed by all the 13 states, it made the all the states supreme but had limited judicial functions. As the

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Constitution In The United States Constitution

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Constitution was the first constitution constructed during the Constitutional Convention and ratified in 1787. This document improved the national government structure through the fundamental laws. The Bill of Rights were implemented to protect basic individual rights, as well as the civil liberties that are implied even though not stated in the Constitution. The Constitution provided separation of powers within the three branches so no branch would have more jurisdiction over the other. These three branches consisted of the legislative which emerged to a bicameral congress, the executive which now be vested in the President, and the judicial which is the Supreme Court where the judges are appointed by the President and approved through Congress. In order to avoid one branch overpowering others, the constitution proposed checks and balances. The Congress is compromised of the Senate and the House of Representatives. After a two year term a member of the representative house must uphold popular vote during elections to take position, and the amount of members is based on the states’ population; whereas after a six year term two new senators appointed by state council to each state take position. During the voting process the senate is granted one vote per representative and senator. In addition, Congress gained the right to levy taxes on individuals which boots the economy to allow Congress access to gather an army and handle issues regarding the

    Read More

  • The Articles of Confederation

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    took place from March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1788. At the time of the American Revolution, the

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    After breaking the bonds of English tyranny, the newly independent United States was in need of a semi-organized government that came in the form of the Articles of Confederation. The articles called for strong and powerful state governments paired with a fragile and weak central federal government. Soon, due to the ensuing chaos, a need for a stronger central government was apparent; this loose attempt at organization lasted 8 short years and was thereafter replaced by the constitution we know today. Although the document failed, it is still taught and even used as inspiration today.

    Read More

  • The Constitutional Convention

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781 represented the former colonist’s first attempt to establish a new government after the Revolutionary War. These Articles provided a weak political document that was meant to keep the states united temporarily. The states had all the power, so any changes made to the Article of Confederation would take every state to approve it or amend it. In February 1787, Congress decided that a convention should be convened to revise the Article of Confederation (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2009). Congress felt the Article of Confederation was not enough to effectively deal with the young nations issues. Congress knew it was time for the country to move forward, and to do that, there would be some big changes ahead, and that was the end of the Articles of Confederation, and the beginning of the created US Constitution.

    Read More

More about Articles Of Confederation Analysis

Open Document