Articles Of Confederation Strengths And Weaknesses

While the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution are both important documents in American History, one prevailed as our source of democracy for over two hundred years. The United States Constitution was composed to correct the failures of the Articles of Confederation. In this way, the strengths, weaknesses, and their effects on the United States government served as a precedent for the sovereign and independent government that the American citizens have today.
Although the Articles of Confederation were imperfect, they did accomplish several important goals. This document was created on November 15, 1777 and made Congress the highest power of the nation. Additionally, it gave Congress the sole power to declare war. It also brought forth the Treaty of Paris, which ended the R evolutionary War and severed ties with Great Britain. The Articles of Confederation also passed the Land Ordinance of 1785, which made land in

the Northwest Territory available for sale in square-mile sections. The Northwest Ordinance made statehood possible in the western territories and provided an orderly settlement process in the West. Congress also gained the power to make laws and operate post offices. Conflicts among the states were brought directly to Congress. This was both a strength and a weakness because it gave Congress some power, but it was still more of a mediator than an enforcer of the law.
Although Congress had many important functions, it could still not regulate foreign trade or collect taxes. Instead, it borrowed money on credit, which resulted in a financial deficit. Furthermore, the Articles of Confederation did not establish a national court system to protect our rights, relying instead on the states for this. The United States also did not have an executive branch. This made the enforcement of laws very challenging. With only a single, unicameral legislature, the Congress had no system of "checks and balances". Each state received only one vote, despite variations in population size. To create a law, nine out of thirteen states had to approve it. It was usually difficult to get a consensus because legislative goals varied between the different states. With all of these issues, the states tried to amend the Articles. This was very challenging because an amendment required unanimous approval among the states before Congress could pass it. [Peterson] The legislators had numerous disagreements with the Articles of Confederation, so they resolved to meet to revise this document.
In May of 1787, each state appointed delegates to go to Philadelphia and modify the Articles of Confederation. Rhode Island chose not to participate. They were opposed to a strong central government. Fifty-five rich, well-educated men met in Independence Hall to discuss what they had to accomplish. The delegates chose George Washington to lead the convention. Each state got one overall vote, and majority votes from delegates in the states made the decisions. After less than one hundred days, they drafted the new Constitution, and the Articles of Confederation were formally retired.
The first problem that the delegates corrected concerned the power of the federal government and the states.

Who would have more control? They decided that the whole nation had authority. This idea of "Separation of Powers" helped avoid one group having dominance. Sovereignty was to be divided between state and national governments. The delegates created a government with three branches, and idea inspired by the French philosopher Baron de Montesquieu. The Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches would check and balance each other. The Judicial branch could now protect our rights and the Executive branch could enforce laws. Congress now had the power to create and impose taxes. The delegates also decided that a group of people appointed by each state would choose the leader of the executive branch. Each state received a certain number of votes in proportion to its population, as determined by the census. The framers called this the Electoral College. The delegates also determined how representation in Congress would

operate.
There was a great deal of debate between the large and small states. The larger states wanted representation in Congress to base itself solely on population. James Madison, who would later be named the "Father of the Constitution", proposed the idea known as the Virginia Plan. [Bloom] Madison’s plan called for three branches of government, with a bicameral legislature with both houses determined by population. Smaller states favored the New Jersey plan, written by William Patterson. It also called for three branches of government, but it proposed a unicameral legislature with equal representation by each state. In the end, Roger Sherman came up with the Great Compromise. He proposed a bicameral legislature with an upper and lower house. The lower house was to be called the House of Representatives. It had representation proportionate to state population, with each member serving two-year terms. The upper house was to be called the Senate. Each state would elect two senators who would serve six-year terms.
Another debate occurred between the North and South, and involved the states counting slaves as a part of the population. At this time, there were about 550,000 slaves in America, mostly in the South. The South wanted them to be included in the population because this would give them more representation in Congress. The North did not think it was fair for the South to count the slaves in their population because the South treated them as property, not people. They finally settled the controversy with the Three-Fifths Compromise. This said three out of every five slaves would count as a person for representation and determining taxes. Another negotiation, the Slave Trade Compromise, gave Congress the power to regulate state and foreign trade. However, it stated that Congresss could not intervene with slave trade for twenty years. Amendments now required only three quarters of the states to approve them, where previously the Articles of Confederation would have called for a unanimous agreement.
There were several important distinctions between the ways the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were to be ratified. The Articles of Confederation took four years to ratify. Congress sent it to the states to approve it in late November 1777. Most delegates recognized that it was a flawed document, but agreed that it was better than no document at all. By June 1778, all of the states ratified the Articles except Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. These three smaller states wanted the other states to give up their claims on Western land before they agreed to ratify the Articles. This was a problem because the Articles of Confederation required unanimous approval. In February 1779, Maryland was the only remaining holdout. Finally, Maryland consented in 1781. [United States Department of State]
The Constitution was complete on September 17, 1778. The delegates signed it, but it did not go into effect until nine out of the thirteen states ratified it. Federalists supported the constitution while Anti-Federalists did not. They thought delegates in Philadelphia exceeded their authority by replacing the Articles of Confederation instead of revising it. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers to rally support for the Constitution. It took ten months for it to be ratified and to take effect. New Hampshire became the ninth state in June 1778, and the Constitution finally became the law of the land. Eventually Virginia and New York also agreed, but two remaining states opposed the new document. North Carolina and Rhode Island refused to ratify it without a Bill of Rights. [Mount]
On September 25, 1789, Congress sent each of the state legislatures twelve proposed amendments. The states subsequently adopted numbers three through twelve. These officially became the United States Bill of Rights. North Carolina and Rhode Island, the two remaining states, finally consented after newly elected president, George Washington, took office. [Mount]
In conclusion, the United States Constitution and the Articles of Confederation are entirely different. The Constitution is a completely different document made to strengthen the government and protect our inalienable rights. The only similarities they possess are that the same people established them for the same purpose, and they were both the official governmental documents of the United States. They had the same goal, which was to create an independent government separate from Great Britain. Even over two hundred years later, the United States of America still acknowledges the Constitution as its supreme governing document.