Effectiveness Of Articles Of Confederation

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Adam Delora

DBQ

"From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective

Government". This statement is invalid on the premise that "an unregulated global economy dominated by corporations that recognize money as their only value is inherently unstable, egregiously unequal, destructive of markets, democracy, and life, and is impoverishing humanity in real terms even as it enriches a few in financial terms." 1 John Dickenson’s original drafted model of the Articles of Confederation for the young United States as a nation was modified by Congress to protect individual powers of the states. It is important to note that the question specifies from the time of the articles ratification to the point where the first session of Congress took place under the Constitution. The Articles made a central government consisting of a unicameral legislature where each state was given a vote, with nine votes out of thirteen necessary to pass laws that were considered important; whereas a Committee of States, with one representative from each state could make minor decisions when the full Congress was not in session. An amendment of the articles required a unanimous vote. The most important powers of the government under the articles included the power to wage war, make treaties, send diplomatic representatives, and borrow money. The government lacked the power to regulate commerce, or to collect taxes, and this forced the congress to rely on the taxes which were voted by each state. The congress also did not have the power to enforce its laws. The lack of these fundamental powers rendered the government ineffective. The people involved in the crafting of the Articles as weak did so. The government put forth,...

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...It is obvious that the Articles formed an ineffective government which is evident in Document H. It asks the question of whether the Articles should be revised or totally thrown out. The founding fathers felt that it was the best course of action to totally throw out the Articles, although it must be noted that the Articles were the basis for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Articles, without a doubt, formed an unstable government which was destructive of markets, democracy, and life, and was impoverishing Americans. The effects are mostly rooted in the inability to recover from war debts. The strong central government was the only way to protect liberty while still having the ability to impose taxes. The freedom to vote which is exclusively found in liberty, allows Americans to discover a middle-way between order without liberty and liberty without order.

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