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Compare and contrast articles of confederation
History of articles of confederation
The Article of Confederation and The Constitution
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The Articles of Confederation was a weak document that bound 13 states (DE, PA, NH, MA, NY, NJ, GA, SC, NC, RI, CT, VA, MD) with unsatisfying outcomes from 1777 to 1781. Even though the Articles of Confederation was created for such efficient purpose as to increase cooperations among the colonies, it did not show its efficiency due to the absence of a federal body to govern all 13 colonies. Without congressional power, Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes and this resulted to the shortage of government money. Furthermore, the Congress was too weak to enforce its laws that the government had to depend on the colonies for the enforcement of law. These detrimental consequences provoked Shay and triggered Shay’s Rebellion. Ultimately,
the Articles of Confederation, a document deprived of its power to enforce and regulate the 13 colonies, was reprimanded for the break of the Shay’s rebellion and for its weakness.
The unpredictable failure of the Articles of Confederation to the continental congress was a huge problem. The Articles of Confederation was made so the states would have more power, And limit the powers of the national government. Main contributors for this action was the fear that the national government will gain too much power and overstep its authority.This would have a negative effect on the nation, because tensions will start to rise for the ineffectiveness of this new system of government. A Rebellion best known as Shays rebellion, took place shortly after The adoption of the Articles of Confederation. The states, in which shays rebellion has taken place, were becoming unjust/unfair the way in which the state collected taxes. Since the Articles of Confederation was a complete failure
In the Summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates representing 12 out of the 13 states in Philadelphia to fix the Articles of Confederation. They met in philadelphia because the Articles of Confederation was too weak. Shay’s rebellion was the end of the Articles of Confederation bringing down the whole network calling for a change of government. They did this to prevent a tyrant or tyranny. A tyrant/tyranny is when someone or a group abuses their power. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through Federalism, Separation of powers, Checks and Balances, and The Great Compromise.
After claiming independence from Great Britain, America had a tremulous start with thirteen states governing themselves using the Articles of Confederation and therefore not united under one whole government that set and regulated tax and commerce. With the states usually arguing and not providing financial support to the government, Shay’s Rebellion had begun in Massachusetts, urged by farmers, in protest of the tax collections and economic chaos. Without the political unrest caused by that one event, the future of America would have turned out differently; it would likely have been that the states would have plunged into massive debt and lost the freedoms achieved after the American Revolution. Afterwards, people had urged the creation of an effective government to support them, thus creating the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, fifty-five delega...
In an effort to limit the power of the national government, Congress created one without enough power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. One of the main weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation was its incapability to regulate trade and levy taxes. The states controlled all of their “cash flows.” Sometimes, the states were in debt because of tariff wars that they would engage in with one another.
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
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. Let us now examine the changes that were undertaken.
The Articles of Confederation were developed after the Revolutionary War, and were a good idea to help set standards for America. However, they had some major problems that needed to be solved in order for America to become a strong nation. After these problems were addressed the Constitution was developed.
The Articles of Confederation was the United States first attempt at creating a democratic government. Instead of giving power to the central government they divided it up among the states (Kelly). This fact left the Articles with many weaknesses that ultimately led it to fail. The lack of a strong central government led to economic disorganization, no central leadership and an ineffective legislative, all which led to its downfall (Brackemyre). Leaving power to the states left the nation in a state of economic disorganization. Without the national government having the power to levy taxes, it was left with the states (Murphy). The legislature only had the right to request taxes, and it was left up to the states how they wanted to raise them, but they oftentimes weren't (Brackemyre). There was also no uniform system of currency which made trade between states difficult. The fact that states instead of Congress regulated trade led to a lack...
The Articles of Confederation were incapable of providing the United States with an effective form of government. The Articles of Confederation presided weakly over the government as it allowed little or no power to tax, control trade, and branches of government were missing. In addition to this, the thirteen states acted as separate nations and the national government had little control over them.
To say that the Articles of Confederation provided the United States of America with an effective government would be quite an over exaggeration. For most people in modern day, an effective government would be one that can govern mass numbers of people and still be politically correct in overruling decisions on matters while keeping the law in mind, yet keeping the benefit of common good front and center. But, the Articles of Confederation were not written in the present day, so these ideals of a competent government were not quite applicable. For most people, an effective government was one that could govern mass numbers of people, still giving the states and the people many rights, while still being able to keep all under control. This would have eliminated any possibility that a federal government could become too strong or resemble a monarchy. However, the Articles of Confederation did few of these things. The Articles of Confederation were ineffective because they provided a weak central government, did not give the authority to settle boundary disputes, and eventually led to civil unrest which included incidences such as Shays’ Rebellion.
Yes, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was essential to preserve the Union, as the Articles of Confederation did a meager job establishing a stable America. Only a handful of people from the entire nation were pleased with the issues addressed in the Articles of Confederation. This document didn’t unite the nation, but created more differences among the people. The Articles of Confederation failed to properly allocate power between Congress and the states, giving the states supreme control, rather than Congress. This unbalance in society left each individual state on their own, besides the alliances they could form within each other (creating even more rifts within the country). The Congress didn’t hold the power to tax or create a national military, navy, and army, which didn’t allow America to strengthen as a nation. By vesting these powers in the state, the Articles of Confederation technically created thirteen small countries. After the Revolution, the United States became even more susceptible to foreign invaders and if a minute state militia was responsible for warding off these trespassers, the state would be easily attacked. This is just once consequence that could have occurred, if the Constitution of 1787 wasn’t accepted.
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.
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.
The Articles were ineffective because Congress only had the power to recommend actions to the States. It could not enforce its recommendations or laws. Each State had its own constitution, monetary system, and means to enforce the law. Each State had a stronger commitment to the State laws and to the State's own self interests than to the recommendations of Congress. Regionalism pitted one State against another, which decreased the sense of unity in the country. For example, when Congress recommended an impost, or duty, on imported goods, the State of Rhode Island voted to reject the idea because they felt it was unfair and was against the constitution of the State (Document A). Defending the Articles is tough but not impossible. Even though Shays' Rebellion did not succeed, Congress did get to raise troops which, at the end were not needed (Document G).