Abandoning The Articles Of Confederation For Theu.s. Constitution Essay

Last year, our new government was formed. We agreed to what the Articles had said. It seems that now we are having issues with what we had once agreed with. In this newsletter, I will only address four of the most problematic things in the Articles of Confederation. However there are many more that will not be brought to light today.

With the United States new found independence from Great Britain, its founding fathers realize from their historical experiences that a document of law needed to be crafted and established to preserve its new found independence, while maintaining order. However, the first document crafted by the founding fathers, the Articles of Confederation, did preserve the country new found independence but it did not maintain order. The Articles of Confederation described by many founding fathers to be a document that was crafted to satisfy needs of every state for its ratification, even when the document did not present a responsible democracy. The Articles of Confederation granted all national powers to the congress; however, it allowed each state

The United States left the Articles of Confederation behind for a new more adapted constitution in 1788 due to more than one reason, however a main reason for the switch had to do with the power of the federal government. There would be some Libertarians that would hold the Articles to be the symbol of American freedom at its peak, however there were those that would later be known as Federalists that saw the Articles as a failure due to the lack of strong central government powers within the articles. The many differences between the two documents were each important in there own respect, the first one that come to mind would be the power to levy taxes, under the articles Congress could request that States pay taxes, but under the

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, ratified March 1, 1781, were the first attempt at organized government in America. The individual states were given too much power, while the power of the central government was very minimal, leading to the near demise of the young country. An anonymous writer in the Norwich Packet proclaimed in 1786, “Each State at present possesses powers so totally independent of the others, that no

The American Revolution ended in 1783, and with it, the fight for independence. Independence was sorely gained, as there were now internal problems to deal within the new nation. Setting up a legitimate government was one of the most pressing issues even during the revolution, and so the Articles of Confederation was adopted in 1777. The Articles did not last, and rather than amend them, an entirely new governing document was written. It enhanced the powers of Congress and set up other federal branches of government.

In "Address to the People of the United States," Benjamin Rush states, "The confederation...[was] formed under very unfavorable circumstances. We had just emerged from a corrupted monarchy...most of us were ignorant of...republics..." During this time, the government had too much power and Congress did want to make the citizens feel oppressed. The Articles of Confederation gave the government the power to make decisions and pass laws. However, the states could reject the laws because the government had no way to enforce them. The delegates amended this conflict in the Constitution by creating federalism, therefore balancing the power between the states and the federal government. The single branch of government was divided into the executive, judicial, and legislative branches to ensure that the power would be distributed evenly and there would be no corruption.

Following the United States’ independence from Great Britain, delegates from each collective state set out to establish a body to govern the newly formed nation. From this came the Articles of Confederation, which was officially ratified in 1781. The Articles of Confederation proved to be a landmark in government for those days because it was a model of what a loose confederation could be. However, this soon failed because the official

It was then when Continental Congress met up in Pennsylvania and created a secured a document known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was written on November 15, 1777, and ratified by all thirteen states on March 1, 1781. When the Articles of Confederation were written it had many goals in mind to set and preserve the country with all its freedoms, keeping America an independent nation. Since the states were coming from Great Britain, a country where they weren 't represented by

After Shay’s Rebellion and the nation on the brink of bankruptcy it was clear that the Articles of Confederation would not be adequate to preserve the nation. So began the great battle for the balance between order and freedom. The main point of dispute between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists in the battle over the ratification of the Constitution surrounded the question of what powers and rights were required in order to insure the security and liberty of the nation. The Federalists advocated that a strong central government was needed, which was supported by the failure of the Articles of Confederation. However the Anti-Federalists were determined on keeping the sovereignty of the states and by doing so also retaining their secured political freedom.

After the Revolution, the States adopted their own constitutions, many of which contained a Bill of Rights. The Americans still faced the challenge of creating a central government for their new nation. In 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which were ratified in 1781. Under the Articles, the states retained their “sovereignty, freedom and independence,” while the national government was kept weak and inferior. Over the next few years it became evident that the system of government that had been chosen was not strong enough to completely settle and defend the frontier, regulating trade, currency and commerce, and organizing thirteen states into one union.

“The Constitution devotes the national domain to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare and to liberty” (Maier 154). This quote, stated by William Henry Seward, displays the strength and stability that the Constitution had over the nation, and the liberty and justice it supplied for all of its citizens. Although the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation have similarities, they have many differences, which proved that the Articles of Confederation were a weaker document in comparison. It can be said that the Articles were the “rough draft” to the final living document, which significantly influenced and “ruled” our government, as it still does today.

The new Constitution fixes the problems that we have had under the Articles of Confederation. We have not had anyone oversee and make sure that laws are carried out. The Constitution sets up a president to do this. Do not fear that he would be a king, though, for he is not to have all power. It should be shared with two other government branches. One of these branches, called the Judicial Branch, adds national courts, which will help people settle disputes too big for a state court. Congress was left very little power at all under the Articles of Confederation. With the Constitution, Congress will be able to control the printing and sending of money in the States. This will allow Congress to pay off their debts remaining after the war. Congress

After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States still had a major task ahead of them. They had to form a new government that would satisfy the demands of the people and ensure the success of their nation. The Articles of Confederation was the first system of government that was proposed and put into effect. This attempt at creating a system that protected the people form a strong central government ultimately failed but was an important step in the development of the current government system. The weaknesses presented by the Articles of Confederation helped lead to reforms that made the Constitution successful. Both the Articles and the Constitution demonstrate the struggles that the colonists went through with the British and

The Articles of Confederation, a written agreement that ensured each state’s sovereignty, freedom and independence, led America to victory over the British centralized government. During the late eighteenth century, the empowered government terrified the Americans, hence the thirteen colonies decided to spread governance powers equally to all functional states. The states had absolute dominance over the Congress due to the Articles of Confederation. While the localized power of states seemed to be promising, the system posed great threat to the major components of a democratic government, which are coercion, revenue, and legitimacy (Lecture 1 - The Roots of Government). The system of localized power did not ensure legitimacy, which referred to people’s recognition of national government. Congress’s lack of power to control each state’s actions caused great chaos. Eventually, national government’s lack of power and inability to unify the states exposed multiple flaws in the Articles of Confederation; consequently, a new supreme law, the Constitution was established by the founding fathers. The new supreme law successfully altered the imbalanced system into a novel democratic government.