Articles Of Confederation Dbq Analysis

--Through thorough analysis, what are the reasons for the Anti-Federalists’ opposition to ratifying the Constitution?

The Founding fathers did not want to create a government with too much power so they created the Articles of Confederation. This government turned out to be a failure. In 1787, the founding fathers met again to create a new framework of government. Most people feared creating a government that was too strong. To create a new government there had to be many compromises, the U.S. Constitution is the result of these compromises reached in Philadelphia in 1787. The Articles of Confederation were too weak and created many problems which led to a stronger National government. Two weaknesses of the Articles of confederation were that Congress did not have the power to tax. Another problem was that the states had most of the power and the National Government had little power. Two decisions made by the

The history of North America has been based off the thirteen colonies; how they had not united to face many of the problems they could have solved together, instead of apart. With the current issues surrounding the colonies, such as the French and Indian War and Britain wanting to tighten their hold in the colonies, it was crucial for them to form some kind of plan to unite. Although many plans had been formulated, none of them had gone into effect. Which leads to the question, did the colonies ever have a sustainable need for government?

Fifty-five men were chosen to tweak a broken government’s system into working well. However, by that same system, they could not. In response to this, they did something that would change the course of American history. The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution America had. However, a previous rebellion proved its weakness. With this in mind, fifty-five men from 12 out of the 13 states (Rhode Island abstained at first, before joining later) convened to improve the government’s constitution via minor adjustments; but there had to be a unanimous vote to pass any law, which could not have been done, as Rhode Island didn’t join. Because of this, these delegates broke multiple laws by changing the minimum number of votes from 13

While the Articles of Confederation unified the American colonies for the first time, the individual states had a hard time allowing a central government to solely control their territory. Due to fear of an all powerful monarchy like the one they had experienced in England the colonies were wary of allowing a central government certain powers. These certain powers included control of commerce, ability to tax, and even the ability to act directly upon individual citizens of a state. While the Articles provided a loose confederation to unify the new country, they were only a temporary solution due to their obvious weaknesses in several areas. The Articles of Confederation were essentially

Although the Articles of Confederation was an unsuccessful document, the government formed by the Articles was much better than the tyranny of King George III. The ideas and experiences of the revolutionary era, 1764 - 1789, influenced the decisions made in the Articles of Confederation. The lack of representation, violations against people’s rights, and need for state

A key concern the federalist’s held since the start of the war with parting from England is that citizens of America could ultimately divided against each other if their voice is not heard with the new form of government that

Tensions were high in the united states during 1788. There were two sides as to what the union should do to move forward. After everybody realized that the Articles of Confederation isn’t going to be work for the country, there was a need for a plan. The plan was to get rid of the Articles of Confederation and replace it with the Constitution. There were many factors in the Constitution that hesitated people to ratify it. The main issue was that the new national government under the new constitution would have a lot more power than the one under the Articles of Confederation. Therefore, it created two different sides; people who wanted the ratification of the new constitution, or federalists, and those who does not, Anti-federalists. To convince the Anti-federalists to change their minds, federalists wrote a series of essays to convince them, known as the federalists’ papers. I agreed with the arguments expressed in the federalists’ papers.

Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution

Speaking against the ratification of the Constitution, Patrick Henry says, "If a wrong step be now made, the republics may be lost forever. If this new government will not come up to the expectation of the people...their liberty will be lost and tyranny must and will rise..." The leaders of the country created the U.S. Constitution due to an immense dissatisfaction with the system of government stated in the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation support a government in which there is only one branch, but it's power would be limited in order to protect the people's liberty and rights. Although the Articles of Confederation establish a better system of government than when the states were under British rule, some weaknesses were found and amended in a new document called the United States

The Constitutional Convention convened in 1787 to discuss to revision of the Articles of Confederation. However, as the debates went on, the delegates soon discovered they needed to write a completely new form of government rather than revise the old one. This convention which created the ensuing Constitution was called because of the various problems with the Articles of Confederation, such as a federal government that was too weak and economic laws that were causing the American economy to decline rather than grow. These characteristics of the Articles built up over the years until the unrest became apparent to the state governments with a rebellion in Massachusetts. The first major problem with the Articles which led to the calling of the convention was the limited power they gave the federal government.

In conclusion, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government in the 1780’s because of the lack of power to tax, raise an army, or regulate trade; however, it redeemed itself with the creation of the land ordinances of 1785 and 1787, and keeping the states together after the American Revolution. This government held the states together after the war, but it would not have for much longer if the constitutional convention did not draft a new document with which to govern the country that would fix the arising issues that came with the Articles of

The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. Although, it established a weak central government, it contributed to U.S principles because The Articles of Confederation were the basis of the first government of the United States of America. The Articles were essentially the “training wheels” of the government; it was a learning point to create something much greater which became the Constitution. The problems that this weak document created, combined with the Confederation government’s ineffectual response to Shays’ Rebellion, convinced national leaders that a more powerful central government was necessary.

The Constitution, when first introduced, set the stage for much controversy in the United States. The two major parties in this battle were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists, such as James Madison, were in favor of ratifying the Constitution. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists, such as Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, were against ratification. Each party has their own beliefs on why or why not this document should or should not be passed. These beliefs are displayed in the following articles: Patrick Henry's "Virginia Should Reject the Constitution," Richard Henry Lee's "The Constitution Will Encourage Aristocracy," James Madison's "Federalist Paper No. 10," and "The Letters to Brutus." In these

The Articles of Confederation was ratified on March 1, 1781. It limited Congress’s influence and power over the colonies, but allowed them to manage foreign relations or Indian affairs, coin money, maintain a postal service and as a last solution, intervene with any disputes between the states. After the Revolution, Americans wanted to avoid tyrannical or monarchy government, therefore letting each state rule over themselves would eliminate having to report to higher authorities, however this caused disorganization and no one or government to lead the states. The states believed in “a firm league of friendship”, never came true as each state would compete with other to increase their population, wealth and land. However, the most important fact about the Articles of Confederation is that it harmed America more than it help it as it kept the states separated. Without a plan, goal or a common purpose, the colonies fell apart, fighting for self glorification and improving themselves, instead of helping each other. Furthermore, the Articles of Confederation failed to address on the restoration of America, such as paying war debts and when “The Requisition of 1785”, was implemented, people protested by starting riots and states capitol printed more paper money than there was gold, thus liquidating the value of the dollar. This leads to an event that caused a turning point in the restoration of American during the 18th century, “Shays Rebellion”.