Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

“From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government.” This statement is quite bold considering that the Articles lasted only eight years. In some ways this form of government was effective and in some ways it was not. It did provide the newly formed American colonies with the means to govern themselves in the manner that they wished to be governed and set the rules for operations of the United States government. On the other hand, it was ineffective because there was no president or executive agencies or judiciary, nor was there a tax base or even a way to pay off state and national debts from war years. They could also be called ineffective because of their limited scope and the

Although Congress was granted the right to negotiate with foreign countries they were often ridiculed and not taken seriously. Clearly stated in the Treaty of Paris 1783, Britain was to evacuate all posts in America along with several other penalties. However, in John Jay’s letter to Great Britain, dated two whole years after the treaty had been signed, he was demanding that the British meet these regulations. (Doc. D) The British obviously did not perceive the Americans as a threat. Another example includes that of the negotiations, or lack thereof, with Spain. John Jay had met with a Spanish representative to discuss the territorial lines between the Spanish and Americans along with the use of the Mississippi. Spain refused to compromise stating that the Mississippi had been and would continue to be under their possession. (Doc. F) Both of these situations also highlight the confederations need for an army. With an army poised for battle, the Americans might have been seen as a small threat.

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

Following the affects of the weak Articles of Confederation set in place in 1777, a change in government was in order after the articles had proven their inability to control or tax the American people. The creation of The Constitution began a new era in American Government and set a new formation of laws and separation of power. The transition from the two very different systems of government was a turning point in American history and led to the type of Government we have to this day. After the Revolutionary War and America’s separation from England, it was now up to the American People to decide the kind of government they wanted. After winning the war, the last thing that they wanted, was to have another government that would abuse the

Once long ago, many Americans especially those who were a part of the very formation of our government, were extremely fearful of the strength of a powerful, centralized government could have. Under the tyrannical rule of the British, Americans were forced to endure unfair taxation practices and abuse of their rights. This is what inspired the American Revolution, where Americans were able to free themselves from the British and aspired to start anew. Now with this fresh start, the fear of returning to a state of previous injustice fueled the creation of the Articles of Confederation; a government with such little power it barely was able to hold the nation together. This ultimately was labelled as a failure due to the fact that it was impossible for each state to stand together when they're so divided and issues were discussed during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

The Articles of Confederation were the first attempt of the American people to make a national government. The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the United States of America. Under the Articles of Confederation a legislative Congress was the only part of the government. Even though the legislative Congress was the only part of the government, it had no power to force states to do anything against their will. This made the government extremely weak since it was not able to force states to follow laws that were passed or pay taxes.

Unfortunately, the Article of Confederation did not last long. The Articles ended up giving to mush power to the states, which crippled the National government. The reason for this is that the states did not have to pay taxes so the government quickly started to go bankrupt, another crippling force was that it required a 9 state vote for virtually everything, that which didn't require a 9 state vote did require a unanimous vote, both of which rarely happened. Basically there were some mistakes within the articles and they were unable to fix them, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Confederation. Fortunately, before the whole nation came tumbling down, the Constitution and the Amendments were made to replace the Articles of Confederation the Constitution Changed the major problems with the articles, for intense, the Constitution promoted that the people were sovereign not the states this led to Congress having a little more control over the new nation, it also promoted new ideas that were not even heard of in the Article of

    The Articles of Confederation created a government with virtually no power - it couldn’t enforce laws, pass tax laws, fund itself, or even get the states to work together. Basically, Congress was a weak government; it had much less power than the states themselves.

The Articles of Confederation was the United State’s first constitution, it was written in an effort to unite the states after the American Revolution and served as a blueprint for the modern constitution. In order for the Articles to become official, they had to be approved by all thirteen colonies. Although Congress sent the Articles of Confederation to the states around the end of 1777 to become ratified, they were not officially adopted until March 1, 1781. Under these Articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. The American people feared a strong national government and as a result of this, the Articles of Confederation were specifically designed to be weak in the sense that each state maintains its own sovereignty and all rights to govern themselves, with the except of the rights exclusively granted to Congress. Since the Articles lacked many necessary components to keep a nation properly structured, they were eventually revised into the constitution we recognize today. Although, the Articles of Confederation seemed as though it only contained weaknesses, within the document, many strengths and accomplishments were made. Overall, the Articles of Confederation were proven to be both efficient and non-efficient during the time period they were in effect.

he Articles of Confederation created a government that gave the states too much power. The former colonies were afraid to make a government as strong as England's Parliament.The states had more power than the Federal Government. The Congress created by the Articles could not Enforce Treaties and couldn't collect taxes from the states. Not being able to collect taxes made it difficult to pay the soldiers when they were fighting in the Revolutionary War. Other weaknesses of the government created under the Articles deal with the states having more power than the Federal Government. There were no Federal Courts or Executive. States didn't have to follow or enforce Federal Laws. States even made their own money. The money would caused problems

The Articles of Confederation, was a form of government that was a very radical, first of its kind, which did indeed prove to be unworkable. I believe the reason it was passed so quickly and was such a failure is because the citizens of this new and independent America were very quick to set up a government, as they were already involved In foreign trade, and had their own currency. I also believe that young America wanted to become the exact opposite of its primary mother country, Great Britain. This was an idea that “seemed good on paper” quite literally. The colonists wanted a government with no distinct central power, and representation for all, which seems to anyone who has endured oppression from a monarchy, like a great idea. However

The Articles of Confederation was drafted to create a sense of political unity to the newly formed nation of United States of America and combat the British rule. The Confederation was modeled to resembled a confederacy arrangement that serve to unify the thirteen states at the time(Feeley 98-100). However, the confederation was later replaced by a federal arrangement which granted the government with more centralized control. Statism is one of the factors that contributed towards the failure of confederalism in United States. The original confederation intends for each state to remain relatively sovereign. Yet, the thirteen states treated their roles in this relationship as an alliance of independent states instead of a unified nation(Feeley

Identify at least 2 problems with the Articles of the Confederation. Discuss why these were issues and how were they resolved. If the Articles of the Confederation were drawn up today, what issues would be brought forth? Identify and discuss at least 1 of the issues. Respond to at least 1 student post.

The articles of Confederation were the first attempt at a federal government for the United States. They only lasted for about seven years (1781- 1788) until they were they were thrown out and replaced by the Constitution As a whole, they did not lay out a very strong or effective central government. Some positive things were accomplished, but the biggest accomplishment of the Articles was that they pointed put what would not work for the United States and they paved a was for the writing of the Constitution.

In the current government under Articles of Confederation, the power is held by the states and the states must work together and make decisions. The problem is the states were functioning as individuals, each having their own agenda, instead