Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

The Articles of Confederation Following the Revolutionary War, the new American Government was set up under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation did not give the federal government enough authority to be effective. So in 1787 delegates from all the states attended a meeting known as the Constitutional Convention. Among those attending were James Madison, representing Virginia, William Paterson, representing New Jersey, and Roger Sherman, representing Connecticut.

“…thirteen powerful, independent, disunited States are in the habit off…refusing to obey our national Congress…I pray that we can act in time to prevent the bad things we fear may happen.” George Washington wrote this in a letter to John Jay (Doc 3). Even the man who is immediately thought of when talking about the start of our nation thought that without a new set of guidelines to run our country by, the young country would eventually break apart and the fighting of the higher powers would begin again. The reasons George thought this way was because of how week the Articles of Confederation actually were, also because all the different foreign problems that the country as a whole faced, and another big

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

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

Because all 13 states had to agree, the proposal was thrown out and was not

The colonies and their mother country were at their brinks with each other. Taxes, rebellion, and unreasonable law pushed these nations into battle which would be known as the American Revolution. The separated colonies would unite and fight together for their well deserved independence. Throughout this the first government was set up by the Continental Congress known as the Articles of Confederation. Some may argue that the Articles were effective in expanding the nation; however, the Articles proved to be ineffective when dealing with the falling economy and taking control of the colonies.

A sense of nationalism is needed in order for a nation to succeed, especially a new one. The lack of faith caused instability in the government. The people are at the root of a country's government. In Federalist Paper 51, James Madison says, “A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” Therefore, the government depends on the people more than anything and if the people do not confide in their nation, then failure is inevitable. In a letter to George Washington, John Jay says, “The case is now altered; we are going and doing wrong, and therefore I look forward to evils and calamities, but without being able to guess at the instrument, nature, or measure of them.” John Jay has lost his faith and confidence in the nation and concludes that there needs to be changes made. Through this Jay is betraying his country and committing treason. Though treason is being committed, it shows that the people have the right to adjust their government if problems arise. The Declaration of Independence states, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,

If the declaration of independence was written in 1776 and the constitution was written in 1788 what was the government run on? The answer is the Articles of Confederation but why don't we still use them. To answer the questions you must first know what the Articles where and what happened as a result of them being set in place and how they where fixed with the constitution. How do they differ and under witch are you "Most Free"

At first the Articles had to deal with three unrelated issues. First, they had to assume responsibility of covering the war debts. Next, the Articles had to see to making peace with the Indians. Finally, they had to guide the citizens in dealing with the western settlement. The Articles seemed to be a fair form of government with equal rights and powers and no executive legislature, however, it was very weak causing a modest form of upper power to slowly be invented.

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.

My political curiosity, exclusive of my anxious solicitude for the public welfare, leads me to ask, Who authorized them to speak the language of, We, the people, instead of, We, the states? States are the characteristics and the soul of a confederation. If the states be not the agents of this compact, it must be one great, consolidated, national government, of the people of all the states. . . . It is not mere curiosity that actuates me: I wish to hear the real, actual, existing danger, which should lead us to take those steps, so dangerous in my conception.

The young nation was forced to learn quickly how to address foreign relations in a power struggle amongst Britain, Spain, and France. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government demanded that all states hoping to be ratified give up their claim to land east of the Appalachian Mountains under the Land Ordinance of 1785 (Doc E). The government hoped to resell this land to gain revenue to pay back debts through this plan, but it ultimately prolonged the time that it took for all of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Articles of Confederation. This period of time revealed weakness within the young nation. Another territorial issue faced under the Article of Confederation was the issue of British territories in the Americas. When the Treaty of Paris was signed, signifying the end of the American Revolution, both Britain and the United States of America agreed to certain terms, Britain promising to cede their territory and forts in the United States, and America pledging to pay back the debts accumulated before the war. However, the United States was not able to pay back these debts

The meetings, drafting, and approval of the Articles of Confederation were timely, innovative, and challenging. The Articles of Confederation, as the first constitution of the U.S., tied the states together in a loose “perpetual union’’ (Sage, 2010). A proposal for a national confederation was introduced by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia in May 1776. Lee stated on that day, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States” (Swindler, 1981). Richard Lee’s resolution focused on three national proposals: to declare the United Colonies independent from Great Britain, to seek foreign alliances for the evident and eventual war with Great Britain, and to establish a plan of confederation to officially unite

“ The Declaration of Independence and the Article of Confederation were not sufficient to hold the new nation together as an independent and effective nation-state. From almost the moment of armistice with the British in 1783, moves were afoot to reform and strengthen the Articles of Confederation.”(Ginsberg 36). Competition among the States for overseas trading presented a special problem to the new country. It enabled the European powers to challenge the States against one another, which made America seem fragile and powerless overseas and it also generated confusion on both sides of the Atlantic. The problems that the national leader recognized with governance under the Article of Confederation that spurred the drafting of the new Constitution structure the comparative powers of the national and states is presented during the winter of 1786-87 when John Adams of Massachusetts, “a leader in the independence struggle, was sent to negotiate a new treaty with the British, one that covers disputes left over from the war. The British government responded to that because the United States under the Articles of Confederation was unable to enforce existing treaties, it would negotiate each of the thirteen states separately.”(Ginsberg 36). The colonist's triumph in the Revolutionary war changed the balance of political power within the new states and it ended British rule. After the

The Articles of Confederation already gave power to the Congress. The power was not being forced upon the people of Colonial America. I would want for the government to have the power to protect our rights and freedom. The people have the right idea by having the government ran by them, the people. Even though you still need government officials to be operating the government to give people a better life. A better life with free health care, and equal pay for labor. To do this you would need to spend money. The people did not want to pay the government for they believed, the way Britain did, about John Locke’s Social Contract theory. "...to secure these rights [Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], Governments are instituted among men,