Confederation Constitution Flaws

The Constitution is the founding document for the United States government and is the highest law of the country. The U.S Constitution is the backbone of the legal system which defines the structure of government, guarantees the rights to its citizens and provides the basis on which all American laws are made. No other national laws may disagree with any of the Constitution's ideology and the federal courts have jurisdiction to interpret the Constitution and evaluate the constitutionality of federal and state laws.

They were a few shortcomings and advantages in the new government under the Articles of Confederation I would like to discuss. First of all the weaknesses that articles of confederation have gone through were certain people in the congress lacked leadership, could not tax, there militia or military was small, and one vote per state. The advantages they had were that they could borrow money and make peace also sign treaties. There were several sentiments and ideas. The “new vision want to make political authority legitimate and secure liberty” (Wilson, 2008, p.20). The system of government was established by articles to respect liberties given to them. Founding fathers replaced the document because certain states used the document for different

Although the Articles had some strengths, it’s weaknesses outweighed them and are what essentially led to its downfall. The federal government had little power and was unable to enforce laws. The Continental Congress had borrowed money during the Revolutionary war and was unable to pay those debts. Another weakness of the Articles of Confederation was brought to light in 1786, by Shay’s Rebellion. The rebellion protested increasing debt and the economic chaos. Under the Articles, the national

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.

Economic issues affected the founding of the United States and revealed basic problems that led to the failure of the Articles of Confederation, were chief complaints in the Declaration of Independence, and affected the structure of the new government in the Constitution.

Some examples of flaws in the Articles of Confederation are that it allows for each state and the federal government to each have their own currency. This is a very big error, considering that a lot of people were merchants at the time and they need to be able to sell goods in other states, because they usually sell for the most. This would bankrupt most merchants and throw the colonies into more debt. Another flaw in the Articles of

The Articles of Confederation had many problems, one being Congress not having the power to tax the states. Without the financial support of the states via taxation the government was not able to carry out their duties. This lack of revenue made it extremely hard for the government to pay its debts, draft people into the army and provide general welfare. Another issue that the nation faced with the Articles of Confederation was that it did not provide a strong judicial system. Knowing that the Government would not hand out consequences many times states would determine on their own merit when to abide current laws and when not to. Choices like theses resulted in an unorganized government. States being able to coin their own money, became

The Articles of Confederation was one of the first steps in the birth of the United States as we have it today. Though it was flawed in many ways it did help establish a foundation in which the United States Constitution could build it self and help shape the country. The main flaw in the Articles of confederation that were fixed with the writing of the Constitution was a weak federal government that could not levy taxes, manage trade, and enforce its’

The Article of Confederation had several flaws that were addressed during the Annapolis Convention of 1776. The main issues were mostly economic, and military based but there were other issues like not being able to enact laws that motivated a change of The Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles of Confederation, the individual states had entirely too much power and it was extremely difficult for the national government to even raise money mainly because congress could not compel the states to give money because they couldn't legally collect taxes and the states weren't exactly willingly giving money to the government. Another issue the national government had with the Article of Confederation is that it was also highly difficult to

“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 constitution is a distinguished american document because the men of the eighteenth century put so much effort into fabricating it. After declaring their freedom from England with the Declaration of Independance the colonies needed to form their own government. It would not be a king. The congressmen worked strenuously to create the fairest government for everyone—deliberately excluding a king from their plan. They debated and compromised until the constitution was just right. Proudly the gentlemen called the new government a federal republic. In this type of government the people, who are citizens of America, voted for lawmakers and representatives. The people could choose representatives they thought would

One example that highlights the weaknesses of the central government under the Articles of confederation was Alexander Hamilton state that “without an army or a navy troops America is completely powerless to deal with international problems”. He also said, “England should have return land to the west” back to us. Also, he states that “Spain blocks ships from Mississippi River and How is the United States able to defend themselves as a nation”. Hamilton also states as a nation we should have “troops or a national government or a national treasury”. Another point that Hamilton states is every state must argue on everything before it

A constitution creates and organizes a country’s government and outlines how it operates. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest national constitution in use today throughout the world. It is also one of the shortest

A constitution is a legal document that states what a government is allowed to do and how the government can do it. It also defines government structures proposing different bodies and agencies an example being the three branches (legislature, executive, judiciary). The constitution is an important document specifically to countries with federal systems. A federal system is one where the states get their authority from the people instead of relying on national government. (Geer et al. 71). Constitutions are specifically important to countries with federal systems because they prevent national governments from having too much power, one of the main reasons a federal system exists. A constitution can be amended in two ways; Congress can propose

The United States Constitution is a document that was composed to provide an outline for the federal government and is, in the end, the absolute law for American to follow. This document established the structure of the federal government, delegate powers to the federal government, and guarantees certain fundamental rights (Karen O’Connor & Larry J. Sabato 2006). This living document still concerns today’s is evolving work environment and economy. There are certain rights and freedoms for citizens and businesses that hold power today.