Confederation Vs Federalism

Created on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the first 13 colonies on March 1, 1781, the articles of confederation is known for being the first constitution of the united states. “The constitution provides a division of powers, meaning it assigns certain powers to the national government and reserves others for the states.” (crouse, slide 4) The constitution is needed because if we didn't have it the government would be weak and would most likely have no power. Framers of the constitution chose a system of government on a territorial basis, between a central government and several states. “ the framers were worried about the government being too powerful because; government power inevitably poses a threat to individual liberty. Therefore the

In 1776, when the United States declared independence from Britain, the new country needed a set of laws to apply to all of the states to replace the earlier British rule. The colonists, however, were concerned that if the United States put too much power in the central government the states rights would vanish. Therefore, the first form of government, the Articles of Confederation, gave too much power to the states and insufficient power to the central government. States could create their own money and refuse federal taxes, which caused many tribulations and almost destroyed the new country. In 1787, delegates from twelve states came together to revise the Articles

The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution while the Anti Federalists were against it. This boiled down to simple beliefs held by both groups. Anti Federalists believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and left state governments powerless. Anti Federalists were in favor of a weaker central governments and stronger local state governments. They believed that central government was too far removed from the people, and that the nation was too large, for it to serve them on a local state basis. This resulted in the fear that people’s voices would be taken away; this fear of oppression was only increased by the fact that the Constitution didn’t include a Bill of Rights. However, Federalists believed that a strong central government, accompanied by the Constitution, was needed after the Article of Confederation failed or the nation wouldn’t survive. In the eyes of the Federalists, a Bill of Rights was not needed because the Constitution did not put any limits on the rights of the citizens; however

After the Revolutionary War, the thirteen colonies of America gained their independence and had to create their own version of a government. In the year 1777, the Articles of Confederation, written by John Dickinson, served as the United State’s government. More importantly, it provided a basis for the Constitution and established what America needed to improve on, such as taxes and a form of currency. The Articles of Confederation gave the U.S. the ability to organize settlements, create peace, and improve government.

The Articles of Confederation established the first national government of the United States after it declared independence from England. The American Revolution heavily influenced this document, as the American people refused to have another tyrant rule their country. From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government because of its 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 united after the American Revolution.

After the Revolutionary War and the United States won its independence from Great Britain, the United States was under a weak federal government under the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789). Under the Articles of Confederation all powers rested within the States and the federal government had little power if any. The major parties during the First Party System was the Federalist and Anti-Federalist or Democratic-Republicans. The Federalist believed in a strong central government and the ratification of the Constitution the Democratic-Republicans on the other hand opposed the ratification of the Constitution and favored that the power should reside with the States. Washington was aligned with the Federalist Party. The party was founded in

The federalists and anti-federalists were two opposing political parties during the time period of the ratification of the constitution. This process of ratifying the constitution was extremely difficult due to the dissent between the federalists and anti-federalists. The federalists, a northern based party mainly geared towards the upper class, supported the ratification of the constitution. The anti-federalists, a southern and western based party geared towards farmers, opposed the ratification of the constitution. The federalists recognized the issues in society were due to a weak national government, whereas the anti-federalists viewed the new government as too strong. This process of ratification was a group of debates and compromises to promote agreeance. During the ratification of the Constitution, the Federalists and anti-federalists debated over the need for a strong national government; but the Federalist party prevailed with slight amendments.

Tracing back to the roots of the United States of America has, more often than not, led people to the discovery of the Revolutionary War. However, along with the Revolutionary War, which America fought in and eventually won, there has also been the uncovering of a historic document or multiple documents that set a precedent or more aptly provided a blueprint for how a newly independent United States should be run. In the case of the United States, although only one document explicitly outlined the blueprint for our government and its powers, the U.S. Constitution, other equally influential documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Federalist Papers contributed heavily to the republic form of government

Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist The road to accepting the Constitution of the United States was neither easy nor predetermined. In fact during and after its drafting a wide-ranging debate was held between those who supported the Constitution, the Federalists, and those who were against it, the Anti-Federalists. The basis of this debate regarded the kind of government the Constitution was proposing, a centralized republic. Included in the debate over a centralized government were issues concerning the affect the Constitution would have on state power, the power of the different branches of government that the Constitution would create, and the issue of a standing army. One of the most important concerns of the

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

The Anti-Federalist party was made up of people who, for the most part, lived in the country. They were opposed to developing a federal government, and they did not want to ratify the Constitution, which, they claimed, threatened each free person’s liberites, until the authors included the Bill of Rights. (This granted individual rights of citizens. The Anti-Federalists wanted to write down these so that they could not be taken away from the people by the government like England had done.) Instead, they wanted the state governments to keep the power to prevent monarchies and dictatorships. Famous members of this party were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Mercy Otis Warren, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, and James Monroe. They favored the Articles of Confederation. However, the Articles of Confederation had a few flaws: if a law was to pass, it would need a majority rule (9/13); it lacked a court system (nationally); and it was missing an executive branch. The Bill of Rights was appreciated because they wanted to make sure that individual rights could not be taken away. The Anti-Federalists may not have been a group that agreed with one another all the time, but as their opinions varied, more rights were thought of and protected. For example, one part of the group held the view that the sovereignty of states could be endangered

The first organized government in the U.S. was under the Articles of Confederation, thirteen states created a confederation that had many weaknesses causing many problems in which caused many leaders come together for a constitutional convention which created in secret the Constitution of the United States. After the American Revolution, two political sides emerged, those arguing for greater states rights ands those arguing that federal governments should have more control. Important leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry were not present for the constitutional convention and they were considered strong proponents of the states rights. They felt that the new constitution ignored the independence of each state as well as they should

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, was formally adopted. The American Revolution had already been going on with the battles of Lexington and Concord over a year prior, but the first government of the United States is the Articles of Confederation, a constitution based on Republican ideas and democracy. The Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation in 1777. It was adopted, written by John Dickinson, but there was a delay in ratifying it by the states. States like Virginia and Massachusetts had claimed a bunch of land stretching from the East Coast all the way to the Pacific Ocean as part of their colonial charters. States like Maryland and Pennsylvania, who did not have these land claims, did not want to ratify this new national government until the land is relinquished. It was not until in 1781 when the states officially ratified the Articles of Confederation. From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation failed and had created problems in political, economic, and foreign policies, making this new national government an ineffective government.

Two political groups emerged during the debate over whether to pass a new constitution or not after the Articles of Confederation failed. These two political groups were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The two political groups had very different ideas and opinions about government. The Federalist group was in favor of a federal system with a strong national government. The Anti-Federalist group however, opposed the constitution and the strong national government it would create.

During the time when the Constitution was being debated over the first two political parties surfaced in the United States, the Federalists, and the Anti-Federalists. After the Constitution was ratified the Anti-Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson, became the