Nature Of Freedom In The Constitution Essay

After the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation were created to create a stronger and more effective government. However, it failed as a result of an ineffective government. From 1781 to 1789, the articles of confederation were ineffective and failed to provide a strong government.

We all strive for something. Excellence, confidence, and adventure are just a few of the things people strive for. What about freedom? I’d hope we could all agree that freedom is something we all strive for. Imagine not being able to say what your thinking, or marry who you want to marry, or even make decisions for yourself. Think about how that would affect your life. Freedom is intended in the Preamble of the constitution using the words “justice,” “liberty,”and “posterity, ” as a means to describe what this freedom would look like. The Preamble to the Constitution is most compelling for Americans today because it promises the people rights and freedoms that unite the people and cannot be taken from them.

America is the universal symbol of freedom. But is it really free? Does the history of the United States stay true to the ideas of our forefathers? Or has the definition been altered to fit American policies? Has freedom defined America? Or has America defined freedom? I believe America was at first defined by freedom, then after time, America defined freedom, altering the definition to fit the niche it fits in, but still keeping key components so it still seems to be staying true to the ideas of America’s founding fathers.

The feebleness of Congress was a major weakness of the Articles of Confederation. When the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1777, they created a “loose confederation” of states (Pageant, 181). This meant that each state was independent and sovereign, linked by Congress only to deal with common problems and foreign affairs. Congress was meant to be part of a united central power of the government, but due to the abuse suffered from the king, the states so limited the powers of the central government to the point of powerlessness.

After the American colonies won their freedom from Great Britain needed to create a new government. The Articles of Confederation were developed, bestowing America with its first official government. The Articles were composed of many restrictions creating an inadequate body of government. One of the main reasons the articles didn't work was from the lack of a strong central government the states received too much liberty and freedom, and on the other hand congress was weak and restricted. The government did not have enough power to govern all the states efficiently under the articles of confederation, it couldn't tax or regulate trade . From the time period when the Articles were constructed in 1781, to when they were discarded in 1789, the

The Articles of Confederation failed, because they did not give Congress and the national government enough power. The Articles of Confederation formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. The U.S. had just recently fought a war to stop such an oppressive rule of a strongly based government that overpowered the local government. One of the biggest breaking points for the Articles of Confederation was when Daniel Shays and 1,000 angry farmers broke into the courthouse because the farmers couldn’t pay the loans and were threatened to take loans away from them. Some of the other problems that led the Articles of Confederation to fail was; the states didn’t act immediately, the central government was designed very weak, each state had 1 vote, the document was nearly impossible to amend, the government couldn’t collect enough taxes to fund operations, states had their own currency, and the Confederation government couldn’t help settle the Revolutionary War debts.

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.

By 1786, it was clear that the Articles of Confederation presented an ineffectual government for the union. Under the Articles, the Continental Congress had no courts, no power to levy taxes, no power to regulate commerce, and no power to enforce its resolutions upon individuals or the 13 states. In the areas where Congress did have authority, the members had no way of enforcing their powers. Further complicating matters, the Congress did not have the respect of the people it set out to serve. Individual states continued to make their own laws, particularly where taxation and commerce were concerned. Differing tariffs and trade laws made for a disorganized union, and some states even continued making their own money.

The Articles of Confederations was built so that states were able to see after their own problems and create their own laws. The Articles of Confederation failed because it put power in the hands of the states instead of the national government. After the Revolutionary War, people became cautious of another national government so they more or less decided to have states govern themselves. Since the states didn’t want a national government, the lack of having a strong leadership caused havoc among them. Additionally, the framework for the Article of Confederations was flawed from the start. For example, trade became unregulated, it created economic difficulties among states which made states became financially distraught, it provided for no

Some problems were involved throughout the steps that the Founding Fathers took to create a new country. The Articles of Confederation was created because the thirteen states were separate from each other and needed a central form of a government to help resolve their differences. Many states rejected the Articles because they didn’t want to risk having an overpowering government similar to the monarchy of England. An example of this fear about creating a new oppressive government was that the smaller states would be in favor of the Articles on all states due to their fewer resources and less decision making power than the larger states. The Articles gave smaller states more power in situations such as how to raise money for war and to settle debts for war. The central government that the Articles of Confederation created turned out to be very weak, and

One of the biggest weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was not having the ability of levy taxes on the states, and having to make requests to state legislators when they needed troops and taxes. In other words, the Confederation gave Congress the power to conduct wars and issue money, but

After the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation were drafted on November 15, 1777 to have a government set up for when the colonies won the war or successively seceded from Britain. This form of government is called a confederation meaning it derives most of its’ power from the states. Confederations are considered weak governments because there is no central power to tax and keep order between the states. This is why many historians today are shocked by how weak a government the founders created, considering they were intelligent enough to know the Articles were not going to work. The Articles of Confederation were important to the fledgling United States by keeping the 13 states united; however, glaring flaws in the Articles

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 failed because of its deliberate lack of power. It was inherently weak first and foremost because it called for a confederacy—which gave sovereign power to the states. We see this in Article II, which states that: “Each state retains its

Utah State University (2008) outlines how the Articles of Confederation gave the power of government to the individual states with no overall independent leader. Courts were solely on the state level. Congress had no power over commerce or taxation, and their powers were expressly delegated. Congress was one body, where each state received only one vote, regardless of its size. The most unfortunate part of the Articles was that they could only be amended by unanimous agreement of all the states. This not only made it a flawed document, but one that could not easily revise and correct itself. Jennifer Keane, Saul Cornell and Edward O 'Donnell (2011) elaborate in our textbook that the failure to allow Congress the power to tax, it set up the new Country to quickly become plagued with financial difficulties. The Articles called for requisitions to be sent to the states, requesting funds to help the government run. Many states did not send the required amounts or pay quickly. When Congress found itself having to pay for war, they printed such a large amount of paper currency, which was not supported by a reliable fund source such as gold or silver causing a huge amount of inflation. Soon after, it cost 150 times more to purchase items than it did before inflation.