Problems with the Articles of Confederation that were addressed by the Constitution and the importance of the issue of power centralization in American politics today

The Articles of Confederation were developed after the Revolutionary War, and were a good idea to help set standards for America. However, they had some major problems that needed to be solved in order for America to become a strong nation. After these problems were addressed the Constitution was developed.

The Articles of Confederation was a loose “league of friendship” between the thirteen colonies that would create a confederation in contrast to Great Britain 's unitary system. While the Articles of Confederation helped establish a systemic role in trying to unify many of the states under a weak central government, it later created many more problems than solutions. One of them being that Congress had no ability to propose taxes to deal with war debts and running the government. Another weakness was that Congress did not have the ability to regulate commerce among states and foreign nations which hurt Congress’s credibility. One of the most considerable weaknesses of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was its failure to provide for a strong central government. The Articles of Confederation was created to not compare with the totalitarian regime of the British and made sure of not creating a strong central government. The problem was that without a strong central government it eliminated all sovereignty that the central government had, giving increased sovereignty to states which lead to increased chaos. It is seen that Shays Rebellion was that nail in the coffin of The Articles. Lead by David Shay a group of farmers who had served in the Continental Army marched to Springfield, Massachusetts to stop the state court from foreclosing on the veterans farms. Congress’s failure in being able to formulate a militia and stop the disgruntled farmers was the end of The

However, an uprising led by Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays that took place in western Massachusetts in 1786 was the event that got the attention of the founding fathers. The Shay’s Rebellion demonstrated to the founding fathers that the Articles of Confederation brought commercial problems, threaten civil order, and conflicts between states. Likewise, at the constitutional convention the founding fathers crafted and ratified the U.S constitution to address the problem the Articles of Confederation could not tackle. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the divided the powers of the national government into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. Furthermore, the constitution established a one true currency system and presented the job duties and requirements the three branches and individual states. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the constitution presented the rights of its people (Bill of Rights) and a system of check of balance and separation of powers that the United States as democratic country. The Articles of Confederation was a popular democracy with its chaotic results and the constitution was a responsible democracy with its civilized outcomes.

Federalism can be said to be the defining feature of all forms of American politics. Even as a literary characteristic feature, America was the first nation to adopt federalism as a concept. Federalism is a system of government whereby political power is divided between a national government and other smaller political constituents such as states. Federalism, although not mentioned exactly in the constitution, was supposed to be a concept that addressed the errors of the confederation (Platt, 2014). It was also supposed to be the lay the groundwork for what would be the future of America. As it was expected to be, federalism has had an impact on the American politics even as far as elections are concerned. There were some key reasons that

The Article of Confederation was a written document that was put in place in 1777 after the 13 colonies had gained independence from the British. During the time in which the Articles of Confederation were still in place; there were problems arising like: the Continental Army not being paid for their services, the struggling economy, and the people wanting to overthrow the government. But events that had taken place had brought the elite for a Constitutional Convention. In the Convention; the elite had discussed the problem that the Articles had caused for them and for the people. The elites during the convention had scrapped the Articles and wrote a new document; which was the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation had a lot of weakness, and this pushed the leaders to hold the Constitutional Convention, also the leaders had to make sure that the people didn't as much power over the government as they did.

“In November 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the United States first written constitution.”(Ginsberg, et. al. 2014: 35). The Articles of Confederation played a big role in the drafting of the United States’ new constitution. The articles were our United States’ first written governing document. The Articles of Confederation solved some problems by creating at least a minimal amount of government at the time, but it also created some problem for our country because we did not have enough government. As time went on, the Founding Fathers found the issues with the Articles of Confederation, sought ways to solve those issues, and created the Constitution as a lasting governing document.

The Articles of Confederation was an agreement under which the 13 original states established a federal government in 1781. The states called their confederation the United States of America, continuing the name used in the Declaration of Independence. The Articles of Confederation served as the new nation's basic map of government until the first government under the Constitution of the United States was formed in 1789. The Congress of the Confederation operated the government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles attempted to balance the need for an effective national government with the traditional

During the American Revolution, the founding fathers wrote the Articles Confederation, a written set of laws that intended to provide a framework for government. The Articles of Confederation failed to create an effective form of government and could not promote stability for the nation. In 1787, 55 delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. The result was an entirely new document, the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution addressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, promote unity through compromise, and established a framework for government that effectively promotes the ideals of American Government.

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.

What were the central problems of the Articles of Confederation? How did the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention address them? Finally, how did the delegates resolve the three contentious political issues: the representation of large and small states, slavery, and state sovereignty?

The Articles of Confederation was the first written document, after the United States Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, to establish a national government and set up the way that America would function. Although the document is looked upon in history as a failure, it had strengths that would later become a part of the United States Constitution. When the continental congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the weaknesses of the document stemmed from inexperience from its founders and their fear of creating a nation similar to the one they had just fought to declare independence from. A new nation to run required a document to set the rules and guidelines that it would follow, and the continental congress believed that the Articles of Confederation would be the one to do it. While the Articles held a small handful of strengths, they were implemented poorly and the weaknesses that plagued the document lead to its quick demise.

In the Unites States of America Federalism is the basic structure of the American government; it is the distribution and balance of powers between the National government and the States government. In order to obtain a compromise between those who wanted stronger state government and those who preferred a stronger national government the founding fathers arranged and settled for a federal system rather than the alternatives of a unitary or confederal system. While both National and State governments each have specific powers and authority, they also share certain powers and must be able to cooperate effectively with each other.

After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States still had a major task ahead of them. They had to form a new government that would satisfy the demands of the people and ensure the success of their nation. The Articles of Confederation was the first system of government that was proposed and put into effect. This attempt at creating a system that protected the people form a strong central government ultimately failed but was an important step in the development of the current government system. The weaknesses presented by the Articles of Confederation helped lead to reforms that made the Constitution successful. Both the Articles and the Constitution demonstrate the struggles that the colonists went through with the British and