The Four Most Problematic Things In The Articles Of Confederation

The failure in the American systems of checks and balances The concept of power is a divisive matter in the American political system, as the actors holding it are sometimes unable to impose it as a result of their limited authority to do so. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches in

Separation of power was the first way the founders prevented tyranny. In document 1 the text states ¨the founding fathers created government that was separated into three branches.¨ This shows that no branch would have

The Articles of Confederation was first written in 1777. It was passed by the Confederation of Congress. Congress decided that they needed a firm government to organize the states as a whole. At least that was their primary goal. Since each state had separates rules. The Articles of Confederation was later ratified by each state in 1781. It was “America’s first federal constitution” (Keene 138). The confederation had a few strengths but many weaknesses. The nation faced many economic and political issues that lead people to controversy.

The most significant issues that the United States had under the Articles of Confederation were: “managing the western expansion, foreign relations, and debt.” The first significant issue was with the western expansion as Americans relocated to the Nashville, western Pennsylvania, and Kentucky areas in mass numbers in the 1780s. The result of this meant that the areas were enhanced greatly that had western charters. At the time, the northern and southern areas (in the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River) had specific boundaries based on the original colonized charters which meant that the western area was the Pacific Ocean. The states that did not have part of the western area resented the condition and as a result, Maryland protested by not approving the Articles of Confederation unless the state of Virginia yielded its western land to the federal government which they did in 1784. However, their yielding was not without strings attached as they demanded that they be allowed to keep a small portion of the land reserve for their own use as a part of the deal which Congress had no choice but to accept. Eighteen years later in 1802, every state had yielded their western land to the federal government.

This document was written in the 18th century specifically during the Federalist Era. It was written 18 years after America won independence from England on July 4, 1776. This lead to the creation of the “Articles of Confederation” which were made primarily for the people because they feared central government having all power. Then at The Annapolis Convention (1786) is where the groundworks of “The U.S. Constitution” were discussed to replace the “Articles of Confederation”.

Federalism and the checks and balances of the three branches of government prevented any abuse of power to rise in the new government. The division of responsibilities and the flexibility in the Constitution allowed for an effective and efficient way of regulating the system. The Constitution gave the people what they wanted in the first place from breaking away from Great Britain through a Bills of Rights and amendable Constitution, a system that served the best interest of the people. Because the Constitution provided a barrier against power abuse, was effective and efficient, and served the best interest of the people, it should be

The topic of this paper is the Constitution. The paper will cover the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, which was addressed in the Constitution. The paper will cover the how the Constitution addressed the complaints in the Declaration of Independence. Another topic of the paper will be the Great

The Articles deprived the federal government of several governmental powers essential to the operation of a freestanding republic. One immense issue stemming from the Articles was the national government’s inability to impose taxes on the states directly, which Americans believed to disturb state liberty and sovereignty (Document A). This restriction of power had its roots in the imperial days of Great Britain as one of the primary issues of the American Revolution, England’s taxation of the colonies without the proper representation of the colonists in Parliament. The fear of the new American government taking advantage of its power and imposing internal taxes on the states resulted in this law. Unfortunately, the framers did not think of the consequence, the incapability of the federal government to fund its finances or pay back its numerous debts. They were instead forced to rely predominantly on state donations, which proved to an extremely ineffective way to pay for government expenses. Not only could the government not pay for its expenditures, it

In the wake of the economic aftermath following the French-Indian War, British leaders sought to use their colonies as a means of resolving their plight. As such, they tightened their reign and Anglo-American tensions escalated as they began to pass the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Townshend Act to raise money rather than control trade. Further aggravating colonists were Britain’s land policy and the arrival of British troops. As a result, resistance within the colonies was on the rise, and the First Continental Congress organized colonial resistance to Parliament’s Coercive Acts when they met in Philadelphia in late 1774. After the battles of Lexington and Concord, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a resolution to the Second Continental

Most modern historians will argue that from 1781 to 1789, the confederation period of American history, the nation experienced its most critical economic and political developments. Having just become official American states after rebellion against the royal authority of Great Britain, the nation was forced to create its own government, which proved to be completely

The government established by the Articles of Confederation lacked the coherence, strength, and cooperation needed to spur the young nation to success, instead wreaking havoc politically, defensively, and economically. For example, because there was neither a national currency nor regulation of commerce, the mid-1780s were stricken with inflation and economic depression. Moreover, due to the absence of a national legislature, laws varied from state to state; thus, Congress had difficulty passing and enforcing laws and taxes. Lastly, the nation lacked strong, solid leadership to guide decisions and head foreign affairs. In essence, at the time of America’s new-found independence from Britain, the Articles failed to provide a unified government

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

Arguably, the biggest flaw in the government established by the Articles of Confederation was Congress’ lack of financial resources. Economically, the national government could borrow money, but that was the extent of their abilities. Congress could neither control interstate commerce nor collect taxes from states. [Document A] displays the state perspectives on the government’s financial capability. The reasons as to which why the government could not regulate economy listed in Document A portray the economic dominance

From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation did not provide the United States with an effective government. This is due to the following three reasons: The United States’ lack of an army, nonexistent judicial branch, and surplus of power to the states.

I like the idea of check and balance. It is a fundamental principle of the U.S. Government guaranteed by the Constitution where it prevents any one branch of government from accumulating too much power. It goes hand in hand with separation of powers, another fundamental principle, where responsibilities