Second Continental Congress

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was held to address problems in governing the United States which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation since it’s independence from Britain. Fifty-five delegates from the states attended the convention to address these issues. The delegates consisted of federalists who wanted a strong central government to maintain order and were mainly wealthier merchants and plantation owners and anti-federalists who were farmers, tradesmen and local politicians who feared losing their power and believed more power should be given to the states. The Constitutional Convention dealt with the issue of the debate between federalists and anti-federalists. The debates, arguments and compromises

The Articles of Confederation, Adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777, for all practical purposes was the United States’ first Constitution. Created to establish a bond between the newly formed states, “...the Articles purposely established a "constitution" that vested the largest share of power to the individual states” (Early America). This ensured that the government did not have the majority of power. “...the Articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws...allowing the states retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence” (Early

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.

The Articles of Confederation were, like our Constitution, a legal document that laid the framework for Federal government. When the Congress and the States passed the Constitution and ratified it, they did in fact repeal the Articles by officially adopting the Constitution as its replacement for that framework. Articles of Confederation, 1777–1781. The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain.

After that, the delegates continued to meet in different sessions until March of 1781, when the Articles of the Confederation were ratified. The first meeting was at the State House in Philadelphia, which would later be called Independence Hall, but they also had sessions in other locations including Baltimore, Maryland and York, Pennsylvania. Unlike the First Continental Congress, this time the colony of Georgia would join and all thirteen colonies were represented. Much had happened in the previous months since the end of the First Continental Congress including the start of the Revolutionary War with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The congress had some serious business to take care of immediately including forming an army to fight the British. Independence Hall in Philadelphia by Ferdinand Richardt The Second Continental Congress was led by John Hancock. Other new members included Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. This congress acted much more like a government sending ambassadors to foreign countries, printing its own money, getting loans, and raising an

The Articles of Confederation were both effective and ineffective in their time of use in the United States, which were the years 1781 through 1789. In reaction to the tyrannical behavior of the British Monarchy towards the colonies prior to the revolution, shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the educated and powerful citizens in the US created a new system unlike any form of government the states had experienced before. The Articles of Confederation were created and then ratified by all 13 states in 1781. These articles were enough structure to provide the USA with a temporary government in its time of transition between the British rule and independence, but too flawed to serve as a permanent government. It lacked in

Congress could not enforce laws or assemble an army. Without an army the United States had no defense force. And without a judiciary branch, the government couldn’t enforce the laws that were made in Congress. The Legislative inefficiencies were such that each state had one vote in Congress regardless of its population. Therefore it was difficult to pass laws because states would block them, leading to an impractical amendment process. Amendments were difficult to pass because if five states voted against the passing of a bill it would be blocked. For all these reasons and more the Articles of Confederation were truly a failed form of government.

Following the Revolutionary War, the colonies sent delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. In attendance at this convention were fifty-five delegates from all 13 colonies few of these men were of ordinary means. These delegates had different views on what should happen with slavery, how congress would be set up, and with the act of election. Those in attendance compromised on all of these issues in ways different that were considered best for all the colonies.

The Articles of Confederation was created in November of 1777 and ratified in March of 1781. The Articles of Confederations purpose was to determine how the National Government would play in the newly independent United States of America. Due to the Article being formed before the Revolutionary War ended, the colonist only had one main goal with their idea of a new government, anything opposite of the Monarchy. However, this led to four major issues that would later lead to the failure of the U.S. government. The four main issues included Congress inability to raise taxes, the requirement of unison to amend the articles, Congress was unable to increase taxes, the states’ governments had no checks and balances, and the national government had little power towards foreign powers. Consequently, Shay’s rebellion in 1786-1787 brought attention to the underlying problems with the Articles of Confederation. In order to resolve these issue, the U.S. Constitution was formed in 1789.

The Articles of Confederation was established in November 1777 and was the United State’s first written constitution. The Articles of Confederation had no intentions in forming a strong government, so its main concern was limiting the powers of the national government. Although its power was limited, “the national government was given the power to declare war and make peace, to make treaties and alliance, to coin or borrow

With the Article of Confederation, the 13 states were loose confederates having their own currency, army and government structures. Therefore, there was no central government because the founders wanted to avoid making a government similar to the British empire. Document 4 shows the population of all the states in 1790. One group of founders proposed to base the seats in the House on population and another group of founders wanted the seats in the House to be equal for all of the states. Eventually, the Great Compromise, mentioned in Document 6, created a congress of two branches. The Senate had equal representation with two senators for every state while the House had representation based on the population of the

On November 15, 1777, The Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation as the first U.S constitution. This served as a bridge between the initial government by the continental congress and the federal government provided under the U.S. constitution of 1787. The articles were written to give the colonies a sense of unified government. They were written in 1776-77, and were adopted by Congress on Nov. 15 1777. The document was not yet fully approved until March 1, 1781. Congress had power to control foreign affairs, war, postal service, appoint military officers, control Indian affairs, borrow money, determine the value of coins, and issue bills of credit. The Articles gave the government no power to enforce requests, and

Authority was pretty much decentralized and their union, lax. The Constitution, however, created a bicameral system and allowed each representative to cast a vote. Each state was comprised of two Senators and a number of House representatives depending on their census population. The Constitution also created an Executive Branch of government and strove for a more centralized authority in politics.

The U.S. Constitutional Convention was meant to replace the Articles of Confederation, which governed the United States between the Revolution and 1789. These Articles were widely considered to be an ineffective governing document moving forward . They established a very weak central government that had no ability to levy taxes or regulate trade. With the states retaining most power, they constantly argued over borders, trade and commerce. Plus states maintained their own Revolutionary War debt, which some states thought was unfair. Having realized that the Articles were outdated and obselete, the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787 in Philadelphia, and 55 delegates from all states except Rhode Island attended.

The bicameral (two-house) Congress emerged from a compromise between delegates from large and small states at the Constitutional Convention, which convened in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. The Articles of Confederation, which had governed the country since 1783, left the national government powerless to resolve trade disputes with other countries and to