The Constitutional Convention: A New Government System

The Articles of Confederation were the very first framework of government, which were ratified in 1781. These articles created a weak government and gave more power to the state governments. After winning the war and declaring their independence from Great Britain, the United States needed some form of government. The national government consisted of a unicameral legislature, which meant that is only had one house or chamber of legislature. In the Articles of Confederation, article two states, “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation

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.

Before the constitution became the law of the land there was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, and the first form of government established by the U.S. Under the Articles of Confederation the government consisted of a congress of delegates chosen by state legislatures. Congress was also unicameral, or a single house legislature. Each state had the same amount of power regardless of size or population. The powers to make, administer, and enforce laws were all placed with Congress. The government did not consist of a President or executive branch, instead the executive power was spread among several committees of congressmen. The articles granted certain limited powers to Congress. The Congress could not raise money through taxes, therefore it relied on contributions from the states, which was not reliable. Passing laws required approval of at least nine of the thirteen states, and amending a document required approval of all thirteen states. Congress had no power to regulate trade between the states or internationally. There was no national army, so the government relied on the individual states to establish a military.

After fighting for our country against Great Britain in the American Revolution, the United States gained independence. We had to figure out how to govern ourselves since we would no longer be under the power of the monarch. The Articles of Confederation was the answer to our problems; even though it established a very weak central government and had many problems, it was our first constitution and our first step towards a solid government. Some of the problems with the Articles included that the Congress had no power to tax, no power to regulate commerce, no power to regulate domestic affairs, no power to enforce laws, and many more. The problems lead to troubles with the States which convinced the Continental Congress to create a convention of delegated people to revise them; this convention was called the Constitutional Convention. The Convention fixed these problems by throwing the Articles out altogether and creating a new Constitution.

     In the hot, humid summer of 1787 state delegates met for the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and drafted a new frame of government for the United States: the United States Constitution. A new federal system of government was set forth which distributed powers between the state and federal government and created three branches of government as checks and balances for each other. The new Constitution also gave the new government the power to both tax and regulate commerce.

After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, early Americans were hesitant to create a new federal government and feared that it would become too powerful. To avoid this, the Founding Fathers created the Constitution of the United States of America. The new Constitution was based on several basic principles that limited the power of the federal government and kept it from gaining too much power. These systems helped set a base for the federal government while limiting the powers that it withheld. One of the main parts of the federal government are the three branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial.

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution and served to form a type of government for the 13 colonies at the time. ”The Articles of Confederation is the original framework for the government of the United States, adopted in 1781 and superseded by the U.S Constitution in 1789. It established a “firm league of friendship” among the states, rather than a government “of the people” (Dye 66). When the Articles of Confederation were established the federal government lacked power, but most of the power was held within the states. “The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments” (Primary Documents in American History). The articles of confederation failed by giving state more power than the federal government. U.S. feared that if the federal government had

The United States of America has been working from the beginning to form a government that works for us. On the way we have had many different documents to help control our government. Two of these are the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. There are many differences between them both, from what was sovereign under them to how they can be amended.

Following the American Revolution, the necessity of the formation of a new central government was evident. The nation was split over exactly how much power could be appointed to the federal government without it becoming tyrannical. Finally, at the Constitutional Congress, the Articles of Confederation were created to bind the nation under a relatively weak federal government. However, these articles led to United States to a bumpy start as they did not allow for effective government from 1781 to 1789. The weakness of the Articles can be seen in the conflict over territorial claims, economic struggles, and general lack of control that the federal government help in the period of which the United States was governed under them.

In 1789 the leaders of the states got together to create The Constitution. The Constitution created the three main branches of our government The Legislative Branch, The Judiciary Branch and The Executive Branch. The Articles of Confederation also had played a part in creating the three branches of government. The first three Articles of Confederation helped establish what the three branches would do and who was involved in each branch. Article I created the legislative branch which includes Congress, Article II created the executive branch, which established what the President does, and what happens with new laws, Article III created the court system which includes all the lower courts and the Supreme Court.

Initially, the Articles of Confederation was the first form of written constitution the United States had established. However, the Articles of Confederation had many flaws, one of the major flaws was it was establishing a weak government. Therefore, many important delegates through a committee decided to construct a new form of law that will inculcate a strong government. The result was the ratification of the Constitution (1788); the supreme law of the land. The constitution is broken down in three branches the legislative, executive, and the judicial branch all for the purpose for tyranny doesn’t surpass. Likewise, the constitution is constructs first with the preamble starting with the famous words” We the People of the United States,”

In 1777, the first U.S. government was created during the Revolutionary War. Americans thought that the government had several weaknesses, and they needed to make a fast solution to make a better nation. Several ratifications took place to make official laws. Delegates saw how the Americans felt, so they all gathered from all thirteen states in Philadelphia. They all gathered at a town meeting, and they discussed on what should be created to solve several conflicts. The new Constitutions was created so slavery, taxation, and representation in Congress would have rules. The laws helped citizens to set them limitations so there would be no conflicts. Several meetings and agreements took place to create the Articles of Confederation, the Three- Fifths Compromise, and ratifying the Constitution to form a government.

To start, the Americans used the Articles of Confederation as their first government mostly due to fear. Many colonist feared that the government would have too much power and that the states would have an unbalanced amount of power. According to the We the People textbook, “Both of these fears influenced the organization of the first American government” (40) and it lead to the Americans using this system. Next, as mentioned before, many colonists feared that the government would have too much power. The colonist were afraid to give too much power to the national government after the Revolutionary War, because they were just freed from British Rule. With this mentality, the people were afraid that if their government gain too much power, than it would eventually become a monarchy all over again. The Articles of Confederation were America’s first attempt at a constitution that had its ups and downs thanks to its creators’

The United States has governed with two constitutions, the Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution. The Articles of Confederation was the first attempt of forming a legal government from March 1, 1781 to March 4, 1789. There were many problems as the articles became to take effect so it was replaced with the US Constitution in June 21, 1788.

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