What Is The Founding A Nation 1783-1789

The Patriots desired to have a central government with limited powers. The Articles of Confederation, a written document defining the structure of the government from 1781 to 1788, only had powers to declare war, make treaties, borrow and print money; however, it lacked the power to tax either the states or the people.

From 1781 to 1789, the newly created United States of America put its trust in the Articles of Confederation to adequately govern itself in times of war and distress. The Articles of Confederation was the United States’ first attempt at a guideline for creating an effective federal government. It was efficient in holding the new country together during the Revolutionary War and managed to help the country attend to pressing foreign and economic problems right after the war. Although the Articles helped bring about momentous and significant change in one decade, it was not the suitable framework for the federal government to effectively govern the new country over a long period of time.

Along with the Constitution we have the Articles of Confederation. Under these Articles congress was a single house where each state had 2 to 7 members but only one vote. They selected executive judges and military officers as well as having power to make war and peace and conduct foreign affairs. The ability to have money Congress could borrow and print money, but they could not collect taxes or enforce laws, precisely it had to rely on the states to provide and enforce. Articles of Confederation was written to be a “framework for the government of the United States, it established a firm league of friendship among the states rather than a government of the people.” (book)

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. They were written during the revolutionary war to create a more unified government, and to establish what the national government could and could not do. The Articles let each state keep “sovereignty, freedom, and independence,” and created a very weak central government. For example, Congress could not regulate commerce or impose taxes. The impact that the Articles of Confederation had on federalism for the next few years was: the federal government had very few powers, and most of the authority remained in control of each individual state.

The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was a secret meeting that took place between May and September of 1787. The reason of this meeting was to revise the Articles of Confederation. As well the problem from the Revolutionary War debt. The president of this convention was George Washington. Fifty four individuals attended which most of them were wealthy young persons who wanted to protect the economic of the state. The Constitution that arrived from the convention accepted a government with more limited powers, where each brand would check and balance the authority between the Judicial Executive and Legislative

Thirteen months later, Ben served on the committee that drafted the declaration of independence. He contributed to the Government by serving as a postmaster general, and took over the duties as a president of the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. James Madison was known as the Father of the United States Constitution, no other delegate was prepared for the Federal Convention in 1787 like he was. Alexander Hamilton served in the legislature in 1787, which got him chosen as one of the delegates to the Convention. He was at a disadvantage against the other delegates because of how small of a role he played in the debates. He did however end up as one of the three delegates from New York that signed the finished document. George Washington always had concerns for the country’s future, so he was never a fan of the convention because of humanity’s common failings, and he realized that many citizens suspected the convention would be merely a seizure of power from the states by an all powerful central government and he didn’t want to attend because he didn’t want to appear as the power grasping type of person.The U.S. Constitution called "a living document." Though it may seem like a dry piece of paper to you, it really is designed to live and grow as the nation

The Articles of Confederation were designed and formed from the thirteen states that created a Confederation known as the “league of friendship”; their goal was to find solutions for problems; and one of the first attempts to create a system. The Articles of Confederation was our nation’s first constitution; during the last years of the Revolutionary war, the government had been conducting our country’s affairs helping to negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

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. Although, it established a weak central government, it contributed to U.S principles because The Articles of Confederation were the basis of the first government of the United States of America. The Articles were essentially the “training wheels” of the government; it was a learning point to create something much greater which became the Constitution. The problems that this weak document created, combined with the Confederation government’s ineffectual response to Shays’ Rebellion, convinced national leaders that a more powerful central government was necessary.

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 Articles of Confederation were the first attempt of the American people to make a national government. The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the United States of America. Under the Articles of Confederation a legislative Congress was the only part of the government. Even though the legislative Congress was the only part of the government, it had no power to force states to do anything against their will. This made the government extremely weak since it was not able to force states to follow laws that were passed or pay taxes.

The Articles of Confederation, while not perfect, created a baseline that helped to form the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation gave the new nation the power to effectively produce some laws and regulations. This power led to land ordinances, which created a starting point for the development and distribution of land. The articles also established a strong power for the states, and a federal power just strong enough to hold the states together. The Articles of Confederation helped to solve some problems that challenged the new nation regarding its basic principles and structure, but it was quickly realized that it caused many problems and needed to be changed drastically.

1. The Articles of Confederation provided for a loose confederation. The government had one house Legislature. There was no separation of powers within the government. Separation of power keeps one body from gaining too much power.

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.

In 1787, George Washington was persuaded by many of his colleagues to attend the Constitutional Convention and was unanimously elected its president. While the conventions intended purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation, the objectives changed in efforts to create a new government. One debate surrounded the issue of whether the government executive branch should be a single person or board of members to run the nation's government. Many voted for a single person to run for president, knowing Washington will become the first president of the United States. While waiting for the convection to start, James Madison wrote his initial draft of the Articles and called it the Virginia Plan. This reflected his strong nationalistic view in American society. Many members of the convection read and agreed with Madison's thoughts on the new government. Finally, in May 1787, 56 delegates from across America successfully published the Constitution of the United

The Articles of Confederation were what originally ran the United States national government. It was created, and approved by each of the 13 individual states, however, it was extremely flawed and weak. It had a one- house congress, and was designed with little authority to ensure it didn’t violate any individual state’s rights. It could not sign treaties or enforce enlistment into the military; leading it to be unable to accurately defend itself. Each state had one vote, allowing equal power among the states, regardless of state population. Trade and debt decisions were not under its authority. It essentially held no power to enact or enforce laws, but laid the groundwork for government.