...In recent events, the delegates and I found the existing document, the Articles of Confederation, very problematic. With no executive or judicial branch, the Articles of Confederation is proving to be extraordinarily restrictive. In addition, the Articles of Confederation is preventing us from taxing and regulating interstate as well as foreign commerce. Moreover, we need nine out of thirteen states to enact laws and thirteen out of thirteen votes to make amendments to the Articles. The problems with the Articles and with our ongoing controversies between states force us into many difficult situations and we delegates have come to a mutual agreement. One thing all thirteen of us share in common is our need for change. Slavery, slave trading,...
Words: 1149 - Pages: 5
...When the founding fathers needed a “Supreme Law of the Land” they first came up with the Articles of Confederation which had a multiplicity of flaws, such as its inability to enforce laws. But because of these flaws and inabilities, they decided to write the U.S Constitution. The U.S Constitution had a much more specified set of laws and regulations. When it comes to the Articles of Confederation, it did have some good things about it such as creating a peace treaty with Great Britain, it had many flaws. Although both of these important documents helped make our government what it is today, there are also many differences between the two. Both of these documents shaped what our government is today. They both do have many differences but they also have some similarities. Such as they both list congresses rights and duties. Also they both specify that only the government can send and receive ambassadors, not the states. Both had lots of power over the United States, and listed many rules that helped control the people of the U.S. While these two documents had some similarities, they had quite a few...
Words: 513 - Pages: 3
...Historical Essay: Confederation and Constitution By History 405 Professor Aimee James January 26th, 2015 Historical Essay: Confederation and Constitution Confederation and Constitution As Colonial America moved from civil disobedience to open war with Britain, the States, at the behest of the Colonial Congress, started drafting constitutions and in the process “became laboratories for constitutional experimentation” ( Keene 120). The need to ensure a strong union and to ensure that it was strong enough to deal with both internal and external issues drove the colonies to send delegates to Albany to draft the Articles of Confederation. Ratified in 1781, the Articles of Confederation framed a new United States of America. The Articles of Confederation did not create a national government, “but rather a firm league of friendship” (Keene 121). Ultimately a fear of recreating the issues that were driving them from British rule shaped the Articles of Confederation and created a weak government with little power. It setup a national legislature called Congress where each state had one vote. It had no power to levy taxes, regulate commerce or otherwise interfere with the States. It could create money and declare war or peace. Notably any changes or amendments required a unanimous vote of Congress and “because of its weaknesses, Alexander Hamilton and other delegates called for a convention to be held in Philadelphia to improve and amend the Articles” (Articles of confederation 2014)...
Words: 1571 - Pages: 7
...The Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution DeVry University The Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution are the historical documents that have been the building blocks of democracy that America is known for today. The Articles of Confederation are in many way an extension of what makes up the United States Constitution. In 1777, there wear a combination of thirteen states that came together to mold a type of government document that the United States could determine as “central” style of government. These states included New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. By late 1787, the Articles of Confederation were replaced by a more complete United States Constitution. There are several differences and similarities that lead to this American government transformation. The origination of the Articles of Confederation were a dynamic that was set into place in order to safeguard the union of states from any foreign control. It was a time in which the newly born states were yearning to be a set of sovereign states but stay independent from British colony control. Thus, the Articles of Confederation were originated. There were several important aspects of the Articles of Confederation that helped the United States reach a somewhat government goal. In the articles, states were allowed to collect taxes from its citizens...
Words: 1524 - Pages: 7
...CONFEDERATION & CONSTITUTION Wendy Hill Chamberlain College of Nursing History 405 September, 2015 Confederation & Constitution In 1987, Americans celebrated the bicentennial of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. This document, which has served as "the Supreme Law of the Land" for more than two centuries, is the world's oldest written constitution still in use (Bloom, 1987). The United States Constitution is a foundation of basic laws and principles that defines the rights of American and sets limits on what the government can and cannot do. It provides the framework for the National government and establishes a system by which responsibilities are divided between the national government and the states' governments. The first Constitution was the Articles of the Confederation. In this essay I will compare the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution, analyze the drafting of the Constitution, and compare the debate over ratification between Federalist and ant-Federalist. The Articles of Confederation, which were ratified in 1781, providing the first form of a national government in the United States. When the United States won its independence from England in 1781, a majority of Americans felt a stronger allegiance to their individual states than to their new country. Most people did not wish to create a strong national government, over which they felt they would have little or no control. The Articles gave each state...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...The United States Constitution overcame the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and provided organization for the new government. In the 1780’s, the United States composed their first form of government after the colonists won the Revolutionary War against the British. This first form of government was known as The Articles of Confederation, which gave power to the states and created a unicameral legislature. A new constitution was made at the constitutional convention, which formulated many different compromises such as The Great Compromise, and the Three-Fifths compromise. Some people believed that the Constitution should be ratified, and some people thought it should not be, these people became known as federalists and antifederalists. While the articles of confederation created the first form of government for the states, it had many flaws. Some of these were resolved at the Constitutional Convention by creating many compromises, but people known as anti-federalists still thought that the constitution should not be ratified. This was solved by...
Words: 879 - Pages: 4
...Historical Essay #1: Confederation and Constitution Anthony Snow DeVry University 08/01/2015 HISTORICAL ESSAY #1: CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION As with anything in this world there are always strengths and weaknesses when people are comparing two different items, as no one item can be a perfect solution; there are always compromises. The same happens when we are comparing the Articles of Confederation and the New Constitution of 1787. Both of theses two solutions each have their own strengths and weaknesses. First we have the Articles of Confederation that when written gave each state a lot of individual powers, and because of this was one of the main reasons for the New Constitution, and I want to show how these two solutions are different, and how the New Constitution uses some of the same concepts that make up the Articles of Constitution. I would first like to take a look at the Articles of Confederation, and explore some of the strengths and weaknesses that came as a result of adopting it. The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777. One of the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was that although it was able to produce a confederation of sovereign states, it was also responsible for weakening the central government, as the Articles of Confederation gave almost all of the power to the individual state governments. With the individual state gaining more power, the national government found it extremely difficult...
Words: 1174 - Pages: 5
...Constitution overcame the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and provided the organization of the new government. After the American Revolutionary War in America, the colonists needed a government so no one could take away their power.The Articles of Confederation were very weak and under them the new country was vulnerable and the states all were doing their own thing. During the Constitutional Convention, many compromises were made to make everyone in small and large states happy. Federalists wrote the Federalists Papers to gain support from the public. Anti- Federalists refused to sign things and protested the Constitution. To overcome the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation the newly formed United States...
Words: 954 - Pages: 4
...The creation of the U. S. Constitution was not as easily done as some people would think. As with most things done in life, people learn by trial and error. There are many documents that are of great significance that attributed to the creation of the U.S Constitution. The five documents or events that helped with the creation of the United States Constitution was the Magna Carta (1215), the Mayflower Compact (1620), the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Articles of Confederation (1777), and the Federalist Papers (1787-1788). Going in order, I will begin with the Magna Carta (1215). According to the NEH, “the Magna Carta served to lay the foundation for the evolution of parliamentary government and subsequent declarations of rights in Great Britain and the United States.” The Magna Carta defends the “dew process” of the law; everyone has legal rights that the states to follow. “Near the completion of the 13th century, the Magna Carta contributed to the support of the idea of a “higher law,” one that could not be modified by executive mandate or legislative acts,” (NEH, 1996). The notion helped to enfold toward the Supremacy clause of the United States Constitution and enforced by the Supreme Court. This was only the beginning to the making of the Constitution. The second document was the Mayflower Compact (1620), and it was the “scaffold to the Plymouth colony. Being that this document was convenient where by the settlers would subordinate their rights to follow laws...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...Confederation and Constitution United States History Professor: 9/30/12 The Articles of Confederation were a great start to shaping and unifying our country, but it was just that, a “start”. It needed to take the country as a whole into consideration in order for it to hold this unity in place. The Articles of Confederation led to the Constitution of the United States. Although similar in some aspects, very different in others. The articles had many weaknesses that were changed in the Constitution. There were many compromises made between the states in order to effectively draft the Constitution. Roger Sherman’s Plan kept the Constitutional Convention together which was later known as the Great Compromise. The fight for the Constitution had just begun and the ratification processes needed to take place. Even with some states being in favor of the Constitution it would take time to get the nine states needed to complete this process. The states in favor would called themselves The Federalist and those opposed were called the Anti-Federalist. The Federalist set out to change the mind of the remaining states with a series of letters that were written to newspapers. The Articles of Confederation were used as a base for the Constitution. The ideas from the Articles of Confederation were used in the writing of the Constitution. Both the Articles and the Constitution established “federal” systems of multiple sovereigns whose continued existence was constitutionally...
Words: 1610 - Pages: 7
...Grant M. Ritchie POS-301 November 16, 2014 Jonathan Roeder Constitutional Timeline Our Founding Fathers relied on the information found in the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Federalist Papers to help draft the United States Constitution. These documents played a significant role in developing the United States of America. I believe without the support of these documents the Constitution would never existed. Those who created the Magna Carta brought on some of the liberties we appropriate today. The Magna Carta’s one important law includes freedom of the church. The freedom is also in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states freedom of religion. King John was forced to sign this document in 1215. “The Magna Carta also imposed limitations of the King of England and established a parliamentary form of government with powers to act on the citizens behalf,” (AuBuchan, 2001, p. 1). The Magna Carta is comparable to the constitutional form of government which establishes Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. The Magna Carta contained due process which led to trial by jury also included under Article Three Section Two of the U.S. Constitution. The words of the Fifth Amendment are mentioned in the Magna Carta. Rough seas and storms stopped the Mayflower from reaching their destination. The settlers ended up in Cape Cod. “Mayflower Compact, document was signed on the English ship Mayflower...
Words: 964 - Pages: 4
...Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of the document. As adopted, the articles provided only for a "firm league of friendship" in which each of the 13 states expressly held "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." The People of each state were given equal privileges and rights, freedom of movement was guaranteed, and procedures for the trials of accused criminals were outlined. The articles established a national legislature called the Congress, consisting of two to seven delegates from each state; each state had one vote, according to its size or population. No executive or judicial branches were provided for. Congress was charged with responsibility for conducting foreign relations, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, settling boundary disputes, establishing and maintaining a postal service, and various lesser functions. Some of these responsibilities were shared with the states, and in one way or another Congress was dependent upon the cooperation of the states...
Words: 802 - Pages: 4
...sent to America for education after publishing his eloquently written account of a hurricane that hit the island in 1772. He studied at King’s College, but graduated early to join the patriots in their protest against British-imposed taxes and commercial business regulations. The Anti Federalists were the group that opposed the ideas of the proposed constitution and favored the Articles...
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...problems, a national bank, and a strong executive. The way the Federalist would back up their contentions was by believing that the government needed necessary means in order to fulfill its ends. One example is that under the Articles of Confederation the United States takes full responsibility of paying off debt, Hamilton and the Federalist argue that in order to fulfill that end they must implement a stronger government who can raise more revenue but in order to do that must be given the means. In Federalist No. 23 it states. “…because it is impossible to foresee or define the extent and variety of national exigencies, or the correspondent extent and variety of the means which may be necessary to satisfy them” (Alexander Hamilton, APT “The Federalist No. 23”, Pg. 116). Hamilton believe that the problems the country can face were endless and the government need to be given the means (more power) to meet the certain...
Words: 1728 - Pages: 7
...The Confederation and the Constitution | | | | | Shortly after Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the delegates at the Second Continental Congress agreed that a new government was necessary to govern the now-independent colonies. After much debate, they drafted and adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1777. Although the Articles were not officially ratified until 1781, they served as the actual constitution until that time. Under the authority of the Articles, the states created a national Congress comprised of annually elected delegates from all thirteen states. Each state had one vote in Congress, and, in most cases, decisions were made based on majority rule. The National Congress’ powers over the states were specific and definite: it had the sole power to negotiate treaties, declare war, and make peace. It also reserved the right to maintain an army and navy and regulated interaction with Native Americans in the West. The delegates also granted Congress the power to resolve interstate disputes, grant loans, print money, and operate a national postal system. Eventually, Congress was also authorized to govern western territories until they achieved statehood. All powers not granted to Congress were reserved for state governments. Congress had no power to levy taxes. For example, it could only request that the individual states raise revenue to cover their share of national expenses. Furthermore, any amendments made to the Articles...
Words: 3410 - Pages: 14
