...The Articles of Confederation was the original Constitution of the United States that was ratified in 1781. It was later replaced with the U.S. Constitution in 1789. The Articles of Confederation was a written document that established the functions of the national government of the U.S., after it declared independence from Great Britain. It is an important document in American history because it united the individual states and established the federal government. https://www.reference.com/history/three-weaknesses- articles-confederation. This document was needed so that the governing states could act together to become a nation. The Articles of Confederation needed to be changed to allow the citizens the freedom of speech and religion. The Articles...
Words: 520 - Pages: 3
...Britain, The United States of America, came up with the articles of Confederation in order to govern the country. After the articles of Confederation was failing, the Constitutional Convention met up in Philadelphia in 1786 in order to amend the articles of Confederation. During this convention they came up with a new and improved Constitution. Both of these constitutions were very different from each other and were both opposed by different groups of people. Both of these constitutions had some drawbacks but in the new constitution things can be amended with three-quarters of the states approving the amendment. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution that the United States of America came up with. It became the constitution of the United States from the time the United States became a nation until 1776. One key factor of the Articles of Confederation was that power was given mainly to the states rather than the federal government. The groups that supported the Articles of Confederation were famers and small merchants because the center of political power was in the state rather than the federal government which benefited them. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states were the ones whom were allowed to levy taxes and also were allowed to negotiate separate treaties with foreign countries. Since the federal government...
Words: 703 - Pages: 3
...The United states constitution overcame the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and provided for the organization of the new government. In the 1700’s, in the thirteen original colonies, the Americans won the Revolutionary war, and they decided they needed a government. The Articles of Confederation is what the continental congress made a plan for as a whole. The constitutional convention was ran by the legislature which caused the great compromises. The constitution was written by delegates and each state had to hold a convention to approve of the constitution but not everyone agreed about the constitution and that it should be ratified. In the late 1700’s the thirteen original colonies needed a government so they came up with the articles...
Words: 825 - Pages: 4
...The Article of Confederation was a scripted arrangement, which was approved by the thirteen original states of the United States. The Article of Confederation contains procedures as to how the United States government was thought to operate. The Article of Confederation is sometimes called Articles; it was created in November 1777 and approved by thirteen original states in March 1781 (Cheek, 2016). The Founding Fathers of the United States subjected a severe criticism a few years after the approval of The Article of Confederation. This led to a decision for the Article of Confederation to be altered to satisfy the nation. The delegates from the thirteen states met in Philadelphia in May 1787 to review the Article of Confederation. In concluding, the delegation members made a common decision that reworking the whole Constitution was better than reviewing the current Article of Confederation (Cheek, 2016). The United States Constitution is reflected to be the supreme law in the United States of America today. It specifies the standards for the association of the United States government. The foundation of the new constitution was created because of the several complications with the Articles. The...
Words: 460 - Pages: 2
...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
...The Articles of Confederation and The United States Constitution are two documents that essentially are the backbone of the structure and system that America relies on. The Articles of Confederation was a document instituted as a declaration of independence from Great Brittan by the thirteen colonies. The Articles of Confederation, as Sage (2016) states, designated no executive power and congress had very little power over the states. The Articles of Confederation strongly believed in small government and limited powers. According to Winkler (2012), The United States Constitution was implemented as a progressive, innovative document. The United States Constitution expanded on the idea of government and designated more powers to congress in order for them to handle national affairs efficiently. Despite the differences between the two documents, they relate in the idea that for a nation to function a government must be established. When the Articles of Confederation were in place, an executive did not have powers. Though Feldmeth (1998), says that the President would manage the congress. It is evident that the Articles of Confederation wanted nothing to do with powerful government that threatened their newly claimed...
Words: 643 - Pages: 3
...Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution of the United States The United States has been run under two constitutions since the beginning. It was first operated under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was ratified by Maryland and brought into effect on March 1, 1781. The Articles lasted a little over seven years until it was upheld by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788. It was replaced by the Constitution of the United States. In the Articles of Confederation, the legislature was Unicameral. Each state had two to seven members in congress during the Articles. Under The Constitution the legislature was Bicameral, or broken into two sections, which was the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state...
Words: 653 - Pages: 3
...The Writing of The United States Constitution The Articles of Confederation were drafted in 1777 by a committee appointed by the Continental Congress, led by John Dickinson of Delaware, and ratified by the states in 1781. They were written to provide a general government for the thirteen states. The writers of the Articles of Confederation drafted this document during a time of war with Britain. The colonies feared having a centralized power in their government so most of the powers were placed in the hands of the individual states. Most important was Article II which reads “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” (Mount, Articles of Confederation) So even though Article I reads The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America” (Mount) the states were not united for each would govern themselves and instead a “league of friendship” was formed between the states. The national government was given some powers by the Articles of the Confederacy but it had no authority to enforce these powers. The Confederation Congress could declare war and make treaties but without an army and no ability to levy taxes Congress had to depend on the states to provide the men and the means to declare war. Each state had the right to coin money and to regulate commerce. Each state, no matter their size or population...
Words: 1756 - Pages: 8
...Article of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was known for the first written constitution of the United States. The plan of government created by the Articles of Confederation had strengths and weaknesses. It shows to have more weaknesses than strength. The weaknesses of the Article of Confederation included the fact that every state was in a position to follow any laws that were desired. The Articles of Confederation did little to promote colonial unity; therefore, it shows to have some weakness, strength and also the support of the anti-federalists and federalist debate. The Articles of Confederation shows to have more weakness than strength. The most common weakness in the Article of Confederation was the lack of power that was given to the Continental Congress strangled the federal government. The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to pass laws but no power to enforce those laws. If the state did not support a federal law that state could simply ignore it. The Article of Confederation had no power to levy taxes or regulate trade....
Words: 680 - Pages: 3
...Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution were created to address various issues of their time periods. These issues primarily revolved around the government because the government is what controlled everything else. The Declaration of Independence was written in response to the awful ways in which the colonists were being treated by the British, the Articles of Confederation were created to eliminate the British rule that dreadfully governed the colonies, and the United States Constitution was created to organize a strong central government, something which the Articles of Confederation failed to do. With the passing of the Tea Act by...
Words: 1252 - Pages: 6
...The Articles of Confederation was an agreement between the founding thirteen states that established the United States of America. While the Articles of Confederation had its flaws, it did serve an important purpose at the time it was written. Some of the strong points include: the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, defined territories, and establishment of an adequate temporary government. At the time, the American colonies had suffered under the long tyranny of England’s King George III and the American colonies’ primary goal was to establish a government in which its people would be protected from such domination. The Articles of Confederation did this, claiming very little power over individual states and people. Furthermore, in the Articles of Confederation territories and rules between states were explicitly laid out, with states gaining an understanding of how they played into the federal government. Lastly, the Land and Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 respectively were established in the Articles of Confederation. The Land Ordinance defined the general practices of land surveying and land ownership provisions. This ordinance was considered a success, in that may people were able to purchase and secure land with very little trouble. The Northwest Ordinance required some of the original states to give up land near the Ohio River. This land was later used for the development of five new states. Furthermore, the Northwest Ordinance abolished slavery...
Words: 905 - 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
...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
...Constitution Paper HST/155 January 25, 2016 Andrew Cramer Constitution Paper After the Revolution, citizens of the United States were free of British rule, but found themselves in need of a government to keep peace and prosperity among the different states. The Articles of Confederation was finally put into place in 1777 that was intended to do just that. However, not all states agreed with the Articles of Confederation. At that time, each state counted for one vote regardless of size, which was fine for smaller states, but the larger ones felt that their votes should have more say in matters due to its larger population. Congress had little power to tax for much needed funds, nor to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. When Congress would pass laws, there was no executive branch of government to enforce the laws. There was no national court system when issues would arise and any amendments to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote (Barker, 2012). Each state wanted its own individual power and money and rejected any idea of one government controlling them all. This caused problems with the economy because states did want to give up its own money to a central government. They felt like it would turn into something similar to the British Monarchy. With each state printing its own money and having their own military, it was difficult, if not impossible for the government to create any unity among the states (The Articles of Confederation, 2015)....
Words: 1194 - Pages: 5
...There were many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. At the end of the American Revolution, the free states needed some of control that would generate to a unified country. Issues were that the people want equal rights, and a new government. Their first attempt at solving this issue was the Articles of Confederation, which was a failure for the most part, but not completely. After the failure of the articles, the state delegates tried to revise the articles, but instead, constructed the Constitution. There were so many changes made and very little remained the same. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution had a greater sense of central government. In the Constitution a president was the executive. The president was the person that can approve or veto the new rules. After gaining independence from Great Britain, the United States was operating under the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.” Under the Articles, the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions that were not relinquished to the federal government. The American Revolution did not overturn the social order, but it did produce substantial changes in social customs, political institutions, and ideas about society and government. Among the changes were the separation of church and state in some places, the abolition of slavery in the North, written political constitutions, and a shift in political power from the eastern seaboard toward the frontier...
Words: 1348 - Pages: 6