...single penny in national treasury. Besides, Congress was granted a coercive power upon the states. For example, if there was any threat or opposition toward the federal authority, the power of the federal army might seem helpful. There would not be any actual battle, but the fear of national power by states would keep them accountable. Unlike the wide power of modern Congress, the law enforcement ability of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was so tenuous that it had no chance to act directly upon people, only states did. Moreover, its influence upon the states was not significant either. There was no respect but contempt for the national government. For financial, logistic, recruiting issues, Congress could pass laws, but implementing them was the decision of the states, which either accepted or rejected the national government’s recommendations and requisitions. The Congressmen did not even trust the others;...
Words: 511 - Pages: 3
...Ratified in 1777, the Articles of Confederation were written out of desperation and fear. Desperation that our new country needed some form of government and fear that there could be further attacks from Great Britain or other aggressive governments. The challenge with the Articles of Confederation were, that there was no cohesion between states, or the new nation as a whole. There was no centralized government. There was no form of leadership for the states to fall back on if they had been attacked from a foreign enemy. The solution to the well-intentioned Articles of Confederation was of course, the Constitution of the United States of America. Ratified on 17, September 1787 by representatives from twelve colonies, now called “States”. The...
Words: 390 - Pages: 2
...The Article of Confederation was adopted by the continental congress on November 15, 1777. It was considered the first constitution for the United States and it did not come into effect until March 1, 1789. It was appointed by the second continental congress, which began on the 12 of July in 1776, and the approved version was later sent to the states for ratification in late 1777. For those that signed the document, their delegates agreed to the form of government that is called The Article of Confederation, which means that they agreed to be committed permanently to the union of the states, which is now called the United States. Some of the major issues debated at the convention are slavery and the representation of the congress. The...
Words: 529 - Pages: 3
...In the late seventeenth century Americans started to see defect and irregularity with the Articles of Confederation. State delegates started to meet to talk about change in approaches with respect to exchange because of the absence of viability of the Articles. The constitution was composed by establishing fathers who in this way contrasted sees on essential ideas. Two gatherings were framed with contrasting perspectives on essential issues, for example, subjugation, religion, and division of political forces. The federalists, drove by John Adams, upheld the selection of the constitution, and campaigned for a unified government. The counter federalists, drove by Thomas Jefferson, contradicted a framework where the legislature held all the power pushing for more individual and state/littler government rights. This was the first occasion when it was proposed possibility for decision would be founded on contradicting political perspectives versus a person's social and financial status. While Adams won the administration in 1796, Jefferson was chosen in 1800. (Norton, 2007)...
Words: 1152 - Pages: 5
...the Articles of Confederation. This form of government was chosen because the people were scared they would experience tyranny like they did with Great Britain if their federal government wasn’t weak. 2. What were the weaknesses of the Article of Confederation? What event exemplified these weaknesses? The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were Congress’s inability to collect taxes and police trade, establish a national currency, and raise a proper army. Other weaknesses would be the existence of a unicameral Congress which required 9/13 votes to pass a law and 13/13...
Words: 573 - Pages: 3
...The Articles of Confederation were the first written Constitution of the United States and remained in effect from 1781 to 1788. It was first written in 1777, but took four years for all states to ratify it due to disputes over western lands. Attempts to amend it, to give the national government more power, were presented several times, but failed due to the requirement of nine votes in agreement instead of the majority. The only powers granted to the national government were rights regarding the maintenance of independence. By 1787, many Americans sought to revise the Articles of Confederation due to growing debts and lack of protection of liberties, which resulted in the Constitution of 1789. The economy and the national government were...
Words: 1036 - Pages: 5
...Gentlemen, it is evident that the Articles Of Confederation’s current policy for regulating domestic and international trade is utterly ineffectual. What message are we sending to Britain and the rest of Europe, by having fought for and gained our independence, only to not even know how to handle neither domestic nor international trade? This is an utterly shameful position to be in. The Articles of Confederation may have been founded on good intentions, but it seems more likely now that a lack of control and infrastructure, rather than an excess of it, shall be our downfall. The national government had no authority to regulate trade among the states, and as a result the individual states have continued to abide by their own trade laws, making...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...Congress then adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1777, but was later ratified in 1781. It was the first constitution in the United States that provided the colonies a government system for their new beginning. While some the patriots agree with the new system, the loyalist were not pleased with it and insisted in a stronger central government. Thus the Articles of Confederation did not give an effective government system in the United States because it had no economic resources or control over the colonies, and had terrible effects...
Words: 846 - Pages: 4
...America was struggling with the articles of confederation so they made the constitution. The Articles of Confederation were very weak so framers made the constitution of the United States of America. As it says in document 1,2 and 3 here are some weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The state government had more power than the federal government and that is not good. The states can do pretty much whatever they want without approval from the federal government. Also The federal government had no power to enforce treaties, so basically you stay at war forever unless the states want peace. Even more reasons that it is bad is that there is no national currency so you can not go to Maine and use New York money. This is obviously a big...
Words: 452 - Pages: 2
...America declared its independence on July 4th, 1776. It was a time of renovating the new nation that will soon be “The United States of America”. The nation was in need of a new form of government, thus came the Articles of Confederation. Although it was the first form of government, the Articles of Confederation had several good ideas but most of the power was in the hands of its people. The federal government lacked authority over the states. It was a very problematic time for the new nation. American had gained its independence on July 4th, of 1783. A new nation was born where the Americans had devoted their blood, sweat, and tears to gain their independence, they were victorious. Although this was a historic period it wasn’t long until conflict had arisen. Becoming independent in the eyes of the Americans mean that they were free to rule themselves. Most of the colonies have set their eyes on expanding their land. This resulted in disputes between the colonies (now states) all over the country. The colonies had set their eyes on land that was far out of reach, states were bickering over the lands they have claimed, most which they hadn’t been to. Lets a historic forget that American were...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...Shortly after the United States had declared and won independence from Great Britain, they decided to clarify a constitution to dictate what rules should be placed named the “Articles of Confederation”. This was weakly designed including only a unicameral congress, which didn't have much power to enforce rules to make sure it didn't violate any rights of the states, but did introduce the idea of Republicanism (no king or queen and by the authority of the people), the limiting agents to the government's power was the overall problem. After realizing the government didn't have a way of paying for itself, and the states would not support the government needs, delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss the Constitution and would ratify it in latter years. After the war with Britain, America was nearly bankrupt...
Words: 599 - Pages: 3
...APUSH Study Guide 8 A weak Confederacy and the Constitution, 1776-1790 Themes/Constructs: The federal Constitution represented a moderately conservative reaction against the democratilizing effects of the Revolution and the Articles of Confederation. The American Revolution was not a radical transformation like the French or Russian revolutions, but it produced political innovations and some social change in the direction of greater equality and democracy. 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. The first weak government, the Articles of Confederation, was unable to exercise real authority, although it did successfully deal with the western lands issue. The Confederation’s weakness in handling foreign policy, commerce and the Shays Rebellion spurred the movement to alter the Articles. Instead of revising the Articles, the well-off delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a charter for a whole new government. In a series of compromises, the convention produced a plan that provided for a vigorous central government, a strong executive, the protection for property, while still upholding republican...
Words: 3481 - Pages: 14
...America before l750/ British, French, Spanish Compare the ways in which religion shaped the development of colonial society in 2 of the following regions prior to l740/ New England, Chesapeake, Middle Atlantic How did economic, geographic and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an important part of the economy of southern colonies between l607 and l775? Compare the ways in which 2 of the following reflected tensions in colonial society/ bacon’s rebellion, pueblo revolt, salem witchcraft trials, stono rebellion To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution? Dbq Analyze the impact of the American Revolution on both slavery and the status of women in the period from l775-l800 Evaluate the extent to which the Articles of Confederation were effective in solving the problems that confronted the new nations Analyze the contributions of 2 of the following in helping establish a stable government after the adoption of the constitution/ John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington Although the power of the national government increased during the early republic, this development often faced serious opposition. Compare the motives and effectiveness of those opposed to the growing power of the national government in 2 of the following/ whiskey rebellion, Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, Hartford convention, nullification crisis To what extent was the election of l800 aptly named...
Words: 1140 - Pages: 5
...DBQ Essay-Ratification of the Constitution: The Federalists’ Stance The ratification of the constitution was a process which was very controversial and tedious. The people chose sides because they were undereducated about the constitution and were easily influenced. The Federalists’ supported the ratification of the constitution because the Articles of Confederation was falling apart and was causing many domestic and foreign distresses. Massachusetts was perhaps most against the new constitution but even the editor of the Massachusetts Sentinel had to agree that the A.O.C could not be. The editor writes in his newspaper of the many domestic and foreign issues facing our country. He describes them as such “… the complaints of our farmers… the complaints of every class of public creditors…the melancholy faces of our working people…our ships rotting in our harbors…the insults that are offered to the American name and character in every court of Europe…View these things fellow citizens, and then say that we do not require a new, protecting, and efficient federal government if you can.” The editor proves how deplorable the domestic issues are and how pitiful the foreign are getting. He recognizes many issues that anti-federalists overlook in hunger for power control. This editor says that these domestic and foreign issues are a result of the A.O.C and that change was required to ease the hardships the American people were facing. Even what some people consider our nation’s...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...Ratifying the Constitution DBQ essay The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America, one of the greatest documents ever to be written, and the rope that keeps this vast nation tied together. Although this great document may seem flawless, many components and ideas have been amended and argued as allowed by “Article Five” of the U.S. Constitution. When writing and discussing the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention, many of the authors and scholars disagreed on the ratification of the Constitution whilst others favored the ratification of the famous document. Some claimed that liberty will be jeopardized and a tyrannical government may result, as stated in document two. Whilst others claimed that the Constitution was the solution to the political and economic struggles of the current government as stated in document one. The anti-federalists, led by Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson favored a weaker central government; whilst the federalists, led by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton favored a strong central government. Overall, the major arguments of the convention can be categorized into two groups, the ones who favored the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and those who didn’t. To continue, the scholars who favored the ratification of...
Words: 694 - Pages: 3
