The Articles of confederation and the Constitution of the United States have a lot in common. The Articles of Confederation could not control the nation and were replaced after 8 years by the Constitution. Although, the median age for other nations constitutions is less than 10 years old the Constitution of the United States is the strong centerpiece that has held our great nation together for over 200 years. (Karlan 1) In 1643, the colonies decided that they needed to have a plan to defend themselves against any potential threats. This was the first attempt to establish government within the American Colonies. It was not until just before the colonies declared independence in 1776, that Benjamin Franklin presented “The Articles of …show more content…
The Constitution was also established by a lot of the same people as the Articles. (Epps 229) Both the Articles and the Constitution can be changed through a long process. The Articles of Confederation took a little more commitment than the Constitution, considering that all 13 states needed to agree for an amendment to be made. The Constitutional amendment process may take longer but it has a better system with only 2/3 of congress to approve. The constitution allows for amendments to be made with more ease. Although they both have a legislative branch called Congress, the Constitution has a more elaborate legislative branch with the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Articles have a more basic Congress with only one core group that made all the decisions. According to the Articles one vote was given to each of the states, while the Constitution calls for each Representative and senator to have one vote. (Feinberg 77) With the Constitution, each state has two senators and the amount of representatives depends on the
The Articles of Confederation was written in 1777 by nearly the exact same people who would later go on to write the United States Constitution. This document was meant to unify the colonies to create a sufficient government. The Articles of Confederation’s focus was to ensure that the state and local government possessed the power throughout the colonies. However, the document failed the country due to the lack of a central government because the states did not want to reestablish the type of government that England had after the Revolutionary War. The lack of bigger government caused many problems that would make each state almost look like they’re were separate.
The Constitution used the concept of a two house legislature made to satisfy both the smaller and larger states. The two chambers were the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate benefited smaller states and guaranteed that each would receive equal representation by having two representatives serve their state. The House of Representatives benefited the larger states and guaranteed representation of the state based on population. The Articles applied a unicameral legislature to their government that had one legislative chamber and left the central government with no separation of power.
(Tusan, 109). The articles quickly failed but it wasn’t replaced by the constitution until 1787, after constant changes to “perfect” it. The Constitution brought the nation together with the Preamble which states “we the people” in order to make our country come together as a whole. Trying to form a stable union was rocky for America, but with the constitution it brought that sense of stability. The constitution mapped out three branches of government.
The structure and powers of the federal government changed under the Constitution as compared to the Articles of Confederation. Many people, known as the anti-Federalists, opposed these changes while on the contrary, many people, known as the Federalists, supported them. The framework and function of the federal government changed drastically under the Constitution. The federal government was much stronger under the Constitution because it was given the power to run the states under more unified control.
Do you know about the Articles of Confederation? Do you want to learn a little about it? Well, if you said “no” to the first one and “yes” to the second one, please continue reading. The reason I am writing about Articles of Confederation was because, it was the first original constitution of the United States of America. It was written by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 during the Revolutionary War.
The Articles of Confederation were so different from the constitution. For example, The Articles of Confederation only had one branch of government called congress, while the constitution 3 branches. These branches are the Legislative branch, the Judicial branch, and the Executive branch. These
After declaring independence from Great Britain, the United States needed an established document to help unify the colonies. The Articles of Confederation was the first documented “Constitution” the Unites States ever had. The Articles of confederation was created to push for the individual states to come together and act as a one. Almost being like a rough draft, this document was a loose outline for the federal government that was meant to help defend the country from foreign attacks and promote economic growth. The weak document led to the eventual ratification that allowed the nation to adopt the new and improved Constitution.
The similarities being they both had detailed congress’ rights and duties, congressional power over the military, foundational governing documentation of the USA, and Only allowing the government to send and receive ambassadors. The differences being, that the articles laid a foundation for a confederate government, unicameral government, which required a unanimous ratification, and without a president. When the constitution took over, America gained a solid foundation for a federal government, a bicameral legislature, and a requirement of 9 states for ratification along with a presidential branch. The Constitution is made up of seven key components that separate it from anything else in the world during this time: popular sovereignty, limited government, federalism, separation of power, checks and balances, judicial review, and the ability to be amended. Because of these elements the constitution still presides over the United States.
The U.S. Constitution fixed the imbalance between the state and national government. It established Congress, which was made up of the U.S. Senate with two representatives
But beyond these general features, the two constitutions could not be more different. These differences result from the fact that the two documents arose out of very different historical circumstances and for radically opposite complaints with the document each was meant to replace. With the U.S. Constitution, the problem with the earlier Articles of Confederation was that government was too decentralized and not powerful enough. The U.S. Constitution was designed to overcome these weaknesses and offer a degree of centralization and increased government power.
The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.
Articles of Confederation vs. U.S. Constitution The Articles of the Confederation and the U.S. Constitution are two articles that where written and accepted by the United States as a foundation for their new government. They are both very important documents that have similarities and differences. Some of the main things the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution have in common is that they addressed the needs of its constituencies.
For example, the legislature in the Article was unicameral, called Congress, but the Constitution is bicameral, called Congress, divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. Next, the member of Congress in the Article is between two and seven members per state, but in the Constitution, it is two Senators per state, Representatives apportioned per population of each state. Also, in the Article there was no executive, but in the Constitution the president is the executive. Lastly, the power to coin money in the Article it was the United States and the states, but in the Constitution, it is the United States
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States that served as the first constitution. The Articles had first been introduced by Richard Henry Lee in the Second Continental Congress. Although the Articles of Confederation has made its contributions throughout history, the Articles, however, did not last very long and had been proven inadequate from the very start. I agree with this statement based on the examples and analysis of the Constitution I will soon provide. The Articles of Confederation were written during a time when the American people feared a strong national government.
The Constitution was set into motion in The United States of America in 1789. There were many important differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, most importantly how they both organized the laws. The Articles of Confederation made a legislature, different to the eventual two branch system created by the Constitution. Voting power was given to states based on committees and each state had one vote in the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution allowed one vote for each legislative representative.