ipl-logo

Articles Of Confederation Essay

537 Words3 Pages

Our founding fathers adopted the Articles of Confederation as the first constitution of the United States, shortly after gaining independence from Great Britain. The Articles basically established how the federal government would function free of British rule. What the founding fathers failed to see or forecast were the potential issues that came about shortly after the Articles were ratified by the states. The Articles did not give the federal government much power as people at the time were afraid of a powerful central government. The new government was unable to impose any laws or levy taxes on the colonies as each was independent. In short, the articles resulted in a weak central government with most of the power left at the state level. Most of the leaders, including George Washington and Alexander Hamilton realized that a stronger national government was essential, (Wilson, DiIulio, JR & Bose, 2012) and so in May 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles in hopes that a compromise could be achieved. They had the same goals and objectives they had in 1776, which was the protection of life, and …show more content…

Madison arrived at the meeting with a comprehensive plan for a new national government (Wilson, DiIulio, JR & Bose, 2012). The plan, presented to the delegates by Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph, in the form of fifteen resolutions became known as the Virginia Plan. Madison proposed a central government organized into a legislative branch, an executive branch, a judicial branch, and a two-house legislature system (Wilson, DiIulio, JR & Bose, 2012). The plan’s key resolutions proposed a national legislature with supreme powers on all matters that the states were not competent to act upon, as well as the power to abolish any, and all state laws, and at least one house of the legislature would be elected directly by the people (Wilson, DiIulio, JR & Bose,

Show More
Related
581 Words | 3 Pages

Unit 3 Initial Writing Task In the aftermath of the successful American Revolution, the Founding Fathers were given the responsibility of creating a new national government for their newly independent nation, the United States of America. Fearing the oppressive capabilities of a strong government as a result of their struggles with Great Britain, the Founding Fathers initially decided to create a weaker central government called the Articles of Confederation. Before long, the Founding Fathers discerned that the Articles of Confederation were failing. An enduring issue which connects to this time period in United States history is the enduring issue of “conflict” because there was a plethora of conflicts created by the weakness of the Articles, as evidenced by documents 1 and 2.

Read More
599 Words | 3 Pages

Once the American Revolution had ended, America required a new form of government to happen. November of 1777, the Continental Congress accepted the first American Constitution known as the Articles of Confederation. Shortly after the Articles were confirmed by the states in 1781, multiple problems started to arise that provided the United States with an ineffective government from 1781 all the way to 1789. They were not able to address any of the problems dealing with the American Nation due to the lacking features of the government under the Articles. Moreover, the Articles presented each state with too much power that lead to a loose confederation creating a limited power to the central government.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

In the year 1787, in the United States, the constitutional convention meet to solve the problems from the original constitution, the articles of confederation. There goal was to either write a new constitution, or amend the original constitution with a stronger central government. When the convention first started, the representatives from Virginia took a leading role and proposed the first plan, known as the Virginia Plan. With this plan, it was proposed that the articles of confederation be completely replaced with a new constitution. Many states opposed this plan and the representatives from New Jersey proposed a new plan, known as the New Jersey Plan.

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

In 1777, the Continental Congress drafted the first constitution, known as the Articles of Confederation. These articles formed a loose confederation of the thirteen states as opposed to a strong and unified country. Due to that, the government soon began facing numerous difficulties under the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, there was only an unicameral governing body without any separation of powers. Likewise, since the majority of the power resided in the states, the central government was quite feeble.

Read More
416 Words | 2 Pages

Overview: The Articles of Confederation written by the second continental congress, came in effect on March 1, 1781, was the first constitution of the United States. The articles established a weak central government which led the states having more power and creating conflict. The Articles of Confederation lacked the power of trade and commerce, states had separate currencies, and even different militias. Although the Articles of Confederation were scraped, it became a learning point and the basis of our constitution that has lasted over 200 years and counting.

Read More
1044 Words | 5 Pages

After making the Declaration of Independence, the United States had to make a new form of government. The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution. States were afraid of the government being tyrants, so they decided to make their own rules. Without a proper government, there was total mayhem between the states, and the Articles of Confederation failed. At the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, the delegates meant to

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

The democratic principles, civil liberties, and separation of the federal and state governments present in the modern-day Constitution can all be traced back to the Articles. The purpose of the Articles in the course of American history, unknown to be at the time, was to serve as a rough draft of sorts to the Constitution, and though it did not succeed in its goal to found a capable government, it was a necessary step in reaching it. It is also worth noting that the Articles were completed during wartime, and the powers that were delegated to the federal government, being the ability to maintain an army and navy, take charge of foreign affairs, and manage Indian affairs, reflect this. The Articles of Confederation was made in haste and out of necessity, and the fact that in addition to this it was also the first attempt at a government made by the colonists and still managed to lay the groundwork for the future of the county stands as testament to the talent of those who wrote

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

The Constitution of 1879 established the United States national government and its underlying laws, which guaranteed its people their basic rights. Compared to our first governing document, the Articles of Confederation was weak and the national government allowed states to operate like independent countries which caused the division among the original colonies. When it was evident the Articles of Confederation was not necessarily the best option a new constitution was conceived. At the 1787 convention, delegates planed on creating a stronger federal government which would bring a solution for the country. This new constitution would contain three the branches; executive, legislative and judicial where the power would be divided equally.

Read More
585 Words | 3 Pages

Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. Such flaws would eventually lead to the Constitution and the repeal of the articles, for the Constitution was a measure to fix the problems of the articles with a stronger government that allowed them to impose taxes and and implement new laws for a more effective government.

Read More
639 Words | 3 Pages

Many people would say that the Articles of Confederation is a disaster. I agree that the Articles of Confederation is a failure and needs to be revised or replaced completely. These 13 colonies are more like 13 different countries. Every state has their own currency. The Government currently has very limited power over the states.

Read More
169 Words | 1 Pages

The Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, was adopted in 1777 and provided a framework for the government. However, the weaknesses became apparent soon after its adoption, as it was unable to address several significant problems. One of the main problems is that it was unable to address the lack of a strong central government. Under the articles, the national government had limited power and was unable to effectively regulate commerce, collect taxes, or maintain an army. This made it difficult for the national government to address issues such as the financial crisis and the threat of invasion from foreign powers.

Read More
1117 Words | 5 Pages

Zachary Gertner Midterm Essay 1 The United States adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union in November of 1777, as the first written constitution. The Articles of Confederation established a fairly weak central government. It listed the powers that would be given to the Federal Government such as ability to declare war, establish treaties, levy taxes, assured citizens that they had the right to travel freely from state to state, etc. It turned over all rights not exclusively given to the Federal Government to the States.

Read More
1065 Words | 5 Pages

The first attempt of the Continental Congress to establish a new government was with the establishment of the Articles of Confederation which proved to be a weak form of government. It gave too much power to the state government, and as a result the U.S. Constitution was established in the year 1787. The Articles of Confederation was established in November 1777 and was the United State’s first written constitution. The Articles of Confederation had no intentions in forming a strong government, so its main concern was limiting the powers of the national government.

Read More
1023 Words | 5 Pages

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are vastly different, yet both exhibit what was scene as essential to the success of the nation when they each were written and enacted. It is no doubt that the Articles of Confederation were weak, otherwise citizens and legislative bodies would still be answering to them. However, the Articles served as the nation’s first constitution during the Revolutionary War, of which the United States was the victor. Therefore, despite the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, both documents are essential to American history and the progress of this country. At the time of ratification in 1781, and well before that, the Articles of Confederation were established to

Read More

More about Articles Of Confederation Essay

Open Document