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Articles Of Confederation In 1781 And The Drafting Of The Constitution In 1787

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The period between the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and the drafting of the new Constitution in 1787 was one of weakness, dissension and turmoil. Under the Articles of Confederation, no provisions were made for an executive branch to enforce the laws nor for a national court system to interpret them. A legislative Congress was the sole organ of the national government, but it had no power to force the states to do anything against their will. It could declare war and raise an army, but it could not force any state to meet its assigned quota for troops or for the arms and equipment needed to support them. It looked to the states for the income needed to finance its activities, but it could not punish a state for not contributing its share of the federal budget. Control of taxation and tariffs was left to the states, and each state could issue its own currency. The result was virtual chaos. Without the power to collect taxes, the federal government plunged into debt. Seven of the 13 states printed large quantities of paper money, high in face value but low in real purchasing power, in order to pay veteran soldiers and a variety of creditors, and to settle debts between small farmers and large plantation owners. …show more content…

The states could say, as had the federal superintendent of finance, that "our public credit is gone." To compound their problems, the newly independent states, having separated violently from England, no longer received favored treatment at British ports. When Ambassador John Adams tried to negotiate a commercial treaty in 1785, the British refused on the grounds that the individual states would not be bound by it. The British were also angered by the failure of Americans to pay for property confiscated during the

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Document A: The Rhode Island Assembly wrote a letter to the Congress, addressing them that they don’t agree with placing taxes on imported goods. The Congress wanted to place taxes on imported goods as a source of income, but first, all of the states had to agree with this. This was around the time when the Articles of Confederation were ratified. Their central government was based on the Articles of Confederation; yet, they had weaknesses in some areas. Taxing was one of their weaknesses.

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The limited powers of the United States central government under the Articles of Confederation, exemplified by events like Shays' Rebellion, significantly influenced the development of the Constitution between 1777 and 1789, leading to the creation of a stronger and more centralized federal government. This transition from a weak and decentralized government to a more powerful federal authority was a direct response to the challenges and shortcomings experienced under the Articles of Confederation. The period from 1777 to 1789 was marked by the aftermath of the American Revolution and the formation of a new nation. The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1777, established a decentralized government with limited powers given to the central authority. However, this system of government faced numerous challenges, including economic instability, lack of national defense, and difficulties in implementing policies.

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Congress did not possess the ability to tax and states were not willing to give money to support the government of their own free will. Congress did not have the ability to regulate exchange of business between foreign countries or between the states. This combined with each state printing its own form of money led to an extremely unstable economy. Congress quickly realized that an executive branch was needed in order to inforce the acts they passed; unfortunately it may have been realized too late. In western Massachusetts between 1786 and 1787 a slew of protests arose from local farmers who were opposed to the state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt.

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The Articles of Confederation that was adopted in 1781 provided information about the numerous injustices and events that had led the American colonists to create the document as well as their desire to become independent from Britain. The contract had declared their new self-ruling and centralized government form, however, problems began to arise soon after its initiation. Under the Articles, each state only had one vote in regardless of their size, the government lacked a national army for protection nor could the national government enforce laws and there was no chief executive in charge of the country at the time due to the fear of monarchy. The Articles also resulted in no power to control interstate trade, which allowed states to put

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The article of confederations had many weaknesses, congress did not have enough power under the articles, the states had more power than national government, and the fear many people held of the national government having too much power. The constitution of 1787 was an attempt to resolve the weakness of the articles of confederation. James Madison was an important political thinker. He questioned sovereignty and limiting power. Madison’s answer was that power at all levels of government, was decided upon by the people, therefor the federal government and state government were both sovereign ( Brinkley, 165).

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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.

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The working farmers who were incept to pay their debts were then sent to prisons and would not be released from until the debts have been paid off. In response, the Massachusetts state legislation provided their insight on this crisis. However, their response was inadequate as it only raised taxes. America: A Narrative History states: “There the trouble was not too much paper money but too little, as well as high taxation.”

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The Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, and it is safe to say that everything went downhill from there. The government was unrestricting and ineffectual during that time and we are not allowed to blame them. Any government was needed, however, that government was not very operative. They had no provision for an Executive Branch or National Court System and were not able to force the states to do anything.

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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.

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After the 13 colonies had declared independence from Britain and King George, they were quick to draft their own constitution. Most of which was inspired by Enlightenment thinkers and their philosophies, like those of John Locke, Montesquieu, and copious amount of more. The Articles of Confederation first drafted in the year 1777, but was not ratified until 1781. Nonetheless, this was quickly changed when people realized that the Articles of Confederation was ineffective. Therefore, it was replaced and led to the Constitution to be drafted.

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One of the things that was happening was the government was printing paper money that was essentially worthless. The money was being printed only because the Government promised to redeem the bills with money from future taxes. The Legislatures were not

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The Articles of Confederation were approved on November 1777, which left many constraints on the federal government. The people were so worried about corruption, that they left the government powerless on all affairs, including foreign relations, military, Indian issues, and interstate disputes. In addition it denied Congress the power of taxation, the states were supposed to donate money to the government, which rarely occured. Each state had only one vote in Congress, but could send as many as seven delegates or as few as two, but if they divided equally on an issue the state lost its vote. There was not a President or independent executive and no veto over legislate decisions.

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The Articles of Confederation was the first Constitution for the states as a whole (each state had their own by this time), but it was written in a manner that assigned duties, but not so much as to give sweeping power and risk a totalitarian government. Under the Articles of Confederation, the colonies were a “League of Friendship” and not a truly functioning government (Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, p. 546). The sovereignty of the states and people were front and center, but this created an issue for the function and decision making ability of the Congress. As written by Alexander Hamilton to James Duane, 3 Sept. 1780, this makes “our union feeble and precarious.” The Articles limited the functionality of the Congress

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The ratification of the constitution was a long process that required trial and error. It all began with The Articles of Confederation. This was the first constitution of the United states that was implemented shortly after the Revolutionary War. At the time, America was not confident on what type of government they sought. For one, the Articles provided the country with a functioning government, but were unable to enforce many laws.

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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.

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