ipl-logo

Cause And Effect Of The Article Of Confederation

704 Words3 Pages

The continental congress adopted the article of confederation, the first constitution of the United States, whose purpose was to create a confederation of states. To this effect, the Articles were purposely written to keep the national government as weak as possible. However, there were many problems that soon became apparent as the Articles took effect. A pivotal event in American history, the article of confederation was a cause for the creation of the constitution of America. A document signed amongst the thirteen original colonies that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. Drafted by a committee by the second continental congress on July 22, 1776 then ratified by all 13 states in early 1777. The article went into effect on March 1, 1781 and lasted until March 4, 1789 when they were replaced by the US Constitution. During the time the article created a weak central government that somewhat prevented the individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy. For one the national government could not force the states to obey the laws, since it took the consent of nine of the thirteen states to approve legislation. This meant that blocking a bill took only five of the thirteen states. The five leased Delaware, …show more content…

Only the states had the authority to impose taxes and raise revenue. Accordingly, Congress had to request for funds from the states. Eventually the states couldn’t raise enough money or given to the national government long after it was due. Without payment from the states, Congress struggled to pay off America’s foreign debts and was incapable of fulfilling its other tasks, such as managing foreign affairs. Not knowing how much and when states were going to pay their share severely handicapped an already-limited national government. The result was a disorganized economy that lacked the ability to pay for

Show More
Related
360 Words | 2 Pages

In 1781, The Articles of Confederation was created and became the first United States Constitution. It created the first government structure for the 13 colonies. Some of the flaws were that Congress did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, there was no national court system, in Congress, each state only had one vote, and any changes to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote, no common currency. The U.S. had to replace it because the states were arguing amongst themselves and their needed to be some form of unity. Many of the stated also did not want to help the national government financially.

Read More
1432 Words | 6 Pages

According to Article II in the Articles of Confederation,” 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.” Overall, the federal government had very little power due to paranoia and the states’ government had too much power, which gave them too many privileges. It was not made as a permanent government; it was made for a temporary fix during the American Revolution. It was a very unfitting, unsustainable government. America would not have lasted on that government at all.

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

The Articles of Confederation was the first approved written constitution of the United States of America. Originally written by John Dickinson, the Articles were heavily revised by congress before they were accepted. Dickinson was an American statesman who studied law in England at the Middle Temple and represented the state of Pennsylvania in the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. The Articles were written out of necessity, as the infant nation of America would need a working government if it was to succeed. The goal in writing the Articles was to create the foundation of a capable government, while allocating most of the power to the people and to the states.

Read More
263 Words | 2 Pages

As it applies to the Articles of Confederation there were many weaknesses in the way it went about governing the United States. For one, the loose federation of the states was too weak to act as a foundation to be considered or act as a central government. In addition the state legislatures had too much power and in turn had the ability to influence economic issues of all kinds. This strong legislature is the same one that allowed for mob ruling and actions by debtors. The Articles of confederation were also weak because the required congress to have all 13 colonies in agreement when a new tax was to be passed.

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
724 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
569 Words | 3 Pages

The Articles of Confederation is the first written laws of the United States, “Article I The style of this confederacy shall be, “The United States of America.” The original thirteen states sought to create a governing law that would allow the states to maintain their freedom and independents, allowing Congress to have the final say in political disputes between states. Congress was appointed the governing body, having authority on foreign matters, trade agreements, forging alliances and overseeing the military. Missing from the Articles of Confederation was the making of a judicial governing body.

Read More
345 Words | 2 Pages

The Articles of Confederation were created for the basic rights of citizens. The Constitution was needed so it could establish fundamental laws. There were a lot of people that participated to create the U.S Constitution. During the Second Continental Congress in 1776, there was a draft by a committee headed by John Dickinson, a statesman. The revised draft, adopted by the Continental Congress on Nov. 15, 1777, called for a government that theoretically possessed many powers but was actually subordinate to the states.

Read More
460 Words | 2 Pages

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the Americas. The Articles served as a written document that established the national government. The Articles were created to help the colonists when they were fighting for independence from Great Britain. The Articles gave the colonies a sense of a united government. But soon the Articles started to fail.

Read More
611 Words | 3 Pages

The Articles of Confederation Introduction The Articles of Confederation is a document that was signed by the thirteen original colonies of the United States and officially ratified in 1781. It served as the first constitution of the United States, and it lays out the organization of the fledgling republic. Along with the Declaration of Independence, it is one of the most important documents in American history. The Articles of Confederation had its flaws, but it is still an important document that set the framework for the government of the United States.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

The Articles of Confederation, which were proposed and produced by John Dickinson and accepted as a governmental foundation plan by the Continental Congress in 1781 became Congress’ first effort to unify the newly founded country in economic and political strength through the use of a universal constitution for all of the states that stated the country’s liberty and gave certain rights to each individual state. During the early post-revolution era in America, states were advised by Congress to begin establishing state governments with written constitutions as a foundational structure in which there were almost no regulations or political structure. Many states began their constitutions by stating their “unalienable rights” which usually included the freedom of speech, religion, assembly, petition, the right to bear arms, and the right to equal protection under state

Read More
1115 Words | 5 Pages

The Articles of Confederation did not provide the new nation with an effective government from 1781-1789. The Articles of Confederation was created by Benjamin Franklin and was approved by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. The purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to create a central government. The central government under the Articles consisted of the Confederation Congress, which was the only branch of government, and their job was to pass laws. Although it was a national government, it had little power over the people since it was created to be weaker than the state governments because people feared an overpowering national government.

Read More
1013 Words | 5 Pages

“When the framers of the Constitution met in 1787, they set out to establish a political system that would protect liberty and place limits on government.” (Ginsberg, 28). In 1777, the Continental Congress acquired the first written constitution, the Articles of Confederation, for the United States, only to be replaced by the Constitution around ten years later, due to the weaknesses found in the Articles. Although the Articles were required in 1777, they were not ratified at that year, “it was not ratified by all the states until 1781.”(Ginsberg, 35). Under the Articles of Confederation, the states had more power than the central government.

Read More
1033 Words | 5 Pages

They hoped to create a better government. The Constitution replaced the Article of Confederation permanently in March 4, 1789. The Constitution created checks and balances between the three branches. It also, established the Bill of Rights, and the first ten amendments of the constitution. The Constitution had to be ratified by at least nine states out of thirteen.

Read More
494 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Cause And Effect Of The Article Of Confederation

Related Topics

Open Document