Compare And Contrast The Articles Of Confederation

he Articles of Confederation were not a sufficient set of principles for the fledgling United States to rely upon. The main discussion point of the Articles of Confederation was how much power a new government should have, which was something that many disagreed on. The sole branch of government was the legislative branch, which made compelling states to follow laws difficult, if not impossible. Additionally, there were tensions between larger and smaller states over the value of their one vote in Congress, which had not been addressed yet by the Articles of Confederation. As such, the United States Constitution was a profoundly radical departure from the previous resolution of the Articles of Confederation for a multitude of causes. Among

In this clause of the Constitution, Congress asserted their right to create any laws deemed “necessary and proper.” This shocked free-willed Americans, many of whom were accustomed to an intentionally weak government that allowed them to rule themselves as their states once did. The “elastic” clause told the nation, “The Congress shall have Power ... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers.” In other words, Congress could draft a bill for any matter, even if it was not mentioned in the Constitution—hence, the clause was elastic. In creating this clause, the newly-established federal government gained the strength to monitor new aspects of citizens’ daily lives. In essence, the United States government attained an unprecedented amount of power with an all-encompassing clause of the Constitution, because it granted them the right to draft a law on virtually

Thus, the executive branch’s creation was an advantage of the Constitution, as Washington could rally men from multiple states to end a direct revolt against the government—unlike in Shays’ Rebellion. Therefore, the Constitution strengthened the federal government’s powers by extending more of its authority over citizens. Enclosure of the executive branch within the Constitution was a profound, yet necessary departure from the laxness of the Articles of Confederation. A notable change in the Constitution from the Articles of Confederation was the authorization of a bicameral house, as the legislative branch was previously unicameral. The Connecticut—also known as “Great”—Compromise pointed out varying levels of representation each state held during the Articles of Confederation. The Compromise allotted Congress