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Compare And Contrast The Articles Of Confederation Constitution

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The late 1700s was a fresh start for The United States. After gaining independence from Britain in 1776, the newly independent colony needed unity in the face of a revolutionary war. This unity came in the form of The Articles of Confederation, which was a proto-constitution which held the different states together during the war. It was soon realized that the Articles raised more questions and created more problems than it solved- in the words of Alexander Hamilton “[The Articles of Confederation] were neither fit for war nor peace.” Given this context, the Philadelphia convention was intended to bring representatives from all states, in an attempt to amend The Articles. However, a new Constitution was drafted at this convention, which would …show more content…

People are sovereign because they are not controlled by another person. For example, someone who works for a baker in a bakery is reliant on that baker for their livelihood. Therefore, that person would be influenced by their boss for the reason of self-interest. If the employer of the baker were to vote a certain way, (ballots were not private like they are now) he could be fired. Thus, he is subservient to the baker. This ideology scared the Anti-Federalists who feared the elites would control through the people. People wouldn’t be able to express their own opinions on the public good because it could conflict with more powerful people who could wield influence on an individual’s …show more content…

Federalists didn’t see elite politicians as overtly corrupt, but rather a counterweight to the passions of the people. These men would be of the highest esteem, education, and would be able to reason which ultimately meant they could represent the people better than the common man. The Federalists argue that this higher education, along with a sense of duty. To answer the elitist concern, Madison argues “it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts, by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to center on men who possess the most attractive merit, and the most diffusive and established character” (Federalist 10, 172). In other words, the men elected won’t be worried about their own self-interest, but rather the public good and interest of society. Having the background and merit in politics, along with a higher education will allow these political actors to make good decisions regarding the public good. Madison truly believes that the people will elect be more likely to vote for men with high merit, good character, and good intentions- instead of political elites working in their own

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The constitution states that in opposition to the Articles of confederation, only ¾ of the states need

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At the end of the Revolutionary war, the former colonies were united under Articles of Confederation that loosely bound the new states into a nation. Because of disputes between the states, a constitutional convention was called to improve the Articles of Confederation. Instead of amending the Articles of Confederation, the representatives at the convention decided to create an entirely new document, the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution established a form of government that balanced power between three branches of government and provided for self-governing states. The Federalists were a political group who supported the Constitution.

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The Articles of Confederation created a confederation in the United States. A confederation is a government in which the state government, not national, has dominant power. The leaders of the new nation feared that a strong, centralized government would lead to tyrannical monarchy like the British government. So the Founding Fathers established a confederation where there was no president nor Supreme court, and a Congress with limited power. But the existence of a weak congress led to an ineffective national government.

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There are several differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. One difference is the government under the Constitution has the power to levy taxes. There were serious financial problems under the Articles of Confederation. Because the government couldn’t tax, we had trouble paying our debts. When the Constitution went into effect, a tax plan was developed.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first governing document of the United States. The idea of a central and coordinated effort for the colonies (or states, as they had become) was deemed necessary and beneficial in light of the Revolutionary War. The environment in which it was written, however, ensured its lim-ited power and in effect created a weak system of government. The Articles fostered many achievements, such as creating a central body to conduct foreign policy, estab-lishment of the departments of war, treasury and marine, as well as the national postal system. But their inadequacy in regulating the economy, establishing a fair system of representation, and (chiefly) ability to fund the authorities they were

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In 1787, representatives met to consider the failings of government and to scrap the Articles of Confederation to concentrate on beginning once again. Three plans would be created: the Virginia Plan, which supported the expansive states, the New Jersey Plan for the little states, and the Great Compromise, which would profit both the extensive and little states. Each one plan would likewise impact the cutting edge American legislature. To begin off, one can take a gander at Madison's unique thought, the Virginia Plan.

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After reading the comparison of the U.S. Constitution and the Articles of Confederation it seems that the two documents were trying to endorse freedom to me. When comparing the Articles and the Constitution people realize that it was full of drawbacks, then after of while they had answers for all the drawbacks they had. The Articles of Confederation was blame for the actual evidences that the powers are in the hands of the state government and left no major powers for the national government. The Constitution made the provision for executive and judicial branches of the government; to some degree in the Articles of Confederation something didn’t go smooth. The federal government wants for the states authorization to raise an army as per the

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On March 1, 1781 The Articles of Confederation were adopted at the Capital of York, Pennsylvania (“Article of Confederation Adopted”). These articles led up to a big part of history. They led up to the Constitution to become a part of our state in government. The committee of 13 men was the ones who had decided to adopt all of the articles.

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Millions of people died during the revolutionary war. After the U.S won they created a national government called the Articles of Confederation. The government was a government where the federal government didn’t have much power. People like Ben Franklin and James Madison realized it wasn’t working and they created a new government called the Constitution. The replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution was necessary for the U.S to thrive and survive.

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Created in 1789, the Constitution was the final piece in making the United States official. Starting off with the famous “We the people”, this document protects citizens’ rights, gives the branches of government their power, and is used as a reference when creating laws. The first technical constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation, which was lacking in many areas and was defective. The Constitution we have now focuses on the rights of the individual, and is referred to quite often to determine if an act is constitutional or not; however, it didn’t start off that way.

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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.

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The Articles of Confederation were written, ratified, and put into power in the years 1781-1789. The Articles of Confederation served as a written plan of government for the newly united 13 colonies. This gave the states a strong government power with a weak central government. This is because most colonists still had the idea that a strong central power for government would turn into a tyranny just like Great Britain. However, the Articles of Confederation failed due to many problems in the early colonies.

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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.

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The events of the American Revolution affirmed the colonists’ anxieties over an inordinately centralized government that infringed on their natural rights and autonomy. Such rights were inalienable since they belonged to each individual on account of the laws of nature, and could not be taken away without consent. After the Revolution, the colonists adopted the Articles of Confederation to grant the states considerable sovereignty. Unfortunately, the Articles precipitated a new set of problems in creating a weak federal government with a limited role in enforcing the law and maintaining unity between the states. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 addressed these and other issues by establishing a new government that asserted the Constitution

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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.

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