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Differences Between The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution

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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. This was the first attempt to establish government within the American Colonies. It was not until just before the colonies declared independence in 1776, that Benjamin Franklin presented “The Articles of …show more content…

The Constitution was also established by a lot of the same people as the Articles. (Epps 229) Both the Articles and the Constitution can be changed through a long process. The Articles of Confederation took a little more commitment than the Constitution, considering that all 13 states needed to agree for an amendment to be made. The Constitutional amendment process may take longer but it has a better system with only 2/3 of congress to approve. The constitution allows for amendments to be made with more ease. Although they both have a legislative branch called Congress, the Constitution has a more elaborate legislative branch with the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Articles have a more basic Congress with only one core group that made all the decisions. According to the Articles one vote was given to each of the states, while the Constitution calls for each Representative and senator to have one vote. (Feinberg 77) With the Constitution, each state has two senators and the amount of representatives depends on the

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The Constitution used the concept of a two house legislature made to satisfy both the smaller and larger states. The two chambers were the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate benefited smaller states and guaranteed that each would receive equal representation by having two representatives serve their state. The House of Representatives benefited the larger states and guaranteed representation of the state based on population. The Articles applied a unicameral legislature to their government that had one legislative chamber and left the central government with no separation of power.

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The Articles of Confederation was written in 1777 by nearly the exact same people who would later go on to write the United States Constitution. This document was meant to unify the colonies to create a sufficient government. The Articles of Confederation’s focus was to ensure that the state and local government possessed the power throughout the colonies. However, the document failed the country due to the lack of a central government because the states did not want to reestablish the type of government that England had after the Revolutionary War. The lack of bigger government caused many problems that would make each state almost look like they’re were separate.

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The structure and powers of the federal government changed under the Constitution as compared to the Articles of Confederation. Many people, known as the anti-Federalists, opposed these changes while on the contrary, many people, known as the Federalists, supported them. The framework and function of the federal government changed drastically under the Constitution. The federal government was much stronger under the Constitution because it was given the power to run the states under more unified control.

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But beyond these general features, the two constitutions could not be more different. These differences result from the fact that the two documents arose out of very different historical circumstances and for radically opposite complaints with the document each was meant to replace. With the U.S. Constitution, the problem with the earlier Articles of Confederation was that government was too decentralized and not powerful enough. The U.S. Constitution was designed to overcome these weaknesses and offer a degree of centralization and increased government power.

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The US Constitution’s Survival Why did the Articles of Confederation only last 10 years while the US Constitution has lasted 225 years? The US Constitution was written in 1788 and ratified on March 4, 1789. With 27 amendments, the constitution has a flexible, versatile, and universal nature, written by the people, for the people. The constitution has lasted for over 200 years because it is adaptive, can be applied in all situations, and has a solid structure for the government. The constitution was created to change based on the country’s needs, without changing the whole structure of the country.

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The key difference between the articles of confederation were the initial agreements made by the United States in the 18th century, while the constitution represents the set of guidelines that democratic nations and organizations develop over time to to maintain law and order within their jurisdiction. “These rules were proposed by the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 after considering an alternative, providing that when two-thirds of the states called for amendment, the national legislature would ‘call a convention for that purpose’.” (Kay 2018, 244) Article V states that “the very nature of an “entrenched” constitution requires that it be harder to change than ordinary law.” This is because the constitutional decision making which should require more than a mere majority vote in the legislature. The majority's preference, therefore, can be frustrated by some minority, and the harder it is to amend, the greater will be the abridgment of the democratic power to choose the rules governing collective life.

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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.

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The Articles of Confederation was written when the United States was a fairly new country, and from the people wanting to create a different government from the king of England. Although this document respected individual rights, it was too loose of a document that could drive the country to success. After revising what they had created, the founding father of the us the created the us constitution. It was more strict, but still valued peoples rights.

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The Constitution was set into motion in The United States of America in 1789. There were many important differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, most importantly how they both organized the laws. The Articles of Confederation made a legislature, different to the eventual two branch system created by the Constitution. Voting power was given to states based on committees and each state had one vote in the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution allowed one vote for each legislative representative.

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Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution The intent the framers had of the executive was reflected in the Articles of Confederation. There were several problems with the Articles of Confederation, that Han and Heith mentioned in chapter two of “Presidents and the American Presidency, due to a lack of insight and political effectiveness. Since, the document did not allocate a head of state it caused the articles of confederation to be extremely weak. The confederation could not enforce laws, coordinate national defense, or handle foreign affairs.

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The most important difference between these documents was that the Articles of Confederation gave very little power to a central government and the Constitution created a strong central government. The Article of Confederation was written to unite states after the American Revolution. People had the fear of the government having too much power. This document established

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Do you know about the Articles of Confederation? Do you want to learn a little about it? Well, if you said “no” to the first one and “yes” to the second one, please continue reading. The reason I am writing about Articles of Confederation was because, it was the first original constitution of the United States of America. It was written by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 during the Revolutionary War.

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The U.S. Constitution fixed the imbalance between the state and national government. It established Congress, which was made up of the U.S. Senate with two representatives

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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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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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