Differences Between The Constitution And The Articles Of Confederation

Following British General Charles Cornwallis’ surrender at the Battle of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War, the United States, now no longer under British rule, was in dire need of a new government. Consequently, the Articles of Confederation government was formed in November of 1777, and was finally ratified by the states in 1781. The Articles of Confederation created a loose alignment of sovereign states, where the central government was incredibly weak, with almost no powers. After Shay’s rebellion, in which a group of farmers revolted against the over taxation and underrepresentation of those on the American frontier, and the subsequent failure of the government to do anything, a new, stronger government was created in the form of the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution is a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation because of it centralized the

The government could request tax money from states, but that was the extent of their power with taxes. Because of the citizens’ fears that a government with the power to tax would end up terrorizing them, similar to how the English government did, the Articles of Confederation was created to purposely be weak in this regard. Conversely, the federal government under the Constitution was granted taxation, but only as a concurrent power, meaning that both the federal and the state governments hold the power of taxation. In the newly-made Constitution, taxation was granted because the federal government had no other way to raise money in case there was ever a dire emergency in which funds were urgently needed. The power of taxation is so significant because of the experiences of the citizens, and how they were taxed without representation to raise money. For them to create a strong, central government with the power to tax shows radical