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Essay On Articles Of Confederation Vs New Constitution Of 1787

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United States history is an important thing to learn about and discuss. Everyday history is being made. This historical essay covers the Articles of Confederation versus the new Constitution of 1787. It discusses the drafting of the Constitution and the Great Compromise. The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists are compared and contrasted. Articles of Confederation Drafted in stages from 1776 to 1777 but not ratified until 1781, the Articles of Confederation extended and revised the existing understanding of diffused authority and state autonomy (Cheek, 2016). Tensions arose between the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutional Convention and the Articles of Confederation assisted in easing those tensions. Allowing …show more content…

Article II affirmed that “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” (Cornell, 2013, pg 121). Delegates of the congress were chosen by state legislatures rather than by voters, there was no President and no executive branch. If an Article needed to be changed, it was very difficult because all thirteen states needed to agree. Daniel Shay leading 1,000 farmers in rebellion against Massachusetts proved that the federal Congress had no power to deal with the growing national debt. The Articles created a weak government whose ability to raise revenue, engage in military actions, and conduct diplomacy depended entirely on the goodwill of the states (Cornell, 2013, pg …show more content…

The great conflict lay between the large states of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts and the small states of Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Connecticut, which hoped to retain some vestige of the equal vote they currently enjoyed in Congress (Rakove, 1987, pg 23). Legislative voting is the reason the Constitutional Convention became deadlocked. The compromise provided for representation in the House of Representatives according to population and in the Senate by equal numbers for each state (retrieved from: https://www.jud.ct.gov/lawlib/history/Sherman.htm). Sherman’s compromise was adopted on July 16, 1787 by a vote of five states to four, and serves not only to save the crumbling convention, but provided stimulus to resolve other issues yet to be decided (retrieved from:

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This despised action caused a turning point in government at the time because of Shay’s rebellion. Thanks to Daniel Shays, whom was one of many fed up with the weak articles, they finally came to an end during the constitutional convention which was composed of representatives from each state except Rhode Island. The convention, for the most part, was all for giving the power back to the national government so the issues of taxation and foreign commerce could be better handled. This newfound power the government was about to have was going to be based off the newly written fundamental laws called the constitution. First, the convention had to decipher between two ideas about representation, the Virginia Plan or the New Jersey plan.

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had major issues that lead to exposure of problems through, what could have been, dangerous events like Shay’s Rebellion. Although crushed before it could do substantial damage to the country, this group of 300 men exposed some serious problems with the A of C. Some of these include the government not having a standing army, and the fact the the national government couldn’t levy taxes. Under the Articles, the states had these powers under the idea that a weak Federal government was best. One of the first privileges discussed was shown in Document 1 (letter from James Madison to George Washington). It is stated that “the national government should be armed with positive and complete authority in all cases which require uniformity; such as the regulation of trade, including the right of taxing both exports and imports, the fixing of terms and forms of naturalization….”

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When the Constitution was first drafted in Philadelphia, 1787, there was strong opposition to it from the supporters of the Articles of Confederation, America’s first governing document. One of the starkest Anti-Federalists, Patrick Henry, believed the Constitution was a gateway to power for tyrants, similarly, Thomas Jefferson strongly opposed the Constitution’s ratification, believing the Constitution would strip Americans of their freedoms and liberties. Despite their efforts, the Constitution was signed into law, and is now contrarily viewed as that which protects Americans’ rights. The US Constitution is a more democratic document than the Articles of Confederation because under the Articles there was no proportional representation, Americans did not directly vote for any representatives in Congress under the Articles, and the Constitution implemented federal income taxes were able to fund a government that could effectively protect the rights of American citizens.

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The debate over the Constitution created much tension throughout the new country. From problems with the Articles of Confederation, western expansion, Shay’s rebellion, problem’s at the Constitutional Convention, slave trade, and the start of the War of 1812 all created tensions over the Constitution but nothing that the greats minds of the time couldn’t handle. Initially, the Articles of Confederation were the first written constitution of the United States, drafted in 1777 and ratified four years later by Congress (Lecture). The Articles of Confederation provided for a government by a national legislature but left the crucial power of monies, as well as all final power to make and execute laws, entirely to the states (US: A Narrative History,

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Federalism is defined as, “system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government” (Cornell, n.d, para. 1). In the United States, this system forms the basis of the separation of powers that is the key to the effective governing of the nation. However, the separation of powers between a unitary government and a confederative one is not without overlapping authority as well instances where one, the federal government, can influence policy in state governments, where the latter cannot. How did this style of government come to be from the failure of the Articles of Confederation, and how does it still impact policy on the state level today?

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