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How Did The Articles Of Confederation Developed As The First Form Of Government

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In 1781, early American Revolutionaries created The Articles of Confederation as the first form of government in the new country. At this time, the Revolutionary spirit was still strong and very much alive as it floated throughout the country. The Revolutionary spirit sought freedom, plain and simple. It believed in the equality of all men and sought the most natural form of government. Americans at this point still feared an overpowering central government and wanted the states to remain sovereign. The Revolutionary spirit was embraced by many, but particularly a lower societal class made up of artisans and laborers. These revolutionaries were driven and determined to create their ideal government. The Articles appeared to be perfect however, …show more content…

Paine believed, “government even its best state is but a necessary evil.” Many of his ideas were expressed throughout the Pennsylvania Constitution Convention. Paine like many other early revolutionaries wanted the states to hold the majority of the power. Therefore, he rejected the complexities of a balanced government. Due to these ideals states often created a government with a single legislature and replaced the current governor with a “weak, veto-less and plural executive council directly elected by the people. This form of government did not contain a complexly balanced, strong, and independent executive.” This was the exact form of government many revolutionaries wanted; a government where the majority of the power rested with the people, instead of one overpowering …show more content…

Under the Articles of Confederation, “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.” The general idea was for the states to enter into a “firm league of friendship.” If the states were to remain sovereign then the people would no longer have to fear a powerful national government like Great Britain. Nevertheless, the idea of state sovereignty was not realistic and if the country wanted to remain in tact they would need a stronger central

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