How Did The Articles Of Confederation Influence The Development Of Government

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Section B - Question 2 America’s Development in Government After declaring independence, the newly formed United States of America was challenged with the task of making a reliable government. The Second Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation were the first two attempts at the new governments, but there were many flaws in the system. The founders wanted to improve the rules by making changes to the structure of government. Their views on human nature affected the making of the government. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were the results of the founders' struggles. The Second Continental Congress was given the task to create a government for the new colonies. The Articles of Confederation were the first attempt at …show more content…

It was approved by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and signed in 1781. The Articles created a weak central government, with most of the power in the state governments. The main governing was Congress, which had limited power. The states were required to cooperate with each other but were not required to listen to Congress. This meant that there was no real national government. There were several disadvantages to the Articles of Confederation. One was that Congress did not have the power to tax. This meant that the government could not raise money to pay for things like national defense. Another disadvantage was that the states were not required to listen to any of Congress’s decisions. This led to a lot of confusion and made it difficult to get anything done. Despite its disadvantages, the Articles of Confederation did have some benefits. One was that it allowed the states to keep a lot of power. This made the states happy, and they were more likely to work with the federal government. Another benefit was that it prevented the national government from becoming too powerful. This was an issue for the Founding Fathers, who had just fought a war to escape the tyranny of the British government. In 1787, the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia to try to readjust the Articles of Confederation. They ended up making a new Constitution, which created a stronger central government. The Constitution gave Congress the power to tax, and it also made the states required to follow Congress’s decisions. This made the government much more effective, but it also made it more