More handpicked essays just for you.
Comparisons the articles of confederation and constitution
Comparing the articles of confederation and constitution
Articles of confederation conclution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Why did the Framers of the United States ultimately decide to give more power to the Federal Government rather than the state governments? There were many problems and weaknesses with the Articles of Confederation. Some of the weaknesses was that congress did not have the power to tax, couldn’t regulate trade between the states or foreign countries. They had no National court system, the articles could not be amended without the commitment of all 13 colonies. Despite all the problems and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation there were some good things about it or “strengths”, like it created the first official government of the United States, and the state had no authority to tax or regulate state-to-state trade.
The problem was that the existing government, under the Articles of Confederation wasn't doing the job. It was too weak. There overall goal was to create a strong-central government without letting anyone gaining much power. Federalism Federalism is a compound republic, meaning it is made up of two governments. It is between two distinct governments which are subdivided into separate departments.
“The accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny. ”-James Madison. Fifty-five delegates, from the thirteen states, met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to discuss and revise the Articles of Confederation. The chief executive and the representatives worked to create a frame for what is now our Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways; Federalism that creates a State and Federal government, Separation of Powers that gives equal power to the three branches, Checks and Balances that create balance in the three branches by checking each other and being checked and the Small States vs the Big States ensures an equal voice for all states no matter what their size.
How the Constitution Blocks Tyranny Imagine having someone tell you that you must go to school seven days a week, for ten hours, and with a fifteen-minute lunch period. This is something that could happy if we did not have a constitution. The Constitution is a document that embodies the rules and laws of the United States. It divides the power of the government into three branches; the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
The democratic principles, civil liberties, and separation of the federal and state governments present in the modern-day Constitution can all be traced back to the Articles. The purpose of the Articles in the course of American history, unknown to be at the time, was to serve as a rough draft of sorts to the Constitution, and though it did not succeed in its goal to found a capable government, it was a necessary step in reaching it. It is also worth noting that the Articles were completed during wartime, and the powers that were delegated to the federal government, being the ability to maintain an army and navy, take charge of foreign affairs, and manage Indian affairs, reflect this. The Articles of Confederation was made in haste and out of necessity, and the fact that in addition to this it was also the first attempt at a government made by the colonists and still managed to lay the groundwork for the future of the county stands as testament to the talent of those who wrote
Did the Constitution create a “more perfect Union?” After the American Revolution and The Declaration of Independence, America’s established its core government with the document known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles possessed many structural weaknesses, mostly because it allowed states to operate like independent countries. The Articles of Confederation set up a government that consisted of a one-house body of delegates in which each state having a single vote. Acting collectively, these delegates could make decisions on certain issues that affected all the states.
“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.
As it applies to the Articles of Confederation there were many weaknesses in the way it went about governing the United States. For one, the loose federation of the states was too weak to act as a foundation to be considered or act as a central government. In addition the state legislatures had too much power and in turn had the ability to influence economic issues of all kinds. This strong legislature is the same one that allowed for mob ruling and actions by debtors. The Articles of confederation were also weak because the required congress to have all 13 colonies in agreement when a new tax was to be passed.
Noah Stevens Professor James Maggio POS 1041 30 September 2016 Over three-hundred years ago The United States had to quickly make a constitution, and decided upon the Articles of Confederation. The United States started out like an experiment for the World. This experiment was what our Government will become, there was not a defined path on what our future will behold. The path to present day for The United States was a rough one, but the experiment turned out to be a success in the end.
The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. Such flaws would eventually lead to the Constitution and the repeal of the articles, for the Constitution was a measure to fix the problems of the articles with a stronger government that allowed them to impose taxes and and implement new laws for a more effective government.
After the Articles of Confederation failed because they failed to give enough power to the national government and congress, our founding father’s needed to reflect on its flaws for a new system to be set in place. Their new creation, our Constitution, was then set into place, and was created from a basis of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation directly influence the Constitution by its failure by changing some of the responsibilities of the federal and state governments. The Articles of Confederation gave too much power to the states, and the Constitution changed that.
Tyranny is when too much power is in the hands of one, a few, or the majority. Some prime examples of tyranny is when King George III was in power of great britain, the Khmer Rouge and the cambodian genocide, or slavery in the 1800s. Tyranny is even happening today with Kim jong un in north korea. The US Constitution guards against tyranny to protect our country and its people.
The Virginia Plan The Virginia Plan aimed to replace the Articles of Confederation at the Constitutional Convention. Increasing the power of the government, one the main goals of Virgina Plan concerned many delegates. In retaliation, delegates introduced the New Jersey Plan. The New Jersey aimed to preserve the rights laid out in the Articles of Confederation.
In one hand, the Articles of Confederation had a weak central government, differing form the strong central government in the Constitution. The Constitution’s government had a structure of three different branches; the legislative, executive, and judicial branch; unlike the Articles of Confederation that had no structure whatsoever. The Articles of Confederation had many problems like, the poor international trade, poor foreign relations and a weak economy in contrast to the Constitution that only had one problem, the struggle over the ratification. the Articles of Confederation achieved the Northwest Ordinance and the Northwest Territory and according to a history website, the Constitution achieved that we had a system of checks and balances, that we had a bill of rights, and, eventually, the survival of a bloody civil war intact. Lastly, the Constitution had three compromises: the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Slave Trade compromise.
The Articles of Confederation maintained the principle that the national government would not hold more power than the states, which they saw as sovereign. This did satisfy the fears and questions
