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Origins Of American Government

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Origins of American Government Since over the past several centuries, there have been many historical documents that have influenced and are key in the American Government we have today. The Magna Carta, Petition of Right, English Bill of Rights, Two Treatises on Civil Government, The Social Contract, Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, and The Articles of Confederation are all documents that have, in their own and/or similar way, shaped the American Government. First, the Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum (the Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215. The Magna Carta established the beginning of limited government, or the belief that the monarch’s rule was not absolute. …show more content…

It was a theory that originated during the Enlightenment, that addresses questions of the origin of society and the quality of the authority of the state over the individual. According to the Social Contract Theory, without a government, people live in complete freedom and man will ever be at war, so to avoid that man gives up their rights to a government that has order (however, later with John Locke, it’s said that we keep our natural rights). With this in mind, government is created because of people’s approval, not divine right, meaning that instead of monarchy there is democracy. This is where the U.S. Constitution is influenced. There is now a set of checks and balances that protect the people’s natural rights in today’s American …show more content…

The D.O.I. was a legal document that announced to the world the reasons that led the 13 Colonies to separate from the British Empire and instead form a new nation of their own. “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, is a phrase stated in the D.O.I., which is well known, suggesting that the whole purpose of “Government” is to secure the people’s rights. The D.O.I. explains the value of equality as well. The ideal of equality has influenced the course of American History and the development of our Government. Lastly, in the years that it lasted from 1776-1787, the Articles of confederation was in use. It was the first document to govern the U.S. Voting laws increased political power among a new middle class: allowed more participation (1 vote). Eventually, it was soon that the document would hit rock bottom because it didn’t have a strong national government. However, it influenced today’s Government in that voting rights have increased and the rise of the middle

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The Articles of Confederation provided the United States with a predominantly ineffective government that could not deal with problems at home and abroad. The country was unable to regulate commerce and effectively deal with foreign nations from 1781 to 1789. Although there were some advantages to the first constitution, the issues caused by the document greatly outweighed the benefits. The Articles of Confederation limited America’s ability to deal problems within its own borders and with foreign nations.

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The Constitution, the foundation of American society. In May 1787, 55 delegates made their way to Philadelphia for a Constitutional Convention. At that time the Articles of Confederation were being used in the United States, however, they simply weren’t working. While under the Articles of Confederation, there was no court system, no chief executive, and not a single way to force the states to pay taxes. The nation needed an improved constitution, creating a stronger central government that would keep the nation together.

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The Articles of Confederation was the first standard government created in the United States, yet unsuccessful. The Articles failure made it clear that a new government was needed to secure the nation. The

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Once the American Revolution had ended, America required a new form of government to happen. November of 1777, the Continental Congress accepted the first American Constitution known as the Articles of Confederation. Shortly after the Articles were confirmed by the states in 1781, multiple problems started to arise that provided the United States with an ineffective government from 1781 all the way to 1789. They were not able to address any of the problems dealing with the American Nation due to the lacking features of the government under the Articles. Moreover, the Articles presented each state with too much power that lead to a loose confederation creating a limited power to the central government.

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In 1781, The Articles of Confederation was created and became the first United States Constitution. It created the first government structure for the 13 colonies. Some of the flaws were that Congress did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, there was no national court system, in Congress, each state only had one vote, and any changes to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote, no common currency. The U.S. had to replace it because the states were arguing amongst themselves and their needed to be some form of unity. Many of the stated also did not want to help the national government financially.

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The Articles of Confederation (A.o.C.) were the most influential in the development of American political values beacuse they paved the way for the goverment established in modern day America. The A.o.C. did this by allowing the public to vote for representititves in Congress and Limiting the power of the central goverment. By letting the public vote, they formed a reprsenetitive goverment. This allowed the canidate who was most appeling to the public eye and who most of the people thought would do a good job to "lead" the country. However, because they limited the power of the goverment, the president was not allowed to pass a law without approvemnt by Congress.

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Overview: The Articles of Confederation written by the second continental congress, came in effect on March 1, 1781, was the first constitution of the United States. The articles established a weak central government which led the states having more power and creating conflict. The Articles of Confederation lacked the power of trade and commerce, states had separate currencies, and even different militias. Although the Articles of Confederation were scraped, it became a learning point and the basis of our constitution that has lasted over 200 years and counting.

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The Articles of Confederation were the first document created after the American Revolution. The Articles of Confederation were problematic for the nation because they gave to much power to the states. For instance, the articles did not include a central banking system, no executive, legislative, nor judicial branch of federal government. Therefore, the power of the country resided in the states, and this lead to an ambiguous nation with no stability. For example, some states were creating their own money and negotiated deals with other countries that did not include all the other states.

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It was the very basic idea that the nation was set up upon in the first place, and therefore, a very elementary solution to the problem of individual freedoms. With a say in the state and national government, through means of executive chairs and status', the people were able to have a representative present with their specific concerns and well-being in

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There is no denying that the Articles of Confederation, the first written form of government in the United States, was an important aspect of this nations history. The articles were ratified on March 1, 1781 and they served as the basis for the formation of the Constitution and provided some, but not enough framework for adequate organization of United States. Although, it accomplished and lead to multiple advances in the U.S government, it’s ability to act as an effective government failed. Under the Articles of Confederation there was one house body of delegates with each state having only one vote no matter the size or population.

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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.

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These ideas align with John Locke. The Constitution contains a lot about how to build and maintain a strong central government. It shows how power will be broken down between the

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The Articles of Confederation are a huge piece of the United States History as we know it. The Articles of Confederation were the very first constitution that we had in the United States and were spoken into existence and introduced in 1777 and the Articles became actually ratified in 1781. They are most well known for being the precursor to the Constitution, which was what replaced the Articles in 1789. The Articles were written rules that helped distribute power within the states and Congress. The main thing that the Articles of Confederation served as doing as being the “written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain.”

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Verbal Irony is when words are expressed contrary to the truth or someone says the opposite of what they really mean, in other words or to sum it up Verbal irony is sarcasm. Peck uses Verbal Irony commonly in the short story, for example he states,”Then quicker than the eye, she brings the side of her enormous hand down in a chop that breaks the Kobra’s hold on Melvin’s throat…... You could hear a pin drop in that hallway(peck 14)”. This shows that peck used Verbal Irony to express how quiet it was in the hallway.

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The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.

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