Pros And Cons Of The Articles Of Confederation

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The Revolutionary War had ended and the colonies successfully signed a treaty of paris with England, proclaiming their independence from Britain and establishing other terms of the treaty. No longer were the colonies divided, they had now become the United States of America and consisted of states. Throughout the colonists' "road to recovery" from Britain, and their journey to becoming a successful and powerful nation, they were faced with numerous challenges including one large one - creating a country! They needed to establish a strong but restricted central government, create a set of fair rules, laws, and regulations, and elect political leaders to represent each state and the nation as a whole, thus, the Articles of Confederation …show more content…

It seemed like a great idea at first, shifting power to different areas so as not to give a certain state or person too much power. Little did they know, however, that there were many flaws with the document. It not only limited Congress' power regarding several aspects of the government, but it also caused an economic depression for everyone by causing tax and trade issues amongst the states and foreign countries, as well as, it also prevented Congress from pressuring people to pay taxes. After two serious incidents occurred and numerous complaints from Congress, a constitutional convention occurred in 1787 at Independence Hall. During this time, delegates debated which plans, the Virginia Plan or the New Jersey Plan, should be used a basis for their new government. Changes like shifting power evenly between states and Congress had to …show more content…

On September 17, 1787, the convention ended when 38 delegates signed the Constitution and it was finally ratified on May 29, 1790. The Bill of Rights was added not too long after in 1791. In my opinion, for this instance, I believe that compromise was a reasonable decision although I do not believe it is the best option for everyone because sometimes you may not get everything you want/need by choosing something over another, as well as, compromising can cause conflict between both