Reasons For The Flaws Of The Articles Of 1787

“When the framers of the Constitution met in 1787, they set out to establish a political system that would protect liberty and place limits on government.” (Ginsberg, 28). In 1777, the Continental Congress acquired the first written constitution, the Articles of Confederation, for the United States, only to be replaced by the Constitution around ten years later, due to the weaknesses found in the Articles. Although the Articles were required in 1777, they were not ratified at that year, “it was not ratified by all the states until 1781.”(Ginsberg, 35). Under the Articles of Confederation, the states had more power than the central government. After certain events, the national leaders of the United States were able to clearly identify the problem of why the Articles were in need of improvement or a

The event that lasted up until the winter of 1787, Shays’s Rebellion, proved that the government could not be protected by the Articles of Confederation. If the national leaders wanted to amend the articles, then they would have to have all 13 states in agreement, which was nearly impossible. Another flaw of the Articles would lie in the competition that the states had. They would compete for foreign commerce and that created a special problem for the newly formed United States, because it demonstrated to foreign powers that they were able to make the states turn against each other and that America was feeble and susceptible to harm, “we should by our conduct verify the predictions of our transatlantic foe, and render ourselves ridiculous and contemptible in the eyes of all Europe.” (Ginsberg, 38) Most importantly, the government was weak, and that meant that they were unable to keep control over the matters that were occurring. As a result of those problems, many Americans were beginning to consider that the Articles needed to be