Articles Of Confederation Dbq

The articles of Confederation were drafted with an aim to succeed, but there were some allocations that were not considered. The first concern that was not considered was how powerful the federal government was supposed to be. The founding fathers knew that confederation was going to make the United States a unit, which means that decisions such as international relations, was to be controlled centrally. The congress and the executive were not given sufficient powers to engage military action. The congress had to borrow military empowerment from the states.

After breaking ties with the British government, the colonies had a new found independence and needed a system that unified the states and created a strong form of government. The Articles of Confederation were written in 1777 as a loose organization in which majority of the power were given to the states and put into effect in 1781. However, problems arose within the Articles that caused the colonists to doubt its effectiveness. The state delegates revised the document and created the Constitution which had many changes and little remained the same.

Although the Articles of Confederation served a great purpose and had numerous advantages and strengths, it also contained many weaknesses with some flaws. One of the weaknesses is that this agreement could not enforce laws or have the power to tax the people of the colony. Along with this, the government could also not allow each of he states to continue to follow those laws. There was also no national army or navy, no national courts, no solid leadership or power in a position to take charge, and there was only one vote for each state no matter what the size of the state is. The main reason Americans wanted to construct a weak national government was to prevent the them from gaining too much power and allowing the government to eventually

The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established means of settlement and eventual statehood in the “Old Northwest,” the area northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes. The states were expected to surrender their claims in these areas (the claims were largely controlled by Virginia, Georgia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and North and South Carolina). This agreement helped to forge stronger bonds between the states, but Spain and Britain still controlled forts and territories inside the United States. Spain controlled New Orleans and the Mississippi River after the Treaty of Paris in 1783, while Britain continued to hold forts and other outposts in the States. In a 1785 letter by John Jay to the Minister to Great Britain, Jay implored the Minister to “in a respectful but firm manner insist that the United States be put, without further delay, into possession of all the posts and territories within their limits, which are now held by British garrisons” and loosen trade and debt repayment restrictions.

On July 12, 1776, The Continental Congress members were appointed “to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between these colonies”, which in simpler terms means to … and that is just what they did. The first draft of the Articles of Confederation, which was the first formal form of Government in the newly free colonies, it was proposed and ratified by … Under the Articles of Confederation, the congress had no power to coordinate foreign policy or tax. Each state had a unicameral legislative with each only having one vote, while Congress was given most of the national governments power. It soon became very evident that the articles were a weak union between the states at best. James Madison and George Washington

In May 1787 55 delegates met in Philadelphia to amend the Articles Of Confederation. They debated about the New Jersey plan and Virginia plan. The states also ratified on how they need the bill of rights. Then they argued about slavery. Many things helped shape the Articles Of Confederation such as how they talked about representation, The states ratification, and slavery.

While some Americans thought the Articles of Confederation was good since it waged in a successful war for independence, many Americans concluded that under the Articles of Confederation, there were many issues formed such as providing limited central government, developing many economic problems, and foreign powers. “The framers of the Articles of Confederation kept in mind their complaint against Britain. Parliament had passed laws the colonists considered unfair. The new states did not want to risk giving too much power to a central government far from the people”(Pearson, 206). This shows how the Articles provided a limited central government that lead many Americans to disagree with the Articles of Confederation.

After the Revolutionary War, Americans desperately needed a new form of government. While most states had already established a constitution, there was no framework for a national government. Eventually, states agreed to join in a loose union. This resulted in the creation of the Articles of Confederation, which was adopted on November 15, 1777. Due to the colonists’ negative experiences with a monarchy during the revolution, they intentionally wrote the Articles of Confederation so that states could maintain their sovereignty.

Creating the Constitution After gaining their independence from Great Britain, the Americans colonies were struggling in establish a new stable nation. Many plans were proposed to unify the country as a whole. However, due to the difference in perspective of how the nation should be governed, the Congress had a difficult time convincing the states to sign the constitution. Many changes in the constitution were made to please the people who once had suffered tyrannies. This changes also knowns as a revolution-- Revolution is forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.

The Articles of Confederation was an ill-thought out plan that was rushed into effect to tie together a nation that wanted to distinguish itself from its parent country. Without much time to plan, flaws are bound to be present. The main problem with this document is in its name. It called for a confederation among the states. This left little to no power for a central government, and the states were almost independent countries themselves.

The Articles of Confederation were drafted sometime between 1776 and 1777 by the Continental Congress. Prior to the Articles of Confederation the Continental Congress “assumed a number of rights and responsibilities, such as creating the Continental Army, printing money, managing trade, and dealing with debt” (Shultz, 2014, p. 119). They had done all of this without the authority of the people or sovereign power, this is why the Articles of Confederation were created. The Articles of Confederation were presented to the states for ratification but only 8 states would ratify it within the first year. It would take until 1781 to get all 13 states to ratify it, which is what it took to before the Articles of Confederation could take effect.

In drafting the constitution the establishing father were obviously worried to redress the insufficiencies o f thee articles of confederation under which the insubordinate provinces had been administered amid the insurgency. The articles had presented official and in addition administrative power on congress setting up in actuality parliamentary government without a prime’s pastor. The individuals who differ were consoled by the desire that Washington would be the main head of state. In the meantime their test under the British crown drove the establishing father to support less centralization of power than they saw in the British government. The constitution additionally brought congers into the bargain making process with holding from the president the selective power appreciated by European rulers to make arrangements.

Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.

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.

The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States that served as the first constitution. The Articles had first been introduced by Richard Henry Lee in the Second Continental Congress. Although the Articles of Confederation has made its contributions throughout history, the Articles, however, did not last very long and had been proven inadequate from the very start. I agree with this statement based on the examples and analysis of the Constitution I will soon provide. The Articles of Confederation were written during a time when the American people feared a strong national government.