Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

The Articles of Confederation was written in 1777 by nearly the exact same people who would later go on to write the United States Constitution. This document was meant to unify the colonies to create a sufficient government. The Articles of Confederation’s focus was to ensure that the state and local government possessed the power throughout the colonies. However, the document failed the country due to the lack of a central government because the states did not want to reestablish the type of government that England had after the Revolutionary War. The lack of bigger government caused many problems that would make each state almost look like they’re were separate.

Unit 3 Initial Writing Task In the aftermath of the successful American Revolution, the Founding Fathers were given the responsibility of creating a new national government for their newly independent nation, the United States of America. Fearing the oppressive capabilities of a strong government as a result of their struggles with Great Britain, the Founding Fathers initially decided to create a weaker central government called the Articles of Confederation. Before long, the Founding Fathers discerned that the Articles of Confederation were failing. An enduring issue which connects to this time period in United States history is the enduring issue of “conflict” because there was a plethora of conflicts created by the weakness of the Articles, as evidenced by documents 1 and 2.

Jake, Kiara, Miah, and Danny Unit 2 Question 1 How did the Anti-Federalists and Federalists agree on a new Constitution? Delegates met at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 to amend the Articles of Confederation. The idea of having a strong national government divided people either in support or against the new Constitution. Anti-Federalists voiced their objections to the proposed Constitution as they feared a strong central government.

As a new republic, we cannot afford to make the same mistake twice when establishing the law of the land for our government. The weaknesses and flaws in the Articles of Confederation were evident when Shay’s rebellion arose not long ago in Massachusetts. How do we protect the law-abiding citizen from enemies, both foreign and domestic, who seek to disrupt the Liberty of the United States and jeopardize our security? The Constitution of the United States Article 1, Section 8, Clause 12 state, “The Congress shall have Power To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years.” We the people of the United States must ratify the Constitution in order to create a Standing Army that provide security against both internal and external threats of America.

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.

Two contradicting ideas in one document, how is that possible? The Constitution was created in 1787 to replace the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was a unicameral legislature, led by the Confederate Congress, that caused many problems between the government and the people. It failed for many reasons, including the fact that all thirteen states needed to be on the same page to ratify the Articles and it was not able to create a united, powerful nation. Congress also did not have the power to “enforce taxes, regulate commerce between states, and compel state cooperation,” to escape debt (Benson 1).

The Anti-Federalists ensured the Constitution gave the focal government an over the top measure of imperativeness, and without a Bill of Rights, the general open would be in risk of

The Federalist and Anti-Federalist debate occurred over a span of two years, from 1787 to 1789. The Federalists supported the constitution, they simply wanted a stronger national government. Some of these leaders and well know Federalists were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. Other people during that time who were likely to be a part of the Federalist group were professionals, merchants and owners large quantities of land. The Federalists believed that the wealthy people of the country should be those who control the country; they did not believe that the poor commoners should have any say or power over the country.

The first attempt of the Continental Congress to establish a new government was with the establishment of the Articles of Confederation which proved to be a weak form of government. It gave too much power to the state government, and as a result the U.S. Constitution was established in the year 1787. The Articles of Confederation was established in November 1777 and was the United State’s first written constitution. The Articles of Confederation had no intentions in forming a strong government, so its main concern was limiting the powers of the national government.

A number of factors played a part of choosing what government the founding fathers would choose. At first, they established the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were ratified during war with Britain, so it was set in a war based aura. It allowed the country to conduct foreign affairs, declare war, and make treaties. It could not collect taxes, but the states could.

(1) During the years 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation were created in order to provide a means for an effective government for the United States. Since they were a newly formed independent nation, they required in having a stable government that help keep the country organized. The eleven states would create a document that would become the Articles of Confederation. From the start it would only crash and burn for it had a weak central government that did not contain an executive or judicial branch that we do today, which would make the state governments handle their own affairs. The reason behind such a poorly implemented document was due to the fact that the colonists did not seek to have a government that would merely replace one

A federalist is defined as a person that believes in the Constitution as it is, and argues for ratification. An anti-federalist, however, believes that there needs to be adjustments within the Constitution. While both the anti-federalists and federalists contributed to the Constitution’s success, anti-federalists created the most conflict and elaboration of the Constitution and aimed for success in many years to come. Anti-federalists argued to include the Bill of Rights into the Constitution. George Mason describes the importance of the Bill of Rights in “Objections to the Constitution”.

When the United States broke away from Great Britain in 1783, and no one knew what the new system of government was going to be. The United States was divided among the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Between the two we can see the different views of a federal government. The Federalist did not like The Articles of Confederation, but the Anti-Federalist did. The Federalist rewrote The Articles of Confederation, thus how the Constitution came to be.

This quote reaffirms that the anti-federalists’ want stronger protection for state rights. In addition, the anti-federalists agree that a stronger government is necessary and they understand that the constitution allows congress to facilitate trade between states but, they are concerned about the lack of individual rights. As Richard Henry Lee wrote, “The state legislatures are obliged to take notice of the bills of rights of their respective states,” meaning that the states have individual rights written into their own constitutions and lawmakers pay attention to them. However, we cannot expect federal officials to examine every state constitution before making a law to be sure it will not violate rights protected in any state. The Constitution itself needs to list these rights.

The Constitution—the foundation of the American government—has been quintessential for the lives of the American people for over 200 years. Without this document America today would not have basic human rights, such as those stated in the Bill of Rights, which includes freedom of speech and religion. To some, the Constitution was an embodiment of the American Revolution, yet others believe that it was a betrayal of the Revolution. I personally believe that the Constitution did betray the Revolution because it did not live up to the ideals of the Revolution, and the views of the Anti-Federalists most closely embodied the “Spirit of ‘76.” During the midst of the American Revolution, authors and politicians of important documents, pamphlets, and slogans spread the basis for Revolutionary ideals and defined what is known as the “Spirit of ‘76”.