Week 6 Review Questions 1. How did the limited central government created by the Articles of Confederation reflect the issues behind the Revolution and fears for individual liberties? The limited central government represented more of a peace treaty between that states than a blueprint for a powerful nation. It was created to maintain national coordination during the Revolution, but not much more; The States still held most of the power. The only powers the national government held were those essential to the Revolution such as declaring war, conducting foreign affairs, and making treaties with other governments (Foner 249). This weakness stemmed from the public fear of a tyrannical government that would hold too much power over it’s citizenry, …show more content…
What events and ideas led to the belief in 1786 and 1787 that the Articles of Confederation were not working well? Shay’s Rebellion and the actions of State legislatures opened the door for feelings that the Articles of Confederation were not working. Acting in what they claimed to be the spirit of the Revolution, citizens rose up in protest of the government that could not do enough to protect its citizens interests. People were facing debt and losing their land, not able to make a proper living or pay taxes. Fears arose over the abuse of liberty and unchecked power of the people (255). Because of this it was decided that the national government must be strengthened in order to develop uniform economic policies and protect property owners from infringements on their rights by local majorities …show more content…
What were the major arguments in support of the Constitution given by the Federalists? The Federalist’s major arguments were that the checks and balances put in place would maintain a strong government while also protecting it from becoming tyrannical. Hamilton claimed that it would be “the perfect balance between liberty and power (263).” Madison claimed that the Constitution was structured to prevent abuses of authority (264). He also claimed that it was in place to protect public rights and protect the public from conducting dangerous activities. He claimed that it would create a coalition of minorities while never letting one control the
After the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, thirteen American colonies desired a government to displace and overturn the rule of British. So, they attempted to establish a governance of the Article of Confederation. As the first written constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation was not faultless. The Articles formed a weak central government and a loose confederation of sovereign states, leaving most of the power and independence with the state governments. Although the document gave Congress authority to make treaties, coin money and maintain army force, the central government still lacked of ability to implement these rules (Foner, 1991).
Article of confederation essay The Articles of confederation and permanent union among the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, virginia, North Carolina, south Carolina, and Georgia. In this essay I will be explaining three problems that arose because of the Article of Confederation. The first problem isthat the Articles of Confederation had no president or ruler to run their government. As a result of nothaving a president or ruler, the under the Articles of Confederation suffered from alackof leadership because there was no president or single ruler.
After the American Revolution, the colonies needed to reconstruct a new, fresh government. America, however, was extremely restrictive with giving the central government any forms of power after the hardships the colonies faced being under the British government and Parliament. The colonies did not want to undergo another period of unfair taxation and regulated systems. Thus, America’s first government, The Articles of Confederation, gave the central government immensely few granted powers. After an eight year period, the majority of America knew that they needed a new form of government.
A convention based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 25, 1787 was called for the purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation. Confident to construct a new government from the ground up. Wouldn’t have been possible without the aid of the fifty-five delegates. The delegates pushed though despite their differences in opinions. Outlining our new government took well over a quarter of the year.
All these financial and political problems were due to a loose union of thirteen states known as the Articles of Confederation. Although the Articles of Confederation was a big help to make our new nation, it failed in many ways. The national government was unable to solve all the problems mentioned in the previous paragraphs. As a result, in 1787 a meeting was held in Philadelphia by Congress and asked each state to send their delegates to discuss about how to improve the Articles of Confederation. They wrote a new constitution even though they gather to improve the Article of Confederation.
“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.
2. The central government was designed to be very, very weak. The Articles established “the United States of America” as a perpetual union formed to defend the states as a group, but it provided few central powers beyond that. But it didn’t have an executive official or judicial
The constitution has created the national government incorporating a legislative, an executive and a judicial branch. In this essay I will discuss core values and beliefs that led to the writing of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution such as having rights, having to establish a
The national government helps bring us all together to make decisions. Federalism gives every level of government their own control over certain aspects of our government. It allows different states with different needs to have laws suited for their people, while still giving us the strong central government that we need. Federalism gives the people more opportunities to meet with leaders and to get more involved in the government. We need a strong central government because they give us protection.
When the Articles of confederation were ratified in 1781 they appeared to have fulfilled the best interests of the framers and other white men who owned slaves and plundered lands. Seven years later in 1789 the U.S. Constitution was ratified and remains the fallacious essence of national policy. The demise of The Articles Of Confederation was due to the lack of control the federal government had over the 13 colonies. The colonies had become separate entities from the weak federal government. Under The Articles of Confederation, the federal government had no power to control military service.
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 caused the United States to have a weak central government. There were many downsides to having a weak central government, and a country cannot function properly. While the central government had little to no power at all, the states held all the power. This caused many problems within the governing system.
DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal
By writing a new constitution, the farmers were able to address the problems which the nation faced under the Articles of Confederation. The most important issues were addressed by the establishment of a stronger national government that was selected by the citizens. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, were each state maintain its own sovereign rule, each state was represented equally in Congress through the representatives elected by its citizen. Therefore, power was no longer placed in a single institution such as the states or one overall governing body, but rather in the hands of the people. This government had the power to tax, regulate trade and commerce, and coin a national currency with a majority vote versus a unanimous vote.
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.