How Did The Articles Of Confederation Build Tension Over The Constitution

790 Words4 Pages

The debate over the Constitution created much tension throughout the new country. From problems with the Articles of Confederation, western expansion, Shay’s rebellion, problem’s at the Constitutional Convention, slave trade, and the start of the War of 1812 all created tensions over the Constitution but nothing that the greats minds of the time couldn’t handle. Initially, the Articles of Confederation were the first written constitution of the United States, drafted in 1777 and ratified four years later by Congress (Lecture). The Articles of Confederation provided for a government by a national legislature but left the crucial power of monies, as well as all final power to make and execute laws, entirely to the states (US: A Narrative History, …show more content…

Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787 (US: A Narrative History, 152). Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led four thousand rebels in a revolt against economic and civil rights injustices (US: A Narrative History, 152). In 1787, the rebels marched on the United States' Armory at Springfield in a failed attempt to seize its weaponry and start a coup of the government (Lecture). The rebellion took place in a political environment where restructuring of the Articles of Confederation was necessary (US: A Narrative History, 152). The events of the rebellion affected debates at the U.S. Constitutional Convention, and ultimately the shape of the new government (US: A Narrative History, …show more content…

However, when they assembled, they decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation entirely and drafted a new constitution for the United States (US: A Narrative History, 152). The delegates had difficulties over coming up with a way to give a proper balance of control between the federal and state governments and between large and small states (Lecture). The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the Convention (Lecture). The most argumentative disputes revolved around arrangement and election of the Senate, how proportional representation was to be defined whether to divide the executive power between three persons or invest the power into a single president, how to elect the president, how long his term was to be and whether he could run for re-election, and what offenses should be impeachable (US: A Narrative History, 152). After the final issues were resolved, the Committee on Style produced the final version, and it was voted on and sent to the states (US: A Narrative History,

Open Document