What Are The Rough Drafts Of The Articles Of Confederation Dbq

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American History Honors Entry Assignment

The Articles of Confederation could have divided the states into 13 different nation-states, but thankfully for the Constitution, the states became one nation, The United States of America. When the Articles of Confederation were first made, it “was not really much of a government at all and was never intended to be” (XI, Introduction). On July 2, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was approved for the colonies to break away from the British Empire not as a united group but as, “‘Free and Independent States’” (XII). George Washington and others noticed the Articles would not work to keep the previous British colonies united. They helped form the Constitution and were the founding fathers of the United States of America.
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They were made during a time when people thought locally and restricted, and not nationally and on a large scale. A total of six drafts of the Articles were written and purposed before Congress, the first on written in 1775 until they settled on one in 1777. George Washington saw it as something that will divide us, saying “‘…. I see one head gradually changing into thirteen’” (18).

Washington was a great leader for the Continental Army, and “the chief symbol for resistance to British rule” (19). During this time he sent letters to congress and state legislature to get things done. He disliked the Articles of Confederation and made it no secret “that the Articles were a recipe for anarchy in postwar America…” (27). Washington realized the only way to keep America united was to replace the war with a common bond. He worked to define a goal for America, that was to explore the west; this is known as the Manifest

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