Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

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During the formation of the U.S. government, two different forms of government were initiated. At first, the Americans wanted to form a government that was nothing like monarchy, as they didn’t want a repeat of King George. The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the United States, which was ratified in 1781. However, the Articles of Confederation had issues. The main issue was that the national government was too weak. Central government had no way to get money under the Articles, for the states would refuse the request, as they were not obligated to do so. The army was not being paid and was nearly deserted, and debts to foreign countries were not being paid. The government became too weak, so therefore a new constitution …show more content…
Constitution is superior to the Articles of Confederation because it enforced an efficient balance of power that allowed the national government more power. According to “Excerpts from the United States Constitution (Primary Source)”, the text states,”The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States…” This excerpt is from the Constitution itself, therefore proving that the Constitution enforced a more efficient government. A prominent reason why the Articles of Confederation were proven faulty was because the states were not paying the taxes that were mandatory to the success of the country. As a result of the states having more power, they could easily refuse the pleas of the national government, resulting in a failed economy. Additionally, in “What You Should Know about the Articles of Confederation (Secondary Source)” by Martin Kelly, it articulates, “In 1786, Shays' Rebellion occurred in western Massachusetts as a protest to rising debt and economic chaos. However, the national government was unable to gather a combined military force amongst the states to help put down the rebellion.” Here, the Constitution would be a more efficient form of government because the national government would have the power to stop these riots. However, under the Articles, the national governors had no way of putting a stop to the

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