Confederation and the Constitution
In the mid 1780’s following the Revolutionary War depression struck our new nation. Faced with such economic troubles the question arose regarding the stability of American democracy. There was a strong need for change and many believed it needed to start with a more centralized government. While the opposition believed that having a strong centralized government would lead to the same oppression and tyranny that America had fought to overcome. In order to be truly unified as a strong country the states needed to agree on a set of laws that all would follow.
The Articles of Confederation was the first written Constitution in America, under the articles the states were sovereign and the government was small lacking the real power needed for change (Swindler, 1981). The war proved the independence of America and the radicals did not want to hand power over to another ruling party. The articles supported the fears of the people but did not support the nation as a whole. Congress had to rely solely on the states for men, money and supplies but lacked the power to enforce its own commands (Bradford, 2010, p. xx). Without the power of taxation, money was printed which caused inflation to rise which debilitated the country even further. There was no national court system and the lack of an executive branch meant any acts passed by Congress could not be enforced. A major issue that occurred was the ownership of western lands known as the western problem, many states held …show more content…
By placing the governments power in the hands of the people the country would not fall under tyrannical rule again. The separation of powers and the system of checks and balances ensures that no one branch of the government becomes to powerful since they have the power to limit one another and the rights of the people are protected (Constitution Project,
In the mid 1780’s following the Revolutionary War depression struck our new nation. Faced with such economic troubles the question arose regarding the stability of American democracy. There was a strong need for change and many believed it needed to start with a more centralized government. While the opposition believed that having a strong centralized government would lead to the same oppression and tyranny that America had fought to overcome. In order to be truly unified as a strong country the states needed to agree on a set of laws that all would follow.
The Articles of Confederation was the first written Constitution in America, under the articles the states were sovereign and the government was small lacking the real power needed for change (Swindler, 1981). The war proved the independence of America and the radicals did not want to hand power over to another ruling party. The articles supported the fears of the people but did not support the nation as a whole. Congress had to rely solely on the states for men, money and supplies but lacked the power to enforce its own commands (Bradford, 2010, p. xx). Without the power of taxation, money was printed which caused inflation to rise which debilitated the country even further. There was no national court system and the lack of an executive branch meant any acts passed by Congress could not be enforced. A major issue that occurred was the ownership of western lands known as the western problem, many states held …show more content…
By placing the governments power in the hands of the people the country would not fall under tyrannical rule again. The separation of powers and the system of checks and balances ensures that no one branch of the government becomes to powerful since they have the power to limit one another and the rights of the people are protected (Constitution Project,