Articles Of Confederation Vs Constitution Essay

The Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution helped shape the debate between the states, the federal government, and their citizens. The Articles of Confederation were designed primarily to divest power from the national government and protect state interests. The US Constitution set up the framework for a strong national government capable of collecting taxes and raising armies. The debate between these two documents led to compromises between the states to ensure that neither general democracy nor small state representatives held too much power but received equal participation. Representatives faced challenges of western territory disposal, slavery as population, and the problem of popular democracy. The series of compromises by the Constitutional Convention …show more content…
Previous rebellions and difficulty settling disputes between states led to the creation of a national bank, court system, and tax program. In order to balance the power of the federal government against its citizens and the states, the constitution set up a series of checks and balances. (Hund & Scott, 1920, p. 1) Today, we understand them as the balance of power between the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judiciary. The Constitution faced challenges as states argued for representation based on a model most advantageous to their particular population. Smaller states wanted equal representation. They feared that if representation were based on population then larger states could dominate the legislative process. This led to a drafting fix known as the “Great Compromise.” (Beeman, 2009, pp. 199-202) During the Constitutional Convention, two plans were put forth: the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Ultimately, the plans were combined to form our present form of government. (Hund & Scott, 1920, p.