The Articles Of Confederation: Following The American Revolution

Improved Essays
Following the American Revolution, a battle to escape a strong monarchy, the newly freed colonists were weary of strong governent. They created the Articles of Confederation, which was the first type of order they created. The Articles of Confederation were too weak to uphold the United States of America. The Constitution was an attempt to address the problems of decentralization that were experienced under the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution addressed the problems that existed under the Articles of Confederation, such as Congress not having the power of taxation, the lack of a military to defend and protect the new nation, and non-uniformed currency.
Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, did not have the power to tax

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of Confederation had many problems. As a result, a new document was written to clear up the flaws of the Articles and establish a stronger United States. Under the Articles of Confederation, many items needed for a functioning democracy were lacking including needing unanimous decisions to pass an amendment, no power to tax the states, no judicial system, and each state only getting one vote regardless of population. Many of these problems arose because when the document was written the framers were afraid of a strong central democracy, that fear was soon quelled when the Constitution was written with checks and balances. The problem of needing a unanimous decision for an amendment was solved under Article V of the Constitution changing it to a ¾ majority needed to pass an amendment.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The ideas and events that led to the belief that the Articles of Confederation was not working well (was because Congress had no power to regulate trade, coin money, collect taxes, or establish a military.) The Articles of Confederation was established to create the national government of the United States after the declaring independence from Great Britain. The purpose of creating the Articles of Confederation was to guarantee states of not “surrendering their sovereignty powers,” freedom, and independence (Davidson p. 152). The Articles of Confederation failed to regulate trade “Wit the outbreak of the Revolution, Americans had suffered an immediate loss of the manufactured goods, markets, and credit that Britain had formerly supplied,” (Davidson…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The reason why the Articles of Confederation were adopted was because of the states. The states were so independent and they did not want any central authority. But, when it was time to pay war debts then it came the Constitution… For the country to be ran more smoothly there needs to be a change in the people. If we try to change the way people think than the country will run smoother.…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of Confederation provided a weak central government which proved to be unsuccessful. The federal government had no power to tax. The states had too much power. The Constitution provided a stronger central government which ultimately made the government more powerful. Creating the three branches of government (judicial- Supreme Court; executive- president; legislative- congress) allowed for a balance of power so that no one branch would become too powerful (like King George had been to the…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Between 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with the basis of government. Unfortunately, the government put forth by the Articles of Confederation failed to be an effective one due to the limits of power it imposed on Congress. Congress was denied several vital duties including being able to tax the states directly, enforce treaties and regulate trade. The powers denied to Congress made it too weak, and as a result an ineffective government. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not directly tax the colonies.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Under the Articles of Confederation, our national government possessed countless issues over money, land, and the vulnerability of the government. As a result of borrowing arms during the Revolutionary War, the United States owed millions of dollars to other nations. Thus, the US had no way of repaying its debts because the congress could not tax the states, meaning they could not get money that was needed. Furthermore, the Continental Congress thought is could raise funds by printing paper money. Though, the Continental dollars became worthless because it was not backed up by gold or silver.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With the realization of the problems caused Articles of Confederation, the leaders were able to come up with The Constitution which was drafted at the Constitutional Convention. The Constitution established America’s national government by explaining the fundamental laws and basic rights America would follow in order to have a well balanced government. Before the Constitution, the government could not change anything in The Articles of a Confederation which caused significant problems during Shays’ Rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion made it clear that The Articles of Confederation were not…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of Confederation are important for us to study today because, as the first written constitution, they helped create the national government of the United States. The Articles of Confederation aimed towards limiting the central government’s power. As the Articles gave power to the states with less towards the congress, their goal was reached. Even so, that put America at a significant disadvantage. Whereas the government was so weak, it left America in a dreadful position within areas of trade, treaties, and military.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The structure of the Articles of Confederation had a few problems. One of the main problems was that more power was given to the state governments rather than the central government. Another problem was that for any laws to be passed nine out of the thirteen states had to agree and it was very hard for any laws to get passed because of this. Congress was faced with the problem of not being able to collect taxes since the Articles did not have the power to force states to pay taxes. Congress also did not have the power to control trade and each state made their own trades and this created many problems.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The articles of confederation were weak. They didn’t establish a proper form of government and no one liked them. The articles of confederation led to no money, a weak central government, quarrelling states, boundary and border disputes, and no military leadership. The articles of confederation accumulated all power in one assembly rather than distributing power. “...…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The articles of confederation is a written document that accepted the functions of the national government of the united states after it declared independence from great Britain. The articles of confederation was an agreement among the 13 colonies (original states), that served as its first constitution. The articles formed a wartime confederation of states, with a limited central government. The Constitutional Convention was made to examine and fix the weak government that remained under the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention is also what made the Constitution.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of Confederation was a complete failure. The biggest reason was because they didn’t give Congress and the national government enough power over the states. They probably did this because they just got freedom from a tyrant King who was extremely controlling. However,…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United States Constitution overcame the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and provided for the organization of the new government. In the 1780s, the United States created their first form of government after the colonists won the Revolutionary War against the British. The Articles of Confederation was a very weak form of government that had multiple flaws. At the Constitutional Convention, the Great Compromise, the Electoral College, and the Three-Fifths Compromise were made to satisfy everyone’s needs. The Debate Over the Constitution was between the federalists and the anti-federalists.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution of the United States, ratified in 1781. The Articles of Confederation gave all of the states sovereign power, and put extreme limitations on the federal government. The only power that the government had was in foreign affairs, and in last resort situations, the government could be used for legislation. These restrictions on the government quickly led to a variety of legislative and economic issues. One large legislative problem was with lawmaking in general.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Look at the Making of the Constitution Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States. However, as it has been well documented, the Articles had many inherent problems associated with it. The Articles of Confederation would require all of the states to give their approval to pass. The Articles were also very limited in the actual power the new government would have.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays