Confederation and Constitution
CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION
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Comparison between the Articles of Confederation and Constitution
The Articles of Confederation, formally known as the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, refers to an agreement between the thirteen founding states that first formed the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states. The Articles of Confederation had served as the first U.S. constitution (Merrill, 1959). The states under the confederation were Virginia, South Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Delaware and Maryland. In 1787, a constitutional convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation as they contained so many flaws, which would have fatally affected the confederation (Wendel, 1981). However, the convention ended up abandoning the Articles and drafted a new constitution which had a much stronger national government. After so much tussle and debating, eleven of the thirteen states ratified the constitution which led to the formation of a new form of government for the United States of America (Kermit, 1987). The following are similarities and differences of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
Consenting of power
According to the Articles of Confederation, the legislature of each state had no specific means of choosing voters. The delegates of each state were to sign the Articles, but only do as directed by their legislature (Young, 1977). Their legislature did not provide for them to vote in such agreements thus, they only wait until instructed so. This shows that the Articles of Confederation did not provide how it could be ratified, but indirectly implied it the duty of the legislatures of the various states. This meant that the people had no direct influence over the form of national government being put in place
By:
Instructor:
Comparison between the Articles of Confederation and Constitution
The Articles of Confederation, formally known as the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, refers to an agreement between the thirteen founding states that first formed the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states. The Articles of Confederation had served as the first U.S. constitution (Merrill, 1959). The states under the confederation were Virginia, South Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Delaware and Maryland. In 1787, a constitutional convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation as they contained so many flaws, which would have fatally affected the confederation (Wendel, 1981). However, the convention ended up abandoning the Articles and drafted a new constitution which had a much stronger national government. After so much tussle and debating, eleven of the thirteen states ratified the constitution which led to the formation of a new form of government for the United States of America (Kermit, 1987). The following are similarities and differences of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
Consenting of power
According to the Articles of Confederation, the legislature of each state had no specific means of choosing voters. The delegates of each state were to sign the Articles, but only do as directed by their legislature (Young, 1977). Their legislature did not provide for them to vote in such agreements thus, they only wait until instructed so. This shows that the Articles of Confederation did not provide how it could be ratified, but indirectly implied it the duty of the legislatures of the various states. This meant that the people had no direct influence over the form of national government being put in place
References: Hamilton, A. Madison, J. & Jay, J. (1982). The Federalist Papers. New York: Bantam Classics. Kermit, H., (1987). The Formation and ratification of the Constitution: Major historical interpretations Maier, P. (2010). Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. New York: Simon & Schuster. Merrill, J. (1959). The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774–178, p Wendel, T. (1981). The Articles of Confederation. National Review. Vol. 33(13) p. 768- 770. Young, R. L. (1977). The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. American Bar Association Journal. Vol