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Constitution DBQ

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Constitution DBQ
The Foundation of Our Government
At the end of the American Revolution, the free states needed some sort of control that would generate to a unified country. Issues arose to how power should be divided between local and national governments, common laws or the protection of the unalienable individual rights. Their first attempt at solving this issue was the Articles of Confederation, which was a failure for the most part, but not completely as it formed a template for a new document. After the failure of the articles, the state delegates tried to revise the articles, but instead, constructed the Constitution. One of many distinction between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution is the creation of the legislature. Representation of one state, while disregarding the population of the state, angered many people. The Constitution is known today as the foundation of American government. But before its ratification, debates arose regarding several unresolved and problematic factors that the Articles of Confederation failed to come to a resolution. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states had far more power than did the federal government. As a result, when writing the Constitution, they sought to maintain balance between state and federal power in a way where it would benefit the nation, shifting the power to the federal government. Slavery was never mentioned in the articles, yet the North and the South began a dispute over its existence. Alongside the creation of legislature defining distinction between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, the division of power between state and federal government and the existence and purpose of slavery are issues debated prior to the ratification of the Constitution.

A major difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution is the legislation. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, although both written documents explaining how the American government would be
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