Preview

Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
417 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation
After America declared their independence from Britain in 1776 they had no governance system. One year after the Declaration of Independence was signed, and America gained their freedom the Articles of Confederation was signed and served as the governance for the nation. There were weaknesses in the articles such as the inability of the natural government to implement foreign or domestic policy, to tax, or regulate trade, and due to these weaknesses in 1778 the Constitution was the replacement of the Articles. The articles simply did not allow enough power to the national government, and because the constitution maintained state power it also gave the central government power over commerce and foreign policies. During this time, Britain was

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    1. "From 1781 to 1787 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government." Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation was the first American constitution completed by the Continental Congress in 1777. The Articles of Confederation created a “firm league of friendship” between all 13 states. Each state agreed to send delegates to the Confederation Congress where each state will cast one vote in Congress. Under the Articles Congress had no possession over trade or passing laws regarding taxes. However, Congress can declare war, appoint military officers, coin money, and foreign affairs. Unfortunately, there were some downsides to the Articles of Confederation that people from all 13 states did not agree with or argued about it such things as alliance, passing laws, courts, money, and trade. (Davidson, 189)…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is understood that the US Constitution was written to form a more centralized form of government, a federation, which could protect and regulate the rights of the US citizens. While the Articles of Confederation was avoiding this type of government affected by the British experience, the constitution encouraged it. The main difference between these two documents is the balance and centralization of powers. How did the constitution change the role of national government in the life of US citizens?…

    • 1180 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although it provided an outline to how future government should be formed, The Articles of Confederation did not provide America with an effective government from 1781 to 1789. Nicknamed “The Articles of Confusion”, The Articles of Confederation lacked stability and the power to truly govern the states. Under the articles there was no executive branch and no way for the federal government to raise money.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are multiple reasons why the state of Franklin failed. There are also many ways it can demonstrate the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The “Lost” state of Franklin is always referred to with the Articles of Confederation this being because they were closely related. The number one reason for the state’s failure is all of the weaknesses in the Article of Confederation.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States of America was going through a time of great debates and dilemma’s. It became obvious that a better more powerful national government was necessary. The Articles of Confederation was weak and needed to be replaced. While this was occurring a major problem developed. This was between large states, which vied for legislature segmented by population, and smaller states which wanted the system to have equal portioned votes everywhere. The larger states suggested the Virginia Plan, and the small states proposed the New Jersey Plan. At first, this issue was at a stalemate and both sides refused to give up ground. Eventually, Oliver Ellsworth offered The Great Compromise. This called for a bicameral Legislature with proportional…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    By late 1786, it was clear to the states that the Articles of Confederation could no longer provide for an adequate government, an essential function to promote the prosperity of the fledgling country. To fix this problem, delegates from all states except Rhode Island congregated in Philadelphia in an attempt to revise the Articles of Confederation. During the convention, the delegates had a variety of views on how the government should function, which led to lengthy and, at times, acrimonious debates. In the end, however, some kind of compromise would always be reached; then another issue would be brought about and the whole cycle repeats over and over again. Sleepless nights and smoke filled rooms followed one after another. Little did the…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The government was set up under the Articles of Confederation, America’s first constitution. The founders were so afraid of a strong central government that they gave all power to the states, rather than set up an over-seeing national government. The Revolution was fought to get away from an overbearing and unfair ruler, so it is understandable why they wouldn’t want another monarchy to take over. The problem was that the Articles of Confederation gave little to no power at all to their national government, causing distress and non-compliance between the states. The Articles of Confederation denied the government the ability to take care of the states and the union. An influential philosopher at the time, Hobbes, believes that it is the sole purpose of the national government to enforce peace and laws; thus making life, liberty, and the pursuit of property possible. Another influential philosopher at the time, Locke, also believes that a central government is necessary to promote public good, to protect property and promote…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throwing off the British monarchy on July 4, 1776, left the United States with no central government. It had to design and install a new government and quickly. As early as May 1776, Congress advised each of the colonies to draw up plans for state government; by 1780, all thirteen states had adopted written constitutions. In June 1776, the Continental Congress began to work on a plan for a central government. It took five years for it to be approved, first by members of Congress and then by the states. This first attempt at a constitution for the United States was called the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though the Articles of Confederation did have some achievements like bringing peace and unity, they were more ineffective than effective for providing a stable government for the United States. The Articles of Confederation were ineffective for these reasons. First, The Articles of Confederation did not allow Congress to impose a tax, so this prevented the new nation of the United States of America to have a strong economic system. Second, The Articles of Confederation prevented the Chief Executive (President) from having any power and thus also having no military. Lastly, The Articles of Confederation didn’t allow the United States to have very good foreign relations with any foreign nation since we were viewed as weak.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It can be said that in a democracy, unity among the many cannot exist without compromise. Following the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1776, the Articles of Confederation (the “Articles”) were written to allay fears about, and promote liberty, for its citizens, by legitimizing the rights of individual states. However, the Articles provided such restrictive powers for the underfunded national government to counteract deficiencies, that the union was at risk of collapse. A series of meetings, known as the Constitutional Convention (the “Convention”), was held to fix America’s dysfunctional political system, resulting in re-writing the American Constitution. Throughout the process of ratifying this historic document, many disputes…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the Articles of Confederation, from 1781-1789, had a higher purpose of attempting to create a stabilized government, while limiting its power, the overall effectiveness of this plan is not up to the standards as needed by the newly formed nation of America, and thus the government broke down by around 1786.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The three most significant challenges that the United States had to face under the Articles of Confederation were: 1) managing the western expansion, 2) foreign relations, and 3) the rising debt, (Shultz,n.d.).…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I agreed with your post this week given the fact that we took an almost identical way of describing and pointing out the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. An aspect that you covered by I missed was the issues of states not paying federal taxes. Without taxes being made it would not allowing funding for the government to function and create institutions necessary for a the states and country to survive. Yes, a huge part of the colonies reason to gaining their independence was British unfair taxes but the value that taxes had financial was missed. In cases of fear and angry we tend to make rational decision by way of irrational behavior and thought. This is not to say the colonies actions were irrational but just to acknowledge…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Building a New Nation

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Once the war was over and America became its own country they had to then come up with a government system. The state leaders had already come up with state constitutions that their state followed and when the states were putting together a national constitution they used most of what the states had already established to come up with the bill of rights. When the people gave powers to the governors they were very fearful of giving them too much power because of the experiences they had with the royal governors. In turn they gave most of the powers to the legislatures leaving the governors with little power of the state. Then, the articles of confederations were established giving most of the power to the state government and not the national government.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays