Articles of Confederation Adopted by the Continental Congress
The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak government, leaving most of the power within the state governments. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The present United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789.
There were a total of thirteen articles making up the Articles of Confederation. These articles included: the preamble, style, state’s rights, mutual defense, laws of other states to be abided, the legislature, rights denied by the states, appointment of military officers, taxes, rights granted to the Federal government, committee of states, Canada joining the United states, assumption of debt, articles of Supreme law and amendment, and a conclusion. The Articles brought the colonies together as a loose confederation with the states’ rights being more important than the power of the government. Even though the government under the Articles of Confederation was very weak, it was still more democratic because it gave more rights and power to the states. The Articles unified the states, which lacked a strong, central government. Although the Articles of Confederation had several successes, it created far more weaknesses and failures. First of all, under the Articles, there was no executive head of the government. Since there was no executive to be in charge of the nation, having a strong government was nearly impossible. In addition to, there was no judicial system with any federal courts, so matters and problems that existed had no substantial way of getting solved. The Articles of Confederation required ratification by all thirteen states, which nearly eliminated
There were a total of thirteen articles making up the Articles of Confederation. These articles included: the preamble, style, state’s rights, mutual defense, laws of other states to be abided, the legislature, rights denied by the states, appointment of military officers, taxes, rights granted to the Federal government, committee of states, Canada joining the United states, assumption of debt, articles of Supreme law and amendment, and a conclusion. The Articles brought the colonies together as a loose confederation with the states’ rights being more important than the power of the government. Even though the government under the Articles of Confederation was very weak, it was still more democratic because it gave more rights and power to the states. The Articles unified the states, which lacked a strong, central government. Although the Articles of Confederation had several successes, it created far more weaknesses and failures. First of all, under the Articles, there was no executive head of the government. Since there was no executive to be in charge of the nation, having a strong government was nearly impossible. In addition to, there was no judicial system with any federal courts, so matters and problems that existed had no substantial way of getting solved. The Articles of Confederation required ratification by all thirteen states, which nearly eliminated