Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Aoc Dbq

Good Essays
758 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Aoc Dbq
Document Based Question 1985 #1
From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement.

Although the Articles of Confederation did provide the United States with some sort of effective government such as states rights, expansions of lands, and a legislative branch, it did not have enough power to govern efficiently, regulate trade, and levy taxes . The Articles had weaknesses that overshadowed the strengths. They had numerous meetings to revise the provisions of the articles, which the government referred to for eight years, but as time went on the delegation realized the nation needed a detailed Constitution.
The Articles of Confederation, written in 1777 by the Second Continental Congress, were initially proposed to enforce a strong central government but the thirteen colonies feared a central government because of the clash with
Great Britain. The articles were written very cautiously especially towards issues pertaining to states' independence. The
Continental Congress wanted to give as much freedom possible to the states. After much internal debate in the states, the articles were ratified on March 1,1781.
A loose confederation of independent states was created by the articles that gave limited powers to a central government. The articles also established a house of Congress in which one vote would be given by each state. Congress would engage in the development of western territories, boosting the armed forces, setting up a postal department and estimating the costs of the government. Borrowing money and declaring war (and alliances with nations) also was in the hands of Congress.
The Congress seemed to cede much land from 1781-1802. Some states gained land such as Georgia (as observed on the map of Western Lands ceded by the States source: John Blum, et.al, The National Experience, third edition). As for boosting the armed forces, they succeeded but there were some complaints such the one made by
Delegate Joseph Jones of Virginia to George Washington.
One Ground of discontent in the army, and on which they found the opinion that justice is not intended to be done to them, is the delay in complying with their requests for bonus and back pay." Many complaints were made of the articles and that is due to the weakness of the articles themselves. One can interpret the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation through the letters of concern written during that time period such as the letter from John Jay to George
Washington ( June 27, 1786) stating that "...Our affairs seem to lead to some crisis, some revolution-something that I cannot foresee or conjecture."
The weaknesses of the Articles are not evident but through history we can observe them (weaknesses) and correct them. Some of the weaknesses are that there was no independent executive and no judicial branch. Congress was left with judicial authority and states primarily ignored Congress. The nation was in dire need of a president. Another weakness is that the federal government was unable to regulate trade and levy taxes . The revolution had left the United
States government in major debt and states refused to give the money needed ( to the government). The Congress could not pass bills because they needed the nine-state majority vote agreed on during the time of the articles. Furthermore, the Congress also could not force states to comply to the terms that ended the revolution. In addition, the new nation was alarmed when John Jay informed them that the British and Spanish wanted to take over American territory as stated in John Jay's Speech to Congress ( on Negotiations with Spain's minister Diego De Gardoqui ( August 6,1786) : " Mr.
Gardoqui strongly insists on our relinquishing our right to navigate the Mississippi."As a result of this, the Congress called for a Constitution Convention on February 21,1787 to revise the article. From this Convention, the Constitution was written. The statements claiming that the Article of Confederation provided an effective government are, in a way, partly true because some features in the articles can be found in the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation pressed on issues such as state's freedom, unity between the states (people), persons charged of treason, delegates' manners, land issues, war issues, congress, bills and currency etc.. The articles made up the first Constitution of our nation and they lasted for eight years. The Articles of Confederation were the foundation for our nation's Constitution which is one or is the most important documents of the United States of America.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    "From 1781 to 1789 the articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government". I disagree with this quote because the articles was to weak to keep the nation unified which made the article a failure. The Articles were set up intentionally to be weak because of the memory of a strong central government of the British. The articles were to weak to govern effectively so it did not have the ability to carry out designs with out controversy from other states. This caused major problems later down the road for America. The Articles did had some good points to it like the Land Ordinance of 1785 but it was ultimately a failure due to financial, foreign, and domestic problem the Articles had made.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ap Us History Dbq Outline

    • 4656 Words
    • 19 Pages

    create new national bank; 2. opening and reopening of markets, raise tariffs on imported manufactured goods; 3. federal financing of roads and canals; 4. fear of disunity so let us bind the nation with better transportation with internal improvements, proved to be most controversial part of the program…

    • 4656 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The articles of Confederation created a loose confederation. The national government had very limited powers. The National government could declare war but not raise an army, sign treaties, make alliances, and control relationships with Indians. The state's cold raise an army, and tax. There was no executive branch formed from the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 54 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    4. What were the major weaknesses and strengths of the Articles of Confederation government? Why do some historians call it the “Critical Period”?…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With intentions of creating a united nation, colonial leaders developed the Articles of Confederation. Although the Articles of Confederation helped lead the United States to the creation of the Constitution, it did not provide for an effective government from 1781 to 1787, do to its lack of power to control commerce and impose taxes, the failure to amalgamate its people as a country, and its inability to enforce laws.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    AoC DBQ

    • 1217 Words
    • 1 Page

    which were acquired by America after the war. Following the war America gained new lands…

    • 1217 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better 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

    There were other ways in which the power of the states was stated and the confederation type of structure was emphasized under the Articles. The original Congress of the United States was founded on the principle that each state was the equal…

    • 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

    The Articles of Confederation were meant to give the United States a loose, weak central government, making the Articles ineffective. With the Articles of Confederation, the United States was unable to support soldiers due to the inabilities of Congress. The United States was also unable to remove British trading posts from their home soil. The weakest states, who were not influential and least populous, had power over those that were strong and heavily populated. Also, the United States did not financially thrive between the years of 1781-1789. By 1789, citizens of the United States started to become weary because of the weak central government. The United States was unable to flourish and to unite under the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 905 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles were written during the early part of the American Revolution by a committee of the Second Continental Congress of the now independent thirteen sovereign states. The head of the committee, John Dickinson, who had refused to sign the Declaration of Independence, nevertheless adhering to the will of the majority of the members of the Continental Congress, presented a report on the proposed articles to the Congress on July…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between 1781 and 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government, Although there were flaws, strong steps were taken in the attempt to try and make the United States a better country. The Articles set up a government that gave individual states the power to make their own laws and enforce them. This was ineffective for the following reasons: 1) The Continental Congress controlled public affairs but there was nothing in the Articles that gave Congress the power to enforce laws or unify the states. 2) There was no solid system of money to ensure that taxes would be paid or protect commerce, both nationally and with foreign trade. 3) The country lacked unity and strength because there was no leadership.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The time between the American Revolution and the presidency of George Washington was one of learning, experimentation, and confusion. No patterns existed to model the new government being established for the thirteen American states. Although it would be incorrect to say that the government of the Articles of Confederation was a complete failure, it would be logical to advance the idea that the more powerful national government established under the constitution of 1787 was essential to the survival of the American Union. Between the two documents there were some drastic differences of opinion on governing tactics as mentioned in the Articles of Confederation compared to the Constitution of 1787 (Doc. C). Major differences were composited of issues such as taxation powers, regulation of commerce, powers of the judiciary, and the executive and method of amendment.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of confederation allowed States to be independent while the federal government was overall a meeting place for all the state representatives to meet and debate new law. The federal government had laws in place but their were very hard to enforce. The federal government under the Articles of Confederation had no president. They instead had the Committee of the States which had one representative from each state. Even though that the Committee of the States was the most central form of the federal government, they had very little power to the Constitutional Congress.…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation kept the central government weak due to the colonists’ fear of a tyrannical central government. Congress did not have the power to regulate international of interstate trade. This was a significant weakness. International trade is a crucial part to…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays