Articles Of Confederation Dbq Analysis
Essay #4
Trevor Gaston
10/21/10
AP US History C-Block
“From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government;” a bold statement considering the fact that the Articles lasted only 8 years. Although, I suppose the case could be made that the Articles of Confederation provided the means for a temporary government, only acting as a first-time attempt for the colonies in creating a more perfect representation for the colonies as a whole. This is true in some ways and in some ways it’s not; for instance, just the fact that the Articles lacked the necessary provisions for a sufficiently effective government. There was no president or executive agencies or judiciary, nor was there a tax base …show more content…
You see, after the Revolutionary War, the United States signed the Treaty of Paris which ended all hostilities with Great Britain. The treaty left the U.S. independent and at peace, but with an unsettled governmental structure. The Articles of Confederation were weak and did not give a strong political or economic base for the newly formed nation. Another way in which the Articles were weak was the fact that the colonies weren’t, in a sense, even united or even considered a nation as evidenced by the following excerpt: “Does not call the United States a ‘nation’, but instead says: ‘The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.’”(Article III) Yet another way the Articles of Confederation were weak was the fact that there was only one representative body for the colonies called the Congress of Confederation. Under the Articles, Congress was given the powers to do that which the executive and judiciary branches of government of today can do, except the power of taxation and the power to enforce the decisions that it made. This was mainly due to the fact that the majority of law-making authority rested with the states, and, as a result, the central government was kept quite
Trevor Gaston
10/21/10
AP US History C-Block
“From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government;” a bold statement considering the fact that the Articles lasted only 8 years. Although, I suppose the case could be made that the Articles of Confederation provided the means for a temporary government, only acting as a first-time attempt for the colonies in creating a more perfect representation for the colonies as a whole. This is true in some ways and in some ways it’s not; for instance, just the fact that the Articles lacked the necessary provisions for a sufficiently effective government. There was no president or executive agencies or judiciary, nor was there a tax base …show more content…
You see, after the Revolutionary War, the United States signed the Treaty of Paris which ended all hostilities with Great Britain. The treaty left the U.S. independent and at peace, but with an unsettled governmental structure. The Articles of Confederation were weak and did not give a strong political or economic base for the newly formed nation. Another way in which the Articles were weak was the fact that the colonies weren’t, in a sense, even united or even considered a nation as evidenced by the following excerpt: “Does not call the United States a ‘nation’, but instead says: ‘The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.’”(Article III) Yet another way the Articles of Confederation were weak was the fact that there was only one representative body for the colonies called the Congress of Confederation. Under the Articles, Congress was given the powers to do that which the executive and judiciary branches of government of today can do, except the power of taxation and the power to enforce the decisions that it made. This was mainly due to the fact that the majority of law-making authority rested with the states, and, as a result, the central government was kept quite