Preview

Articles Of Confederation: First Constitution Of The United States

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
344 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Articles Of Confederation: First Constitution Of The United States
Articles of Confederation Essay In 1777 Congress made the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States of America. Under the Articles of Confederation Congress had several powers which were; authority to conduct foreign affairs, maintain armed forces, borrow money, and issue currency. Although Congress had powers, their powers were limited. Due to problems with British, the 13 states refused to give Congress two important powers. These powers were that Congress had no power to enforce its laws and no power to tax. Congress could ask for money, but could not demand it. Congress unfortunately could not require the states to do anything. Without money or real power over the states, the Congress commanded so little respect

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Under the Articles of Confederation the federal government did not have the power to regulate commerce. As a result the government did not receive any money, the states were not taxed. The congress had power to tax the states and could only request that the states donate money for the Nation’s needs. Moreover, none of the states paid any money to congress. According to Document A, where the Rhode Island Assembly pleads to congress to not tax the imports of the states products, it shows Congress’s inabilities to tax the states. In addition to congress’s inability to tax the states, it also lacked the power to regular currency. All of the states were printing their own paper money. This often led to difficulties in trade for merchants, as there were no currency exchanges. As a result, trade between Great Britain declined, while the population continued to increase according to Document B. Furthermore, oftentimes a state printed more money when the economy was in trouble which led to inflation. Congress’s inability to regulate commerce under the Articles of Confederation led to a very unstable economy in the United States during 1981-1789.…

    • 799 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The people of early America had many faults and strengths after becoming free from England. They wanted to create a government different from England’s so the Americans could have more rights. To do this, the articles of confederation had no executive branch, congress didn’t have the power to tax directly which made it hard to support their own country, to change a law, it had to be unanimous and to pass a law 2/3 of the colonies had to agree which made it practically impossible to change or make laws and overall the country was just unbalanced. The first official form of government of America, The Articles of Confederation, was one of the disputable topics whether or not it was a good form of government. Evidence that proved the articles was an effective form of government was the spreading of land westward. On the other hand, there were many more ineffective ways the articles didn’t work, like Americas affairs with foreign countries like England and Spain and its economy.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • 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

    One of the major issues that was not incorporated in the Articles of Confederation was their power to control a monetary system. This included imposing taxes on the states and regulating commerce. This flaw allowed various states to create different laws concerning taxes that would conflict with each other. A growing problem at the time was that every state had their own money system which created troubles when using money from state to state. With each state having their own money, and having no value from state to state, the market value of United States Exports declined sharply from 1775 when exports were booming, to 1787. (Doc B) Another major factor in this was the…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One major flaw in the Articles of Confederation was that the state governments were given much more power than the central government. For example, the Confederation Congress could not levy taxes without approval of the states. They could only present their ideas to the states, hoping to reach an agreement. When the central government requested a tariff on imported items, the state of Rhode Island refused to pay. This inefficient method of funding resulted in inflation and overall lack of money for the central government. To make an amendment in the Articles of Confederation, all thirteen states had to agree. Although this weak central government was thought of as ineffective in governing the states, it provided equal rights for every state. Each state had the same amount of power, allowing a small state with few people to have the ability to cancel the vote of another state. Many of the states had conflicting views, resulting in large struggles over the amendment of laws. The Articles of Confederation was very effective in supporting small, minority states like Rhode…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 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
  • Powerful Essays

    The Articles of Confederation established the first governmental structure unifying the thirteen colonies and went into effect on March 1, 1781. Its purpose was to create a confederation of states where each state could maintain its personal freedom, independence and every power. While this document was effective in many aspects it did have its pitfalls and it was these pitfalls that lead to the Articles of Confederation's replacement by the Constitution on March 4th, 1789. James Madison, a federalist, expressed the importance of this reform by saying that the best the country could do at that point in time would be to avoid the errors suggested by the past experience of other countries and the errors from their own(document 10). The concerns regarding the Articles of confederation were extensive and the compromises that the Constitution then provided in return were even more so.…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the history of the United States it is amazing to think that it has only operated under two different constitutions. The first was the Articles of Confederation beginning March 1, 1781 and then the Constitution on June 21, 1788. After only seven years, the Articles were analyzed and re-written by a lot of the same people who constructed them. The Articles of Confederation created the national Congress. The Congress consisted of one single chamber.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Was the United States in a crisis under the Articles of Confederation, or was the “crisis” exaggerated by the Federalists to justify their movement?…

    • 1921 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Congress

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Prior to 1787 the states were fairly new, power wasn't evenly distributed between the people the state and the national government. This was the reason the delegates decided to come together, to review the articles confederation in order to acquire a stronger national government. The article of confederation provided the states with an abundant amount of power and not a sufficient amount to the nation government. Hence why states often ignored congress and worried only about the good of their state and not as a whole nation. "The national government had neither a consistent Currency, nor a military force, nor the power to regulate trade, nor the power to levy taxes." Although the people were free from Great Britain, they still need to become…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The structure of The Articles of Confederation led to the 1787 Constitution by failing to decrease the nation’s debt, decide on rulings efficiently, and enforce acts adopted . Through situations such as Shay’s Rebellion and the obstruction of trade by the Spanish government on the Mississippi River, the federal government demonstrated its lack of authority and coherence. The original strategy for the new nation was to present the federal government with very little power and allow the states to run as they pleased to avoid oppression from a national body. This mindset led to Congress becoming unable to tax the states to help eradicate the debts accumulated during the Revolution. Each state had its own regulations for trade and denied the national government any money. Although pleasing to the individual states, unregulated trading and…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were both recognized and followed by the same group of people. Even though the same group of people followed these two documents, these documents are very different. One example is the writing style of each document. The Articles of Confederation were repetitive, less direct and less certified for quoting than the Constitution. The two documents have a different approach towards the type of government and its control over the matters.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory 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

    had a lot of problems since the beginning, since the central government was so weak.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays