Preview

Articles Of Confederation Vs Constitution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
762 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Articles Of Confederation Vs Constitution
There are many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. The Articles of Confederation is the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation was agreed on by the Congress on November 15th, 1777 This made the people of the states fear the central authority and lengthy land claims before it was ratified. It was ratified on March 1st, 1781. While the states were under the Article of Confederation, they stayed as they were and remained autonomous and independent. The congress served as the last resort on the appeal of disputes. Congress was given the authority to do many things. They were given the authority to make treaties and or alliances if they wanted. They were …show more content…
They had no federal courts. All of the laws were enforced by state courts. The Congress had absolutely no power when it came to taxes. Because of the Articles of Confederation, the Congress also had no power over interstate. They also were not really in control of the commerce of other countries around the world. The Congress only consisted of one body. Each state was only able to have one vote. The Articles of Confederation made it to where the Congress had anywhere from two to seven members for each state. Members were all appointed by state legislatures, in the manner each legislature directed. The term for people in the legislative office was only one year. The people of the legislative branch were only allowed to serve three out of every six years. The Congressional pay was paid by the states. When they amended the Articles of Confederation, all of the states approved of it. Congress only had specific delegated powers. Congress was not allowed to act upon the people. The state governments were the only ones that were allowed to do that. The Articles of Confederation was more harmful to the country then it was helpful to the Country, that is why they made the …show more content…
It has been amended twenty-seven times since then. The Constitution was created on September 17th, 1787. The authors of the Constitution were the people of the Philadelphia Convention. The whole purpose of the Constitution was to replace the Articles of Confederation (1777). While the Constitution was being written there were fifty-five delegates. Of the fifty-five delegates thirty-nine of then signed the Constitution. It was ratified on June 21, 1788. Because of the Constitution all of the people in the nation were sovereign. The power was divided between the states and the central government. Both the states and the central government acts directly on the people. The Constitution was amended with approval by three fourths of the states. The electoral college chooses the independent executive. The Constitution separates the federal court system and the power to figure out disputes or problems between the states. The Constitution gave the Congress more and better powers. The Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes. They also have the power to lay and collect duties, imposts and even excises. The Congress is also allowed to regulate the conversation between other countries and or nations and the United Sates. The Congress consists of two bodies. One is the House of Representatives and the other is the Senates. The House of Representatives is based on the population of each state. Each state has two Senators. Congress has

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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

    The Articles of Confederation had many flaws within it; it made the States more independent but the federal government have very limited control. They weren't allowed to make trade treaties, or allowed to tax which resulted in them not being able to pay their debts. The Constitution was made to tighten up the Articles and set a standard within the States. “ All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” (A-3) This is what caused a change, and tightened up the government. The government had 3 branches now, each with its own responsibilities and neither was more powerful than the other. The legislative had the power to create a new currency…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although there are many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution there are two principles that showcase the greatest differences; separation of powers (three branches that all have different obligations to the people of the U.S.) and checks and balances (the three branches that keep one from becoming tyrannical).…

    • 52 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory 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

    The Articles of Confederation was approved in 1781. At that time was a loose confederation of states. The nation was less together each state was running like independent countries instead of being one whole nation. In that time the national government was small, it was only comprised of one single legislature. In the Congress of Confederation, there was no president, and there was no judicial branch. The Articles of Confederation gave power to the Congress to conduct war, regulate currency, and govern foreign affairs. However, in reality these power…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 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
  • 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, although both written documents explaining how the American government would be ran, they have very distinct qualities about them. During the Constitutional Convention, instead of revising the Articles of Confederation as originally planned, those attending the meeting felt that a whole new document needed to be written. Legislation, the sovereignty of states, and the executive branch were all major differences between the two documents.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It could only suggest and appeal laws. By not being able to enforce laws, there is no central authority whatsoever. Therefore, it’s almost as if each state was an independent country. This was evident during Shay’s Rebellion. This was a rebellion of poor people in Massachusetts. The central government was unable to step in due to its lack of power. Lastly, it was virtually impossible for Congress to pass any new laws. A vote of two thirds of the states was required to pass any law. This was nearly impossible due to the fact that there were only thirteen states. The Articles of Confederation set up an extremely weak central government. The central government was almost useless due to its lack of…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 841 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Let our government be like that of the solar system. Let the general government be like the sun and the states the planets, repelled yet attracted, and the whole moving regularly and harmoniously in several orbits.” said John Dickinson, a Delaware Delegate in 1787 (constitutionfacts.com). The United States has a government that, for the most part, flows smoothly. However, our governing documents have not always been so harmonious. The Articles of Confederation, created and ratified in 1781 during the Revolutionary War, was the first basis for the United States of America’s central government. This was a shaky set of laws, yet it evolved into The Constitution of the United States of America. Though The Constitution was created from the Articles of Confederation, there were many differences. Three of these are differences in powers, in purposes, and in effects.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most important similarity between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States was that congress had the power to make laws and states had power within their borders. The Constitution fix the problems with in the Articles of Confederation with Congress not having enough power to collect taxes from the state, regulate trade between other countries and to force states to follow laws that were made and have an Executive and Legislative branch of government made.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over time the United states has been operated under two constitutions. on being the Articles of Confederation and the other being the Constitution. The two documents have common similarities. One being that they were both established by the same people. This is shown very clearly at the bottom of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Where some of the signatures at the bottom of both documents are the same. Another one of the similarities are that both documents referred the nation as The United States of America. This is the first article in the Articles of Confederation it says “The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America".” This is a reliable and good primary source due to the fact that it is directly from the Articles of Confederation. Likewise in the Constitution they do not clearly label what the nation is called but they do continuously call it The United States of America. Following this many things were changed in the new Constitutions compared to the Articles of Confederation after 8 years. One being that in the Constitution states that “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” This…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Federalist Papers were a set of documents written mostly by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. It was a treatise on free government in peace and security. The main topic discussed in the Federalist Papers were one: the defects of the government and the Articles of Confederation. And two: the new constitution's different components of the three branches of the government. The intent of the Federalist Papers was to secure the ratification of a constitution providing for a more perfect union. The Federalist Papers depicted that the Union appears as a means to achieve the safety and welfare of its parts. In general, the Federalists discusses federalism as a means to achieve free government in peace and security. The five basic themes included…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Constitutional Convention: The gathering that drafted the Constitution of the United States in 1787; all states were invited to send delegates. The convention, meeting in Philadelphia, designed a government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It established Congress as a lawmaking body with two houses: each state is given two representatives in the Senate, whereas representation in the House of Representatives is based on population.…

    • 293 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays