The First Constitution
The first constitution in our nation 's history was the U.S. Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was formed by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. However, sanction 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 central government, which resulted in most of the power residing with 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 (Researchers, 2013).
Some weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that ultimately resulted in failure were the fact that each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of size, Congress did not have the power to tax, Congress did not have the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, there was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by Congress, there was no nation court system, Amendments to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote, and laws required a 9/13 majority to pass in Congress. Under the Articles of Confederation, states often argued amongst themselves. They also refused to financially support the national government, who was also powerless to enforce any acts it did pass. Some states began making agreements with foreign governments. Most states had their own military and printed their own money. The conclusive result was that there was no stable economy (Kelly).
The new plan for the nation was called the Federal Constitution. It had been drafted by a group of national leaders in Philadelphia in 1787, who then presented it to the general public for consideration. The Constitution amounted to a whole new set of rules for organizing national government and indicates the intensity of political thought in the era as well as how much had changed since
Some weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that ultimately resulted in failure were the fact that each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of size, Congress did not have the power to tax, Congress did not have the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, there was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by Congress, there was no nation court system, Amendments to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote, and laws required a 9/13 majority to pass in Congress. Under the Articles of Confederation, states often argued amongst themselves. They also refused to financially support the national government, who was also powerless to enforce any acts it did pass. Some states began making agreements with foreign governments. Most states had their own military and printed their own money. The conclusive result was that there was no stable economy (Kelly).
The new plan for the nation was called the Federal Constitution. It had been drafted by a group of national leaders in Philadelphia in 1787, who then presented it to the general public for consideration. The Constitution amounted to a whole new set of rules for organizing national government and indicates the intensity of political thought in the era as well as how much had changed since
References: Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Roger Sherman. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540096/Roger-Sherman Herter, A. (1942). Artifact. Retrieved from malegislature.gov: http://www.malegislature.gov/VirtualTour/Artifact/66 Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). Drafting the Constitution. Retrieved from ushistory.org: http://www.ushistory.org/us/15.asp Kelly, M. (n.d.). About.com Education. Retrieved from About.com: http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/f/articles_of_confederation_fails.htm Oracle Think Quest. (n.d.). Library Think Quest. Retrieved from thinkquest.org: http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/creation/framing/feds.html Researchers, L. o. (2013, March 19). Articles of Confederation. Retrieved from Web Guides: http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html United States Senate. (n.d.). Art and History. Retrieved from Senate.gov: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/A_Great_Compromise.htm