There are multiple reasons why the state of Franklin failed. There are also many ways it can demonstrate the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The “Lost” state of Franklin is always referred to with the Articles of Confederation this being because they were closely related. The number one reason for the state’s failure is all of the weaknesses in the Article of Confederation.…
Any power the legislative authorities of the central government possessed under the Articles was undone by the absence of executive authority to enforce the meager amount of verdicts that against all odds were passed. Perhaps the weakness of the Articles is to be blamed on opposing individual state interests; however, it was still the Articles that were to blame for the division of the Union nevertheless. Though some historians believe that with minor alterations the Articles of Confederation could have survived for many more years,[15] its fundamental flaw – its lack of a 3 house Congress – was destined to be efficacious in the eventually switch to the Constitution. What the Constitution really achieved for the country was a foundation of authority. It states in black and white the powers of the Congress and the rights given to enforce those powers, whereas the Articles only gave Congress an arbitrary right to rule that could easily be ignored because of its noncommittal language and potential to be…
The Articles of Confederation was such a week form of government that it would never have kept the 13 very different colonies together. The people during this time were very uneasy and scared as to what would happen next and they knew it was time for change. Change was very frightening and new for all people in the United States and no one knew what to expect, not even the men trying to reform the new government. As John Jay wrote to George Washington " Our affairs seem to lead to some crisis, some revolution something that I cannot foresee or conjecture."(Document G). It shows that a change was desperately needed but no one knew how to make a change large that would hold this new country together and stand the test of time.…
The Articles of Confederation were a significant stepping stone toward the Constitution. They were filled with weaknesses which resulted in protests like Shay’s Rebellion. But according to John Jay, “A state of fluctuation and uncertainty must disgust and alarm such men, and prepare their minds for almost any change that may promise them quiet and security”, (Doc. G). The Articles did not provide Congress with much authority, and Joseph Jones noted how slow and unable Congress was to make payments and decisions (Doc. C). These things would eventually direct the leaders of the United States to go back to the table and develop a better and more efficient document to lead the…
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…
The Articles of Confederation was written in 1777 and became operational in 1781. It put an emphasis on state rights. Without an executive branch or judicial branch the central government was run by a Congress. This Congress was unicameral, meaning it was a single branch; there was no House of Representatives or Senate. Each state got a single vote in Congress. In order to create major legislation you needed at least 3/4 vote and a unanimous vote to amend. With the Articles the government had little to no power. Without enough federal power, the states adopted the Articles of Confederation and went out on their own again seeking to help only themselves. The Articles stated that the…
I agreed with your post this week given the fact that we took an almost identical way of describing and pointing out the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. An aspect that you covered by I missed was the issues of states not paying federal taxes. Without taxes being made it would not allowing funding for the government to function and create institutions necessary for a the states and country to survive. Yes, a huge part of the colonies reason to gaining their independence was British unfair taxes but the value that taxes had financial was missed. In cases of fear and angry we tend to make rational decision by way of irrational behavior and thought. This is not to say the colonies actions were irrational but just to acknowledge…
The confederation style of government had many weaknesses in domestic affairs. After the states won their independence they had to set up a government, and of course they didn't want it to be anything like the British so the central government was severely lacking in power. The Articles of Confederation gave sovereign power to each of the states to rule themselves, which isn't terrible considering they were under despotic rule of the king all this time, but they couldn't agree on anything. Under the Articles of Confederation the Congress had no power to levy taxes or tariffs, which led to a shortage of money. The only way it could gain funds was to ask the states for money even though most of those requests were ignored or only partially met. Speaking of money, the congress did have the right to print its own currency, but so did the states. In the states in which the creditor classes controlled the legislatures, high taxes and a tight money system made it impossible for debtors to repay their debts but in the states where debtors did have a heavy influence over the legislatures, the amount of paper money became excessive, which led to high inflation.…
The Constitution fixed many problems dealt with prior to the Constitutional Convention. First of all, a system of checks and balances was put in place for the three separate branches of Government. The Judicial Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Executive Branch. The Judicial Branch is made up of the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts. The Legislative Branch is made up of the House and Senate, and is Congress. The Executive Branch is made up of the President, and it passes laws, or Executes them. Checks and balances was created so no branch could become more powerful than the other(s). This system is described in Document 6; “Executive Branch… Can veto, or refuse to sign laws… Legislative Branch… Can override veto of the President…” This is also described in Document 7; “Judicial Branch… Can declare laws unconstitutional…” The list goes on about how each branch checks on each other. This is helpful because it ensures that every section of Government is just as important as the others. Another change with the Articles of Confederation was that Congress was given the power to tax. This is mentioned in Document 1; “Congress given the power to tax.” Also mentioned in Document 1; “Only the National Government has the power to coin money.” Now that Congress can tax the people, they can raise an army and pay for other things they couldn't…
The federal government did not have the power to establish a common currency among the states or collect taxes. This resulted in an economic downturn and an increase in national debt. Congress did not have the power to regulate interstate and international trade as well. Also, creating laws became a challenge because a two thirds majority was needed to pass laws and all states needed to agree to amend the Articles ("The Articles of Confederation, 1777"). The Articles did not establish a court system or an executive branch, causing the acts of Congress to be left unenforced. Therefore, power no longer lied with the people, but with the states and a single assembly ("The Articles of Confederation, 1777"). The articles did not create the republican government that was called for by the…
There were many problems that arose during the rein of the Articles of Confederation. First, an event during the Articles of Confederation was Shay’s Rebellion. This was a mob of farmers who were being taxed extremely hard. The taxes came from the state to pay the debt from the revolutionary war. If the federal government issued a tax then the farmers of that state would’ve not been taxed that hard and prevent the rebellion. Another issue with the Articles of Confederation was trade. The government didn’t have the power to stand up to Britain amount trade. This was an issue because Britain refused to take imports from the United States. Lastly, another issue with the Articles of Confederation was that the states weren’t fully united. The Articles…
The Articles of Confederation was America’s first constitution. It was adopted in 1777 by congress because there was a need for unity among the new states that were created as a result of the American Revolution. It put the largest share of power to the individual thirteen states in which each of them held "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." Though the Articles of Confederation was made to create a "firm league of friendship" between and among the 13 states, there were a lot of reasons why it didn’t fulfill this and initially failed.…
A crucial point in American History came when the people of this country demanded change from the failures of the articles of Confederation. In modern times, Americans debate the issues of national or individual rights, and whether the constitution has address our concerns. Currently, I feel the constitution addresses national rights but not individual rights. One failure of the Articles of Confederation was that power was only given to central government. The money that produced within the articles didn’t hold the value and brought the economy down then it came apart. The second failure was that there was no proper taxation which means things were more difficult to maintain such as any form of central government. It also failed because they were too weak to form an effective central government.…
The Articles of Confederation gave the states the right to govern themselves, all laws were made by states, all taxes went to states, etc. This would keep the states from reaching a point of representation and unity. While the US did have a central government, most of the control was in the state government, and most of the states did not have much representation in the central government. The states regardless of size, had only 1 vote in the central government. To sum up, the Articles were a disaster for representative-hungry…
Although the Articles of Confederation gave the state more power but this was not enough because the congress did not get enough power. The country was in need for a stronger Federal government;in which, it was not present in the Articles of confederation. The lack of power for the national government and the congress led to the creation of the United States Constitution. The constitution created the executive branch, and federal courts. This makes the constitution better than the Articles of confederation because the Federal court system was created to ensure that law was followed throughout the country. The creation of executive branch is another advantage of the constitution.…