Preview

What Are The Key Aspects Of The Articles Of Confederation

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1502 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Are The Key Aspects Of The Articles Of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress and they functioned as America’s first constitution in the year 1777. However, with progressive changes, ratifications were made to the Articles of Confederation by the beginning of March 1781 (Schultz 112). It is important to highlight the reasons as to why the Articles of Confederation were important to the American population and the American government at the time. This will help to understand why the constitution failed, and areas where it benefited the country. Ultimately, an understanding of the Articles of Confederation based on how they were implemented will help to effectively understand the development of America as it is known today, with the current constitution and a deferral government. The Articles was an agreement that took place among the first 13 states in the United States, which served as the country’s first constitution. The document was initially drafted by a committee that as appointed by the continental congress on July 1776 (Schultz 112). By November 1777, a clear draft was sent out to all the thirteen states for their approval and for implementation. However, ratifications took place in March 1781, after all thirteen states approved of …show more content…
The Articles of Confederation were important in allowing for the independence of states and ensuring that they could govern themselves while benefiting from their own profits. However, it fails to consider the ultimate impacts of not having a central government or a permanent army. Furthermore, trade routes and treaties were unregulated, and this gave a competitive advantage to some states at the expense of others. Ultimately, there was a need to change this entire setting, to embrace one whereby a central government was in charge of all the activities taking place and it would influence the laws and regulations across

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

    Rebecca Kvamso Total views: 10 (Your views: 3) Sunday, March 3, 2013 8:16:22 PM CST Edited Date Sunday, March 3, 2013 8:16:22 PM CST The Articles of the Confederation was the first written constitution it was drafted by congress in 1777 and ratified four years later. There was just one house of congress. Each state was given one vote regardless of size, population, or wealth. Declaring war, foreign affairs and making treaties with other governments was the only specified powers of the affairs and making treaties with other governments was the only specified powers of the new government. The Articles was not so much a guideline for government but more like a peace treaty and unity pact among the states. The states wanted to be seen and respected as a nation but able to conduct themselves within that nation as independent, separate entities. There were no tax laws or regulations on import/ export taxes. No formula to pay national debt. States were supposed to just contribute as they seen fit. This seems to be a recipe for chaos. To amend the Articles took unanimous consent. entities. There were no tax laws or regulations on import/ export taxes. No formula to pay national debt. States were supposed to just contribute as they seen fit. This seems to be a recipe for chaos. To amend the Articles took unanimous consent Without regulation or a way to enforce it, the economy was going downhill fast. Many believed anarchy would soon result without a stronger unified government. Andrew Hamilton insisted a genuine liberty required “a proper degree of authority to make and Hamilton insisted a genuine liberty required “a proper degree of authority to make and exercise the laws.” In 1787 the decision was made to not to amend the Articles of Confederation, but instead to draft a new constitution Only 4000 words The Constitution of the United States outlines two basic principles division of powers and a system of checks and balances. The constitution is the outline for a three…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 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

    Articles of confederation created in 1776, was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation had served as the agreement between the thirteen sovereign states and was ratified by 1777. The Articles had served as the start of a new government that had brought many benefits and prosperity to the country. Even with a strong state government, when faced with foreign and issues on a national level, the Articles lacked a strong central government. From 1781-1787 the articles started debilitating, even with all the gains that it had as a government.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation were meant to give the United States a loose, weak central government, making the Articles ineffective. With the Articles of Confederation, the United States was unable to support soldiers due to the inabilities of Congress. The United States was also unable to remove British trading posts from their home soil. The weakest states, who were not influential and least populous, had power over those that were strong and heavily populated. Also, the United States did not financially thrive between the years of 1781-1789. By 1789, citizens of the United States started to become weary because of the weak central government. The United States was unable to flourish and to unite under the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 905 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This investigation assesses the problems the United States faced under the Articles of Confederation and the extent to which the Constitution addressed them. To achieve this, the investigation analyzes five defects of the Articles: (1) Lack of a proper legislative authority to regulate commerce between states and with foreign nations; (2) The State Quota…

    • 2155 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation had been in effect sine 1781. They established what could be referred to as a "league of friendship" and a quasi-constitution for the states that were sovereign and independent subsequent to the American Revolution. Those articles appeared to be "woefully inadequate" to James Madison. Madison believed that the central government had little power, while the states had considerable power. The central government was not able to tax, or set commercial power, nor could a war effort be effectively supported. It did not have the power to…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the United States of America won its Independence from Great Britain in 1776 many Americans began to have fidelity to their states instead of their country. Diverse citizens opposed to have an influential government. As a result, to the independent views of Americans the document Articles of Confederation was proposed. It was established with the primary purpose to balance the differences between states. Over time, this document became inadequate to govern itself and protect…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    States had much more power at their feet than ever before. An example of this was that the states had a great deal of control over politics. One such power was that every colony or state was allowed one vote in Congress (93). Furthermore, the colonies needed a united vote if any amendments were to be made to the Articles of Confederation (Davis). Because there was no national court system under the Confederation, the states resolved controversies amongst themselves. Moreover, the excess power that the Articles placed on the states was with the enforcement of laws; the states had the freedom to enforce any laws they saw fit. Giving states too much power in politics led to chaos that the national government absolutely had no control over (Johnson). Another example of the disarray of domestic affairs was the failure of a successful military. During the American Revolution, the Continental Army was moderate, but once the war was won, the military was largely demobilized (Alden 109). Only a small national force protected the country. The United States’ dream was to build a unified war-making regime, but it was a complete failure, especially after the Revolution (111). America’s dream went spiraling down until there was no hope of a centralized army. The Articles of Confederation government continued…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were numerous of problems under the “Articles of Confederation”. Several of the main problems were its incapacity of increasing funds, the necessity of completing consent to accomplish modifications , the “lack of authority over internal trade , foreign relations, and debt.” The central problem was that the states turned down the idea of giving the national government sufficient power to function properly. The articles gave each single state “independence”, but gave the “federal government” very little power. Congress had a hard time ratifying laws for the reason being that “ 9 out of 13 states” had to concede with passing them before any of them could fully go through .Congress did not have the authority to accumulate taxes required…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confederation Weaknesses

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Articles were forst adopted in 1777 by the Continental Congress. In 1778 a second copy was ordered since the first was found to be incorrect. It wasn’t until 1781 that all 13 states signed and ratified the Articles of Confederation. By 1787, congress planned to all meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles. The Articles of Confederation did establish some kind of order, but there was much chaos without a central ruling government. It was almost as if the separate states were their own country. There was no executive branch of government, and the constitution made it so there would be a president that would have executive power along with a vice president and would hold office for a term of four years. The Articles of confederation gave no power to a central government for taxation or regulation of commerce. The constitution addressed this by giving congress the power to set and collect taxes and regulate commerce with foreign countries and within the states. Before the constitution there were no federal courts, and they addressed that by giving all judicial power to one supreme court and inferior courts. Examples of inferior courts are state supreme, local courts, and appellate courts. The Articles of Confederation gave no power to control military and this was amended b giving congress the power to create and support an army and navy, and to make rules for them to abide…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation were written to govern the interaction of the thirteen original states after winning independence from Great Britain in 1776. They proved to be ineffective so in 1787 the US Constitution was adopted to replace the Articles of…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation had no power to regulate the economy nor could they demand the payment of taxes. However, they provided some sense of unity among the colonies. They also helped to expand American territory and they were a stepping stone that led to the development of the Constitution of the United States of America. Therefore, the Articles of Confederation provided the early United States with an effective government.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation kept the central government weak due to the colonists’ fear of a tyrannical central government. Congress did not have the power to regulate international of interstate trade. This was a significant weakness. International trade is a crucial part to…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation was the colonies first attempt at a national government. It was a weak form of a central government which had very limited abilities. Most of the power was left to the states which operated almost like independent republics. There were several downfalls of the Articles of Confederation, the most prominent of which was its lack of power to tax. During the 1780’s, the wealthiest and most groups recognized the problems with the Confederation and began working towards a solution.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays