Articles of Confederation and the Constitution Essay Example

The time between the American Revolution and the presidency of George Washington was one of learning, experimentation, and confusion. No patterns existed to model the new government being established for the thirteen American states. Although it would be incorrect to say that the government of the Articles of Confederation was a complete failure, it would be logical to advance the idea that the more powerful national government established under the constitution of 1787 was essential to the survival of the American Union. Between the two documents there were some drastic differences of opinion on governing tactics as mentioned in the Articles of Confederation compared to the Constitution of 1787 (Doc. C). Major differences were composited of issues such as taxation powers, regulation of commerce, powers of the judiciary, and the executive and method of amendment. The Articles of Confederation were not a complete failure. It set up a foundation for the Constitution of 1787 to base its standards and laws of governing on as far as knowing what had and had not worked and tweaking them to fit what was needed at that time. As mentioned earlier the Articles of Confederation compared to the Constitution of 1787 (Doc. C) clearly states that under the Articles of Confederation it was of value that states alone could levy taxes. Meanwhile congress would fund the Common Treasury by making requisitions for state contributions. Where as under the Constitution of 1787, the federal government would grant all powers of taxation. This would benefit the states because while under the Articles of Confederation states were given an option to basically pay what they wanted when they want in turn making it difficult for the government to regulated money based of people’s actions of not paying what was needed. Another major difference was mode of amendment including the views on representation. This could also trail the views of the regulation of commerce. The Articles of