The Importance Of Studying The Articles Of Confederation

Improved Essays
Many people would ask, why should they study the Articles of Confederation if it was a failure that took place in American history? The answer to that question would be that people need to study the Articles of Confederation, because it was the first Constitution that Americans ever had and even though it wasn't perfect, learning about the goals and the shortcomings of the Articles notifies future Americans of what they could do to make America better without repeating what happened in the past.
The goals of the Articles of Confederation was to prevent the central government from having a lot of power. Under the Articles Congress had the power “to declare war and make peace, to make treaties and alliances, to coin or borrow money, and to

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Question #1: The first compromise was the decision to replace the Articles of Confederation rather than amend it. The initial plan of the Constitutional Convention attendees was to amend the Articles of Confederation. Two attendees, Governor Randolph from Virginia and William Patterson from New Jersey, shared their own modifications early on, known as the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. As these plans were discussed, it became obvious that a new document was needed.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As far as I am concerned, the Articles of Confederation was the basic law of the country, and it was a document written by the thirteen original colonies which laid the foundation of the constitution. The main reason: the beginning of the founding of the United States, although from the British colonial yoke, but a thousand things wait to be done. At this time, they need to solve the problem is: economic difficulties, political instability and loose confederation system. The "Confederation" system makes the new US economic difficulties and political crisis, the urgent need to develop a constitution to strengthen the centralization of power.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The articles of confederation was the Untied States first attempt at creating a democratic government. Meaning instead of giving power to the central government they decided to divide it up with different states. But it all wasn't good, congress had trouble passing laws due to the fact that 9 of the 13 states had to agree before any laws could be passed (Doc 1). Congress did not have the power to collect the taxes needed to pay for the expense of the national government (Doc 2). Also the states refused to give the national government enough power to work correctly.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the 1770's America was starting to declare their desire for independence from britain and as well establishing a foundation for America to form a new type of government. These amazing writers and intellectual thinker began designing the first ever government for use in America and named their final draft the Articles of Confederation. Life under the Articles of Confederation had numerous weaknesses that affected the operation for the central government in fulfilling its responsibility. Some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation it was Unable to collect taxes, economic disorganization,and lack of central government power. However, despite its inherent flaws, the founding fathers resolved that by replacing the Articles of Confederation…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The ideas and events that led to the belief that the Articles of Confederation was not working well (was because Congress had no power to regulate trade, coin money, collect taxes, or establish a military.) The Articles of Confederation was established to create the national government of the United States after the declaring independence from Great Britain. The purpose of creating the Articles of Confederation was to guarantee states of not “surrendering their sovereignty powers,” freedom, and independence (Davidson p. 152). The Articles of Confederation failed to regulate trade “Wit the outbreak of the Revolution, Americans had suffered an immediate loss of the manufactured goods, markets, and credit that Britain had formerly supplied,” (Davidson…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Constitution is superior to the Articles of Confederation because it enforced an efficient balance of power that allowed the national government more power. According to “Excerpts from the United States Constitution (Primary Source)”, the text states,”The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States…” This excerpt is from the Constitution itself, therefore proving that the Constitution enforced a more efficient government. A prominent reason why the Articles of Confederation were proven faulty was because the states were not paying the taxes that were mandatory to the success of the country. As a result of the states having more power, they could easily refuse the pleas of the national government, resulting in a failed economy.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Confidential letter Dear Lieutenant Major Reginald Brighton, Under the Articles of Confederation Congress has limited powers. The powers congress has under the Articles of confederation are protecting the country, raise and lead the army and navy, declare war, make treaties, make rules for settling western lands, set up a mail delivery system, and print and borrow money. Although, to raise and lead an army the states must provide the soldiers and some of the officers. Under the Articles of Confederation, the government has the power to address some concerns that are related to the states.…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were created for different reasons. The Articles of Confederation were created for the purpose of uniting the states in their Declaration of Independence from Britain (LBH 108). Conversely, the Constitution was created in order to establish a lasting structure for governance. Concerning the governance issue “between the one, the few, and the many,” the Articles of Confederation did not address the issue of the one as there was no president or chief executive.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Unlike the Constitution, The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government and gave most of the power to the individual states to do as they please. There were some problems with the Articles of Congress that were corrected in the Constitution. For example, when the Articles of Confederation was in place, there was no common currency. Every state had its own money. But when the Constitution was…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There were many weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. This included that each state only had only one vote in Congress regardless of size or population of the state, Congress didn't have the power to tax, or to regulate commerce, there was no executive branch or a President to enforce any acts passed by Congress, there was no national court system and laws required a 9/13 majority to pass in Congress. When the Constitution Convention arrived in Philadelphia, the Article of Confederation was decided to be scraped and revised however this introduced a great deal of conflict. However, what caused conflict was that under the Articles of Confederation, all thirteen states had to ratify new constitution for it to take effect and this was not easy.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Revolution is over a decade past; it’s 1787, the United States is currently using the Articles of Confederation. The recent events of Shay’s rebellion show us that the Articles of Confederation is inefficient and fails to protect people's natural rights. This raises a concern that the Articles of Confederation should be replaced by the new Constitution. We should ratify the Constitution to better protect people's natural rights. Amos Singletary, a Massachusetts representative, is against the ratification (Doc1).…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles Of Confederation were drafted under the Second Continental Congress, and stood for all thirteen states between 1781 and 1789, when a new Constitution was ratified. While considered to be a failure in the long-term, and an impotent authority from which a central government could efficiently act, the Articles were not a completely ineffective form of government. Under the Articles, congress was able to carry out multiple, influential programs involving the eventual forming of states in the western areas of American territory, and in foreign policy endeavors. The imposition of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the treaties with both France and Britain, and even association with Canadian territories all…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When the United States had just declared their independence, it was clear that governmental structure needed to be established. In 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which all states would ratify by 1781. The Articles of Confederation would prove to be a weak constitution, giving too much power to the states and not having a strong enough central government. This realization led to several changes being made until a new framework was implemented. The Constitution established a better relationship between central and state governments, while making sure that no form of government would become too powerful.…

    • 1083 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    1.As you read the chapter, create a chart of political, social and economic continuities and changes during the war. Based on this chart you create, answer the questions: How revolutionary was the American Revolution? What political, social, and economic changes did it produce and what stayed the same? I will not collect the chart, but it is a good way to organize your thoughts as you look at political, social and economic events during the war and how things stayed the same or changed. For more information on what change and continuity might mean, please read in the introduction section of your book pg.…

    • 1582 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays