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1 Running Head: Articles of the Confederation and the new Constitution of Customer inserts his/ her name: Customer inserts his/her course/grade: Customer Inserts name of instructor:

2 History 2 Topic: Articles of the Confederation and the new Constitution of Introduction. - Comparison and Contrast - New constitution formation - Conclusion

3 Articles of the Confederation and the new Constitution of Articles of the Confederation and the new Constitution of Introduction There were many differences between the Articles of the Constitution than there were similarities. This is because the Free States at the very end of the Revolution desired to have a sort of control that would cascade all the way to a unified country. Thus, several issues arose as to how power would be shared between the local governments as well as the national government. Further, a question arose about who would make the laws and how these laws would be made. The other challenge was the question of the authority that would govern the said laws. Also, the question of how the government could be structured so as to protect the inalienable individual rights. It is these issues that led to the Articles of the Confederation. The Articles were largely a failure but not entirely. It is this failure that drove state delegates to set out to revise the articles. However, in the process of reviewing the Articles, they ended up constituting the Constitution. As such, more differences than similarities occurred between the Confederation Articles and the Constitution. Comparison and Contrast Unlike the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation created a loose confederation of independent states which provided very limited power to the central government. Thus, according to the Articles, individual states would only be entitled to one vote in the Congress, despite its population. Some members of the one-house Congress such as Pennsylvania agreed that the government would only have a

4 unicameral legislature, without the executive or a separate judiciary (Irons, 1999). So, unlike with the Constitution, the Articles watered down the executive branch. Congress was the one charged with the duty of arbitrating disputes between different States and even conducting foreign affairs responsibilities. The judicial branch was missing in the Articles. The articles, however, denied Congress the power for tax collection, regulation of interstate commerce as well as law enforcement. Due to this, the central government would be left with no other option other than requesting donations from states to finance its operations, including raising armed forces (Lomask, 1980). Afraid of creating a Monarchy, the states tried as much as possible to limit the national government's power. To achieve this, Congress created a national government that was weak and one that could not govern effectively. This led to both national as well as international challenges. One major weakness occasioned by the Articles of Confederation exhibited itself in the Congress incapability to regulate trade as well as levy taxes. This led to the states controlling all their cash flows. Though at times these States could be in debt due to tariff wars among themselves, the national government suffered most. This is because due to these wars, the states would refuse to remit money that the national government desperately needed. As such, the national government could fail to pay those who fought in the war as well as pay off the debts incurred during the Revolution. Another challenge under the Articles was that Congress lacked the requisite capacity to govern effectively. This is because it lacked the nine-state majority required. Further, the Congress could not amend the laws because it needed a unanimous consent from all the states. All in all, the states ignored Congress in most instances as it

5 had no powers to enforce cooperation and thus unable to carry out its duty. Due to the lack of income, the national government was unable to defend its borders against the British and even Spanish encroachment as it was unable to raise a reasonable army. There was total disorder: states controlled interstate business, coined their money as well as regulated its supply such that currency values differed from one state to the other. Anti-federalists, who formed a majority, believed that the national government would be a threat to their rights and liberties. They were afraid that the constitution would override their rights. The anti-federalists constituted mainly the upcountry farmers, the poor, the illiterates, debtors among other rights advocates (Ketcham, 1986). On the other side were the Federalists. The Federalists were staunch supporters of the Constitution who desired a strong central government. The Federalists believed that the Articles of Confederation were weak and largely ineffective. They also felt a strong national government would not protect its people and their rights (Levy, 1999). New constitution formation The delegates who attended a convention called by George Washington in the late 1787 were from only eleven states out of the total thirteen states. They agreed on the formation of a government consisting of three branches. These were the legislature (Congress), executive (the President) and the Judiciary (Supreme Court). These branches were under checks and balances to ensure a balance of powers between them as well as preventing tyranny in the country. Also, they believed such an arrangement in which there is separation of powers would ensure that the country did

6 not become a monarchy. However, to reach such an agreement was not easy coming. There were several compromises to be made (Lomask, 1980)..It should be noted that delegates came from different backgrounds and, therefore, held disparate views. They, for instance, could not agree on the number of representatives each state should be allowed to have. Larger states preferred the Virginia plan which allowed that each state produces different numbers of representatives based on that state s population. The smaller states favored the New Jersey Plan which required that the number of representatives should be the same for each state (Lomask, 1980). Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, is the one who solved this stalemate by proposing that there should be a two-house legislature which consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate was to have an equal number or representatives from each state while The House of Representatives would produce one representative for every people in a particular state. This solution came to be known as the Great Compromise as both big and small states' interests were well covered. Also, a balance was struck between slave-owning states versus those that did not own them (Lomask, 1980). Under the new Constitution, the Congress had the power and right to levy taxes besides regulating commerce. A strong executive was created to give the country the much deserved strong leadership. This is despite Alexander Hamilton's suggestion for a monarchy headed by an American King. Thus, the president would only be elected by an electoral college and after that supposed to appoint an own cabinet. The Judiciary

7 Act of 1789 was also passed, and it created the Supreme Court and several district courts (Irons, 1999). However, it should be noted that civil liberties were equally protected. This is because the delegates wanted to have in place a government of the people (Agel, 2000). Thus, suggestions numbering over two hundred got submitted to Congress to protect the citizen rights. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be seen that The Articles of Confederation form an important part in the American roots. Several ideas from Articles played a major role in the US constitution as it is today. This is because the Bill of Rights was derived from the Articles. Also, the articles provided a platform upon which the government structured the better upon realizing the disadvantage of a weak central government.

8 References Agel, J. B. (2000). We, The People - Great Documents of the American Nation. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books. Irons, P. (1999). A People's History of the Supreme Court. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam. Ketcham, R. (1986). The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (2nd ed.) New York, NY: Penguin Books. Levy, L. (1999). Origins of the Bill of Rights. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Lomask, M. (1980). The Spirit of The Making of Our Constitution. New York, NY: Fawcett Juniper.

Chapter 5, Section 3 Creating the Constitution. Pages

Chapter 5, Section 3 Creating the Constitution Pages 163-168 It didn t take long for people to realize that the Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses. By the mid-1780s most political leaders agreed