The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution The founding of a new government was a difficult and lengthy process, although necessary to the success of our country. Through trial and error, dedication of politicians, and intense debate the American government was born. It was readily apparent that the first attempt at a constitutional document was not a resounding success. The differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are numerous. The process of drafting and ratifying the Constitution was lengthy and many states needed to be persuaded to see the positive effects that the Constitution would bring to the country. The Articles of Confederation vs The Constitution With America at war with Britain, it quickly …show more content…
Congress had authority to negotiate foreign relations, treaties and alliances, and declare war or peace. Congress could develop and maintain an army and navy, establish a postal system, and manage Indian affairs. While they could coin money, the states were also allowed to coin their own currency. (History.com staff, 2009.). Ultimately, the states were still able to practice as individual entities regarding commerce, coin, and travel. One of the major flaws of the Articles of Confederation was the lack of ability to tax the people. “Without the power to tax or coerce states to follow the treaties it had negotiated, the Confederation Congress could not resolve the nation’s economic problems and diplomatic issues (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2013, p.138). The states contributed revenue based on the value of privately owned land. These funds were processed through requisitions to the government, although these were rarely done in a timely manner, and the government had no authority to enforce …show more content…
This document completely changed how the government worked. It broke it into three different branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The representatives also split Congress into two separate branches, The State of Representatives and the Senate. This gave the states the power to have two Senators and the Representatives were based on the population of the state. The Constitution also put a federal court into place. Ultimately, this document strengthened the power of the government, allowing them to collect taxes, deal with foreign policies, and negotiate war. (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2013.). The government’s power is equitably distributed with no one branch holding more than another. With the power to amend the Constitution with three-fourths of the state’s votes, this document could be adjusted as the country
And they both wanted peace within the country. In difference, the Articles of Confederation created a very weak federal government, in fear of tyranny. Under the Articles, the weak federal government could not collect taxes and had no executive or judicial branch. Although it was the first American written document, it was very ineffective
The United Sates has operated under two constitutions. The Articles of Confederation was effective in 1781, and The Constitution which replaced the Articles in 1788. These two documents have much in common, but they differ more than they do resemble each other. The primary difference was the Articles of Confederation was an agreement establishing the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states. Otherwise, the US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America, also a constitution embodying the relationship of the federal government with the states of America and the citizens of the US.
The focus was on how the individual liberty could be permanently secured and preserved. Articles of Confederation and The Constitution, both have some similarities, but they differ more than they do resemble one another. The most common aspect of each other, is that, they were established
The Constitution grants the legislative branch a vast expanse of authority over national policy, foreign and domestic. Expressed powers gives The Congress powers tax, and spend money for defense and general welfare of the U.S., borrow money, regulate commerce with other nations as well as within the sates, and grants the power to coin
After the Articles of Confederation failed because they failed to give enough power to the national government and congress, our founding father’s needed to reflect on its flaws for a new system to be set in place. Their new creation, our Constitution, was then set into place, and was created from a basis of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation directly influence the Constitution by its failure by changing some of the responsibilities of the federal and state governments. The Articles of Confederation gave too much power to the states, and the Constitution changed that.
The Constitution was also established by a lot of the same people as the Articles. (Epps 229) Both the Articles and the Constitution can be changed through a long process. The Articles of Confederation took a little more commitment than the Constitution, considering that all 13 states needed to agree for an amendment to be made. The Constitutional amendment process may take longer but it has a better system with only 2/3 of congress to approve.
Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution The intent the framers had of the executive was reflected in the Articles of Confederation. There were several problems with the Articles of Confederation, that Han and Heith mentioned in chapter two of “Presidents and the American Presidency, due to a lack of insight and political effectiveness. Since, the document did not allocate a head of state it caused the articles of confederation to be extremely weak. The confederation could not enforce laws, coordinate national defense, or handle foreign affairs.
But beyond these general features, the two constitutions could not be more different. These differences result from the fact that the two documents arose out of very different historical circumstances and for radically opposite complaints with the document each was meant to replace. With the U.S. Constitution, the problem with the earlier Articles of Confederation was that government was too decentralized and not powerful enough. The U.S. Constitution was designed to overcome these weaknesses and offer a degree of centralization and increased government power.
The Articles of Confederation were very weak. One weakness of the Articles of Confederation were that Congress could not tax the colonists, “...did not give the national
The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.
Both of these Documents were created with the mind set to provide the foundation for a unified, centralized government. Even though the confederation only lasted from 1781-1789, it was still seen to be valuable with its belief that sovereignty belongs to every state. After the Confederation ended in 1789, the U.S. Constitution took place bringing the states together as a whole. While these two documents have the needs of the nation in mind, they both do have quite a bit of a difference as well.
The most important difference between these documents was that the Articles of Confederation gave very little power to a central government and the Constitution created a strong central government. The Article of Confederation was written to unite states after the American Revolution. People had the fear of the government having too much power. This document established
DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal
This is one of the successful parts of the Articles of Confederation because under the articles, the government cannot institute tax thus the government cannot make money. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 removed debts from the states and it also allowed the government to raise money by selling off the new
In one hand, the Articles of Confederation had a weak central government, differing form the strong central government in the Constitution. The Constitution’s government had a structure of three different branches; the legislative, executive, and judicial branch; unlike the Articles of Confederation that had no structure whatsoever. The Articles of Confederation had many problems like, the poor international trade, poor foreign relations and a weak economy in contrast to the Constitution that only had one problem, the struggle over the ratification. the Articles of Confederation achieved the Northwest Ordinance and the Northwest Territory and according to a history website, the Constitution achieved that we had a system of checks and balances, that we had a bill of rights, and, eventually, the survival of a bloody civil war intact. Lastly, the Constitution had three compromises: the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Slave Trade compromise.