Articles vs. Constitution
The Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution
The end of the Revolution gave the American colonies their freedom, but the new country needed its own government and laws by which to control the land. Many questions required answers, such as who would make the laws and enforce them, how would the new government manage finances, or would the states handle that individually? American leaders first tried to address these issues when the Second Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation in 1776 to build a sense of uniform government in the colonies.
Each colony eventually became its own state and sought to improve its individual interests. The Articles endeavored to form a centralized government that served all the states and strengthen the new country. However, several inherent problems resulted from the creation and implementation of the Articles. In general, the Articles of Confederation created just that, a confederation, giving the 13 states with their own powers and a government possessing limited powers. The national government lacked the ability to raise revenue or tax its citizens, create reliable forms of commerce, and the system of national currency was inconsistent ("Articles Of Confederation And Perpetual Union", n.d.).
The Articles also created a weak government because it included no executive or judiciary branch. Each state had one Congressional representative, and Congress had the ability to settle disputes between states, declare war, and perform functions to maintain military personnel. However, Congress could not enforce laws, control interstate commerce, or tax the American people to generate revenue. With this system, the majority of the power or sovereignty rested with the individual states (Felmeth, 1998). Government officials created the Constitution to amend and address many of these issues.
America had experienced several years of economic struggles and political demonstrations like Shay 's Rebellion. As a result,
The end of the Revolution gave the American colonies their freedom, but the new country needed its own government and laws by which to control the land. Many questions required answers, such as who would make the laws and enforce them, how would the new government manage finances, or would the states handle that individually? American leaders first tried to address these issues when the Second Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation in 1776 to build a sense of uniform government in the colonies.
Each colony eventually became its own state and sought to improve its individual interests. The Articles endeavored to form a centralized government that served all the states and strengthen the new country. However, several inherent problems resulted from the creation and implementation of the Articles. In general, the Articles of Confederation created just that, a confederation, giving the 13 states with their own powers and a government possessing limited powers. The national government lacked the ability to raise revenue or tax its citizens, create reliable forms of commerce, and the system of national currency was inconsistent ("Articles Of Confederation And Perpetual Union", n.d.).
The Articles also created a weak government because it included no executive or judiciary branch. Each state had one Congressional representative, and Congress had the ability to settle disputes between states, declare war, and perform functions to maintain military personnel. However, Congress could not enforce laws, control interstate commerce, or tax the American people to generate revenue. With this system, the majority of the power or sovereignty rested with the individual states (Felmeth, 1998). Government officials created the Constitution to amend and address many of these issues.
America had experienced several years of economic struggles and political demonstrations like Shay 's Rebellion. As a result,
References: Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hercules.gcsu.edu /~hedmonds/U.S.%20Constitution/Articles%20of%20Confederation.htm Bill of Rights Institute.org. (2010). Bill of Rights of the United States of America (1791). Retrieved from http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/ Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources" http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/ USHistory.html (31 March 1998). Schultz, K. M. (2012). HIST2, Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Thefreedictionary.com. (2013). Separation of powers. Retrieved from http://legal- dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Three+branches+of+government