Articles Of Confederation: First Attempt At A National Government

The Articles of Confederation were the very first framework of government, which were ratified in 1781. These articles created a weak government and gave more power to the state governments. After winning the war and declaring their independence from Great Britain, the United States needed some form of government. The national government consisted of a unicameral legislature, which meant that is only had one house or chamber of legislature. In the Articles of Confederation, article two states, “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation

From 1781 to 1789, the newly created United States of America put its trust in the Articles of Confederation to adequately govern itself in times of war and distress. The Articles of Confederation was the United States’ first attempt at a guideline for creating an effective federal government. It was efficient in holding the new country together during the Revolutionary War and managed to help the country attend to pressing foreign and economic problems right after the war. Although the Articles helped bring about momentous and significant change in one decade, it was not the suitable framework for the federal government to effectively govern the new country over a long period of time.

After the American colonies won their freedom from Great Britain needed to create a new government. The Articles of Confederation were developed, bestowing America with its first official government. The Articles were composed of many restrictions creating an inadequate body of government. One of the main reasons the articles didn't work was from the lack of a strong central government the states received too much liberty and freedom, and on the other hand congress was weak and restricted. The government did not have enough power to govern all the states efficiently under the articles of confederation, it couldn't tax or regulate trade . From the time period when the Articles were constructed in 1781, to when they were discarded in 1789, the

This form of government they created was called a constitutional republic. The Articles of Confederation gave power to the states instead of equally shared power. In order to make an amendment the Federal Government had to get a yes from all thirteen states. This made it very hard to get anything done.

    The Articles of Confederation created a government with virtually no power - it couldn’t enforce laws, pass tax laws, fund itself, or even get the states to work together. Basically, Congress was a weak government; it had much less power than the states themselves.

The Articles of Confederation were created so that each state would have a lot of freedom. The Articles would allow each state to have their own currency, judicial process, and laws. Each state would only be connected to the central government for common defense, the security of liberties, and the general welfare. Each state only had one vote in congress regardless of size and population. The country was becoming bankrupt because congress did not have the power to tax. Congress also did not have the power to regulate trade between other countries or even states. Congress could not enforce any acts they passed because their was no executive branch. There was no national court system which means that each state had to have their own court system. To add an amendment to the Articles of Confederation there had to be a unanimous vote. Laws required at 9/13 majority to pass. The Articles were weak and they did not provide

It was already determined that the Articles of Confederation did not give enough power to the centralized government, but deciding the particulars of the new Constitution was a difficult task. In this new federal system there would be both national as well as state governments, but all authority would ultimately come from the people. The new Constitution gave broad powers to the national government, such as the power to tax, to print money, and to regulate commerce as well as to pass laws necessary to for fulfilling its other functions. This national government was to be the highest law of the land; however it also recognized the individual states and entrusted other important powers to

After the Revolutionary war, the thirteen American Colonies needed a government to replace the British System. The founding Fathers’ first attempt for governance was founded around the Articles of Confederation. In the Article of Confederation it called for a confederacy, which placed sovereign power in the hands of the states. The American government began to be based on powerful state government, and the article of confederation became ineffective at governing American states. The main cause of the ineffective was the lack of a strong central government. This led to economic disorganization, lack of central leadership, and legislative inefficiency. The Articles of Confederation were America 's first failure at government (Brackemyre, 2015).

The Articles of Confederation had many problems, one being Congress not having the power to tax the states. Without the financial support of the states via taxation the government was not able to carry out their duties. This lack of revenue made it extremely hard for the government to pay its debts, draft people into the army and provide general welfare. Another issue that the nation faced with the Articles of Confederation was that it did not provide a strong judicial system. Knowing that the Government would not hand out consequences many times states would determine on their own merit when to abide current laws and when not to. Choices like theses resulted in an unorganized government. States being able to coin their own money, became

After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States had a major task ahead of them. While satisfying the people and insure success of economic demands and their nation as a whole, It is clear that The Articles of Confederation had many more weaknesses than strengths. This is mostly because the Articles of Confederation gave a lot of power to the states and not enough to the central government. Basically, they created a system which the nations could not work well together as one. The Articles of Confederation were indeed the first system of government that was proposed and put into effect. This attempt at creating a system that protected the people from a strong centralized government ultimately failed, yet set a precedent for the next trial, to create a stronger, more effective, government plan. After realizing this was a failure, the country had to regroup and create a stronger government.

Although the Articles of the Confederation became known as the United States’ first written constitution, it did not became ratified by all states until after four years after it was adopted and only lasted for 12 years until it was later replaced with the Constitution we used today. The Articles did set a foundation for our modern day constitution but in its early stages posed serious problems that lead to the drafting of a new constitution. Some of those problems included vesting the entire central government within just Congress (lack of Executive, and Judicial Branch), giving central government very limited power on how it handled state to state affair, and lack of national army because the army was composed of state militias. The articles

“Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” (U.S. Articles of Confederation, Article II) This article reflected the resent that the newly independent colonists held for the British Monarch. Hatred of autocratic rule and central power forced the drafters of the government’s template to enact a weak national government, without both judicial and executive branches. The absence of these two powers in the government made it nearly impossible for Congress to enforce acts, leading to states taking actions that only directly benefitted themselves, especially financially. (Kelly) Instead of creating an era of national pride following the recent victory in the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation helped create a of extreme state pride and desire for sovereignty. The Constitution, on the other hand, effectively addresses the lack of central strength in the first and second articles. Article II creates an executive branch, led by the president, that is composed of central departments with the ability to enforce policy established by Congress and the president himself. (US Const. art. II) Article III establishes a national judicial branch with supreme power over state courts. The courts have the power to interpret

Under the Articles of Confederation, the government had little control over the individual states, and the nation was not organized or well protected. With the Constitution, three branches of government were created; legislative, executive, and judicial. The branches all checked each other, which kept them balanced, so one branch could not overpower the others. This created a strong but balanced government, that would keep the country organized. The Articles of Confederation did not create these sturdy branches, only tested them (Finkleman, Wallenstein 98).

The Articles of Confederation provided a “firm league of friendship.” The thirteen states were joined together in dealing with common problems. Congress was to be their chief government without an executive and judicial branch. However, each state had a single vote and the support of nine was required for bills of importance. Congress was intentionally weak. Some states were suspicious they had no desire to yield their new acquired privileges to American Parliament. Congress has no power to regulate commerce and led states establish their own laws regarding tax (Garraty, 118-119).

It is a common misconception that the this country’s first attempt at establishing their own government with the Constitution was a success. And although the Constitution certainly has proven to be a success, it was not in fact the first attempt at creating a national government. That came with the Articles Of Confederation. A document which despite proving to be ineffective. still laid the foundation for the creation of the Constitution.