America Under The Constitution Of The United States Essay

Part B: Discuss the development of a national government in the United States, from the Albany Plan to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Until the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment, the Constitution of the United States had retained a certain character which properly belonged to the fundamental form of law of the Republic at the time of its creation. The matters with which it dealt were simply three types. State sovereignty, through the division of powers between the Federal and the State governments, the inalienable rights of the American citizens and the structure of the Federal government itself. These were areas that it was felt by the framers to be of the utmost importance and should be safeguarded from the uncertainty of the majority whim of the time. They believed that there should be no room for doubt in regards to the limits of Federal

The articles have several problems. There was no executive branch, judicial branch, President, and Supreme Court. They could not regulate any commerce or trade. They ran into problems when they couldn’t tax. America was left with debt after the war. Additionally, states had more power. If a state disagreed with something they could block it out. They also land issues. We see expansion after the war but in their own self-interest certain states wanted more land and power. Other states were trying to hinder that so before the articles were going to be ratified there 's going to be certain rules. The first being the land ordinance. Congress essentially split off lots of land, newly acquired land and sold it. This was a great way to settle the land. They won the war and to pay off a debt, acres were given to the family in the town of which costs about a dollar an acre. A security on the land or a very simple serving of land that allows new lands acquired to be settled. The Northwest Ordinance of was a little bit more complicated. It’s set up essentially how to govern the new Northwest Territory between the Ohio and Mississippi and the Great Lakes. Rules were set on how to become a state so each territory had to acquire people. They could set up a temporary Constitution but they weren 't being done. Once they got people in the state they could create a

They were not immediately ratified because there were land disputes and there had to be a unanimous decision. Everybody hat wanted and claimed more land than they had. New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware all had no claims. These states were the ones who initially refused to ratify the Articles; they were not prepared to ratify a constitution which gave them no say in any matters. The larger states on the other hand felt that they were underrepresented. They were hoping for more equality in size (document E). Eventually, Maryland changed their minds about ratifying the constitution because they ceded the land.

How did the Constitution of 1787 attempt to resolve the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

Delegates of the 13 states originally formulated the Articles of Confederation under pressure in 1777 after the British captured Philadelphia. They agreed to a vote and to placing proportional tax burdens based on the individual land values of the state, however they left the issue of who was entitled to western lands unresolved. Congress sent the Articles to the states for ratification by the end of November. Most delegates recognized that the Articles were flawed and were a compromise,

b. Articles of Confederation – first constitution of the US adopted during the last stages of the revolutionary war, created a system of government with most power lodged in the states and little in the central government. Ratified in 1781 by requisite number of the states; passed @ second continental congress in 1777

The articles were designed to allow a weak central government to grant the states all of the power. With no leader, the government had many limits. These included the

The article of confederation allowed the national government to conduct speculated duties to ensure the struggle for independence was firm. The government was expected to declare wars, conduct foreign affairs and make collaborations

So as you can evidently see, the articles was far less regulated, and most all the power resided with the states, not the

28. To what extent was the United States Constitution a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation? (2005B)

The Constitution that was created had a strong central government and weaker state governments. Under the Constitution, Congress was given the power to levy taxes, regulate trade between the states, raise an army, control interstate commerce, and more. A three-branch government was established in which a judicial branch handled disputes in a federal court system, a President headed an executive branch, and a legislative branch. Conversely, the anti-federalists believed in weak central and strong state governments, as the way it was in The Articles of Confederation and believed in strict adherence to the writings of the constitution.

The Articles of Confederation, Adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777, for all practical purposes was the United States’ first Constitution. Created to establish a bond between the newly formed states, “...the Articles purposely established a "constitution" that vested the largest share of power to the individual states” (Early America). This ensured that the government did not have the majority of power. “...the Articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws...allowing the states retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence” (Early

On the other hand, the states bordering the frontier wanted to control as much land as they could. Eventually the states agreed to give control of all western lands to the federal government, paving the way for final ratification of the articles on March 1, 1781 (). There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. “Judicial proceedings in each state were to be honored by all other states. The federal government had no judicial branch, and the only judicial authority Congress had was the power to arbitrate disputes between states. Congress was denied the power to levy taxes; the new federal government was financed by donations from the states based on the value of each state's lands” ().

The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention, where it was held in Philadelphia. It was written by a group of people known as “Farmers,” or the “Founding Fathers,” and few of the most famous Founding Fathers were George Washington (The first president of the USA), Thomas Jefferson (The first vice president and the third president of the USA) James Madison (The fourth president of the USA), Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. The old government, the Articles of Confederation was not working as it supposed to be, it was vulnerable and cannot secure and defend the new born nation and for that reason the constitution of the united states saw the light.