Americans Sought To Create A New Economic Identity Dbq

1- The first written constitution was the Articles of Confederation which left many issues behind the revolution that mad fear for individual liberties. All the Articles of Confederation did was make mutual friendships between all the states, creating a one house Congress where each state had one vote no matter the size or population. Under the Articles of Confederation there was no president so for a law to pass, nine of the thirteen states had to approve of the law in Congress. the only powers left to the national government were declaring war, conducting foreign affairs, and making treaties with other governments. Congress had no financial resources and could not levy taxes or regulate commerce. The countries revenue came from contributions from individual states resulting in low budgets. The fear for individual liberties arose because if a state did not like a law that was passed, another war or outbreak could have erupted and the country did not have the

1. Before the Constitution, the Articles of the Confederation did not bind the states together; the Articles were called the “League of Friendship” which did not bring the states together as a United Nation. The states were totally independent and many were still in conflict with each other. There were no rules about taxes, and each state printed their own money. There was no protection from piracy on the seas and the states borders could not protected. The so called government had no money and did not have the ability or the authority to collect taxes and had no form of revenue. Nothing was in place that took the American citizens best interest in to account.

The Articles of Confederation was the first official constitution for the United States. The Articles of Confederation had many positives, but mostly negatives. Some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was it was too weak, so the laws being enforced were being ignored because it had no power, it had no money to protect against border invasions, and it also didn’t have enough power to tax, so all the money came from the state. Some of the few positives of the Articles of Confederation was that it had the power to deal with foreign affairs, it could declare wars, make peace, and sign treaties.

In the early years of the republic,various controversial issues divided the American people. Two such issues were ratification of the Constitution, purchase of the Louisiana Territory. These issues had arguments for and against each decision. The ratification of the constitution occurred as a cause of the lack of a strong central government. In order to ratify the constitution it needed a bill of rights .The articles of confederation were not strong enough to support the country as a whole. Although many citizens feared the central government would become to powerful and they would not get the rights they

The Early Republic represented a paramount period in the United States where the government had to face various challenges with no previous experience. During this time, tensions were rising between the Northern and Southern states; Their differing views on slavery, extent of government authority and taxes led to skirmishes and even a war. The early 1800s was filled with domestic problems which threatened the stability of the nation. Through innovative solutions, the American government managed to solve a majority of them including issues regarding slavery, political parties and taxation.

In conclusion, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government in the 1780’s because of the lack of power to tax, raise an army, or regulate trade; however, it redeemed itself with the creation of the land ordinances of 1785 and 1787, and keeping the states together after the American Revolution. This government held the states together after the war, but it would not have for much longer if the constitutional convention did not draft a new document with which to govern the country that would fix the arising issues that came with the Articles of

Utah State University (2008) outlines how the Articles of Confederation gave the power of government to the individual states with no overall independent leader. Courts were solely on the state level. Congress had no power over commerce or taxation, and their powers were expressly delegated. Congress was one body, where each state received only one vote, regardless of its size. The most unfortunate part of the Articles was that they could only be amended by unanimous agreement of all the states. This not only made it a flawed document, but one that could not easily revise and correct itself. Jennifer Keane, Saul Cornell and Edward O 'Donnell (2011) elaborate in our textbook that the failure to allow Congress the power to tax, it set up the new Country to quickly become plagued with financial difficulties. The Articles called for requisitions to be sent to the states, requesting funds to help the government run. Many states did not send the required amounts or pay quickly. When Congress found itself having to pay for war, they printed such a large amount of paper currency, which was not supported by a reliable fund source such as gold or silver causing a huge amount of inflation. Soon after, it cost 150 times more to purchase items than it did before inflation.

The Articles of Confederation was one of the first steps in the birth of the United States as we have it today. Though it was flawed in many ways it did help establish a foundation in which the United States Constitution could build it self and help shape the country. The main flaw in the Articles of confederation that were fixed with the writing of the Constitution was a weak federal government that could not levy taxes, manage trade, and enforce its’

Those who were more economically well-off in America were annoyed with tax and debt relief. These wealthy Americans claimed that the government swayed too easily with the opinions of the voters/citizens. Women took over as 'head of the household' when their husbands were on military, political, etc. leave. Farmers grew more confident. It was quite difficult to establish a certain kind of person that was right for government or to give opinions because America featured such a variety of social and economic classes. There was much public unrest on how government should operate. There were lots of changes and arguments over land ownership and "property qualification", which basically meant that white men had to own land to be able to

The Articles of Confederation was the United State’s first constitution, it was written in an effort to unite the states after the American Revolution and served as a blueprint for the modern constitution. In order for the Articles to become official, they had to be approved by all thirteen colonies. Although Congress sent the Articles of Confederation to the states around the end of 1777 to become ratified, they were not officially adopted until March 1, 1781. Under these Articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. The American people feared a strong national government and as a result of this, the Articles of Confederation were specifically designed to be weak in the sense that each state maintains its own sovereignty and all rights to govern themselves, with the except of the rights exclusively granted to Congress. Since the Articles lacked many necessary components to keep a nation properly structured, they were eventually revised into the constitution we recognize today. Although, the Articles of Confederation seemed as though it only contained weaknesses, within the document, many strengths and accomplishments were made. Overall, the Articles of Confederation were proven to be both efficient and non-efficient during the time period they were in effect.

“The Constitution devotes the national domain to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare and to liberty” (Maier 154). This quote, stated by William Henry Seward, displays the strength and stability that the Constitution had over the nation, and the liberty and justice it supplied for all of its citizens. Although the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation have similarities, they have many differences, which proved that the Articles of Confederation were a weaker document in comparison. It can be said that the Articles were the “rough draft” to the final living document, which significantly influenced and “ruled” our government, as it still does today.

During the time of the Revolutionary War, the American Colonies were upset about the England’s tyrannical rule and exploitation through harsh taxes. Eventually, the colonists revolted and split from England. They wrote the Declaration of Independence and created a new government whose outlines were written in the Articles of Confederation. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had an overall negative impact, as it created a weak central government, a poor financial system, and inadequate militias. There are more disadvantages than advantages to this document.

As the United States began to establish itself as a country, more and more problems began to surface within the nation. A perfect example of this would be the American Civil War, which significantly affected society. This brought about many changes within America such as women’s rights movements and decisions regarding African American freedom. Also many of the problems are country had previously left unresolved were soon to be resolved too. The social changes of the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era greatly affected the years that followed it as well.

State constitutions laid the groundwork for the next stage of development, a federal government. The Articles of Confederation were just as important as the Declaration of Independence in helping to establish the legitimacy of separating from England and becoming a new nation, but the document was not without its shortcomings. The biggest concern of the Continental Congress was ensuring that any system created would be protected from potential despotism. The weak framework of the Articles could be viewed as their focus on what they didn’t want, instead of focusing on what they really needed. This wasn’t a document concerning one nation, it was a contract between thirteen nations to ally against outside repression.

A country driven to war for Independence is sure to have many struggles before and after the fight for freedom. The United States separated from Britain in order to govern themselves any way they chose. As soon as the new American Republic was created, many issues pressed on the mind of the people: What rights would be given to the people of America, and would slaves and women be given the same rights of white men? Would the lower class get more representation in government and a better spot in society? How would the economy work? All of these issues were important in the minds for Americans, but the most important would be the task of creating a unique social identity. The people of the United States would find that once they were granted independence, they would find that an immense opportunity laid before them: the chance to shape society in their own eyes. For those who previously didn’t have a voice, it was a fresh start. A new social identity was the most pressing issue to the new American Republic.