preview

Articles Of Confederation And The United States Constitution.

Decent Essays

Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution Cheryl Powers Chamberlain College of Nursing HIST 405 January, 2017 Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution Introduction: The strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation vs. the new Constitution of 1787 Created by Continental Congress, the Articles of Confederation were the first promising attempts of aligning the 13 colonies of the United States. By 1781 the Articles were finalized and became one of the three fouding documents of the United States. However, some believed the Articles did not offer an appropriate central government. After all, it had no executive branch and no judicial branch. Even the international treaties could …show more content…

Authority was pretty much decentralized and their union, lax. The Constitution, however, created a bicameral system and allowed each representative to cast a vote. Each state was comprised of two Senators and a number of House representatives depending on their census population. The Constitution also created an Executive Branch of government and strove for a more centralized authority in politics. When the Articles were replaced by the Constitution in 1789, it laid out a more extensive system of government. It created a system of checks and balances for the three branches of government so that one did not have more power than the other. It created a Bill of Rights – the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution that defined our civil liberties. However, the Constitution did not address several very important issues, the first being that of slavery. Yes, it was amended several times, with the new additions being subject to repeal, like the 18th Amendment which prohibited the sale of alcohol and started the prohibition. Regardless, it now carries 27 Amendments and 7 Articles. The drafting of the Constitution and the Great Compromise When it was time to replace royal authority with popular sovereignty, each state had to ask themselves questions that would eventually mold it’s own government. The governor lost power while the assemblies became more important. Pennsylvania established the most radical constitution. It eradicated

Get Access