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Articles Of Confederation Dbq

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The Articles of Confederation were the original Constitution of the United States. Adopted by the second continental congress on November 15, 1777, and took effect after ratification on March 1, 1781. After a few years, the country started evolving and growing, leaving the articles insufficient to govern. Under the articles, congress had no power to tax, meaning they couldn't get their finances in order. They also couldn't raise a standing army, or erect trade barriers. There were no separation of powers, only a unicameral legislature. Lastly, which made things very difficult, for any major laws to pass they had to be approved by at least 9 of the 13 states. This made the government weak and unable to hold the nation together. In 1786 …show more content…

Men gathered in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 3 Montgomery 1787 to amend the articles. Some of the most famous men in our history contributed to this forever changing event in time. People such as James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Edmund Randolph, and etc. This was called the Constitutional Convention. This did not come as an easy task. All these men had different ideas and opinions of how things should be. There were lots of conflict and debates that went on the summer of 1787. Some men, for instance, Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government. Others, like Edmund Randolph, preferred states over a general government. Today we call this the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. One of the biggest conflicts was the Virginia plan vs. the New Jersey plan. Once it was decided that representation in the House of Representatives was to be based on population, delegates from Northern and Southern states had a difference of opinion on how slaves should be counted. The Virginia plan, which mainly spoke for the northern states who were against

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