THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES OF THE COMMONWEALTH
ORIGIN OF THE COMMONWEALTH
The Commonwealth of Nations was founded by the British Empire in 1926. It is an intergovernmental association that is made up of 53 sovereign states and consists of states which were former territories of the British empire. However, some countries such as Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Namibia are member states as a result of their link with other states rather than with the British Empire. Furthermore, countries such as Rwanda and Mozambique have never been colonies of Britain and have no cultural or historical link with the British empire and yet are members of the Commonwealth. The founding members of the Commonwealth include the United Kingdom, Newfoundland, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State and Canada.
The term ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ was first used to describe the relationships between Britain and her territories by Lord Rosebery in Australia in the year 1884. After the first world war, a definition depicting the relationship was sought. Finally, at the 1926 meeting, the following definition was agreed upon "They are autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."
The Commonwealth was initially established to sustain unity among the member states
The Articles of Confederation was the first plan for governing the nation. It tried to help the union become a fair union. It tried to give the states as much power as possible, but with this came many weaknesses. The biggest weakness being that the national government could not force the states to obey their laws. The national government could not tax the people or enforce laws and congress did not have a strong leadership role.
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. The Articles were ratified in 1781. The Articles were a loose union under authority of congress. They had three purposes; to declare war, raise an army, and so sign treaties. There were many strengths as well as many weaknesses that came out of the Articles.
The Articles of Confederation was one of the first official documents of the United States. From the beginning of the American Revolution, Congress felt the need for a stronger union and a government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. During the early years of the war this desire became a belief that the new nation must have a constitutional order appropriate to its republican character. However, after a few short years the Articles were replaced by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Articles were a stepping stone which led to the Constitution however the Articles contained more weaknesses than strengths which forced the colonists to get rid of them and create a new document.
One of the first officials records of the United States was The Articles of Confederation. From the earliest starting point of the American Revolution, Congress felt it was essential for a more grounded and stronger union and a legislature sufficiently effective to thrashing Great Britain. Following a couple short years, the Articles were supplanted by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Articles were a stepping stone which prompted the Constitution however the Articles contained a larger number of shortcomings which constrained the colonists to dispose of them and create a new document.
India, much of the Caribbean, several outposts in Africa, Canada, and many islands in the Pacific, as well as Australia. But these colonies were much different in nature than the thirteen. These colonies were crown colonies, while the thirteen were charter colonies. Crown colonies were paid for and established by the ruling government and the King of England or Britain. Because of this, crown colonies were expected to be much more subservient to and controlled by the king or parliament.
INTRO: So, what is a republic? A republic is a democratic nation in which the highest public office is held not by a monarch, who inherits the position by birth, but instead by a citizen chosen on merit. Australia is a monarchy because it was colonised by the British in 1788. With them, they brought their lifestyles, culture and system of government.
The British North America Act created an enduring federation that matured into a peaceful, prosperous and well governed state, while challenging successive governments to alter its amending formula and distribution of powers to meet the needs of its inhabitants, except the British North American Act didn’t take many groups of people like the First Nation, Acadians, and Irish into consideration . The B.N.A Act created the dominion of Canada, established powers of the federal government and provincial government from the dominion of Canada. It set out rules of how the government of Canada work. Although not everyone was satisfied with the outcome of the B.N.A Act. Even though the 1867 constitution did establish a workable system of government, it did not prevent disputes over the division of powers in overlapping areas of authority such as taxation and in new areas
Canada's Identity as a World Power in Aerospace Technology The CanadArm is one of Canada's most famous and greatest robotic and technological achievement. The CanadArm made its debut on the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-2) on November 13, 1981. The CanadArm served the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for approximately 30 years. During its career with NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, the robotic arm deployed, captured and repaired satellites, positioned astronauts, maintained equipment, and moved cargo.
The articles of confederation has many strengths but also some weaknesses, one strength is that it gave congress the power to deal with foreign affairs and authority to declare war, make peace, alliances, and sign treaties. This was a huge step because now a designated person has the control to make big decisions such as these. It also encouraged coordination and cooperation between different states and they can settle disputes between the states. This ultimately led to less conflict amongst the states in the United States and gave further attention to the conflict going on out of the U.S. A weakness that was not resolved by the Articles of Confederation is they have no power to regulate commerce or trade between the states; each state could
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States that served as the first constitution. The Articles had first been introduced by Richard Henry Lee in the Second Continental Congress. Although the Articles of Confederation has made its contributions throughout history, the Articles, however, did not last very long and had been proven inadequate from the very start. I agree with this statement based on the examples and analysis of the Constitution I will soon provide. The Articles of Confederation were written during a time when the American people feared a strong national government.
As the world grew more populated, to many Australians it seemed that Great Britain was both a physically long way and also very different to Australia. The Australia of pre World War II was now very different to the Australia colonised by the British so many years earlier. In 1919, Australia had, for the very first time, been considered a fully self-governing nation and was asked independently of Great Britain to be a part of the Treaty of Versailles (Carrodus, Delany and McArthur, 2012). Prior to this, Britain was responsible for all political agreements for Australia (Museum of Australian Democracy).
The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. Such flaws would eventually lead to the Constitution and the repeal of the articles, for the Constitution was a measure to fix the problems of the articles with a stronger government that allowed them to impose taxes and and implement new laws for a more effective government.
The independence gained from Canada’s successful contributions to battles allowed their forces to fight under their own command. Canada was recognized at the Paris Peace Conference and signed The Treaty of Versailles independently. Later on, Canada joined the League of Nations, making their mark in world politics. The nation that was once fully controlled by Great Britain, rose to prove their value to the world, as Mr. Laurier
Overall Canada's Autonomy was improved socially, economically and politically as Canada become more and more independent and equal to the British Empire. Canada grew Politically as they made decisions for itself and did not rely on Britain to approve of the decisions. Canada grew socially as they created their own broadcasting channel where Canadian artists, singers, and entertainers could be heard. Finally economically where Canada became heavily involved in trade with the United States and broke trade with Britain meaning more resources manufactured and send without tax. The late 20s’ and 30s’ were not only a building place for Canada as a whole but a start for independence freedom and equality for Canada and its citizens.
The League of Nations was an international organization created 1919 by the American president, Woodrow Wilson, as a part of his Fourteen Points. The League was meant to maintain universal peace and resolve international disputes between nations to avoid a repeat of the First World War. The League of Nations had some successes in maintaining universal peace, however, there numerous failures as well. Some of the successes include the Åland Islands crisis and the Upper Silesia incident. Some of the failures of the League include the events that took place in Manchuria and Abyssinia.