Compare And Contrast The American Government Under The Articles Of Confederation

Riana Harari Federalism 10/13/14 After the colonies gained independence from England, we needed to make our own government. When they were still under the rule of England the colonists loyalties were to their states, not the king (Morone, 110). One choice we had was a unitary government. This is when the national government made all of the laws for the people and had all of the political authority (Morone, 110). Another option was confederation. This is when independent states have their own sovereign authority, with some power given to a national government (Morone, 110). This is what we had under the Articles of Confederation, which was a

The Founding Fathers thought that there should be a division of the powers so this way no one would have all of the power. If this would happen, we would be living in a dictatorship, not a democracy. Most people at the time that our country was built did not want a central government. They thought it would give them too much power. They wanted most of the authority to belong to the states because the state governments were closer to the people and would understand them better. The national government received more control than it had had under the Articles of Confederation. The state governments got to keep most of their powers, but some went to the national government. Some powers of the national government include declaring war and printing money. State governments are in charge of building schools. Both are able to tax and to make laws. Because some powers overlap, there is often conflict between state and national government (Morone, 110). Although most people trust their own state governments more than the national one, there is still a strong sense of nationalism (Morone,

It doesn’t give too much power to any one level of government. The power is divided even further within each branch. This assures the people that no one can overstep their boundaries and have total control. I think there should be a strong national government because otherwise the states would never agree on anything. They would only want to do what they think is best for them. The national government helps bring us all together to make decisions. Federalism gives every level of government their own control over certain aspects of our government. It allows different states with different needs to have laws suited for their people, while still giving us the strong central government that we need. Federalism gives the people more opportunities to meet with leaders and to get more involved in the government. We need a strong central government because they give us protection. Federalism allows each state to be different and while we still have a unified country. “Federalism gives advocates on both sides many different political venues in which to challenge policies and assert rights (Morone, 117).” This is why I think the Founding Fathers made the right choice when they chose federalism as the way to run our