DBQ Essay: The United States Constitution

Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.

Lecture 14 “Questions to Consider #1”: Why did the Anti Federalists object so strongly to the Preamble to the Constitution?

Ever heard of the Articles of Confederation? Thought not. That’s because within only 8 years of their ratification, they were gotten rid of. This was because, among other things, there were no courts, no national currency, and no taxes. So in May of 1787, 55 men gathered together in Philadelphia to come up with a better plan. They wanted a new form of government that gave power to the people, states, and the federal government. But most importantly, they wanted a government that would prevent tyranny. After 3½ months, they came up with the Constitution. It was meant to establish a Federalist government, spread out power between 3 different branches of government, put in place a system of checks and balances, and give states equal and proportionate

The United States Constitution was created to define the powers and limitations of the government. It replaced the Articles of the Confederation, and was ratified by all 13 states in 1787 (American Government, n.d.). The ratification of the Constitution was not without opposition, and the government was split into two groups: federalists, and anti-federalists. The federalist group believed that a national governing body, ruled by the elite class was necessary. Antifederalists, on the other hand, believed that state governments should have more say, and that the government should be run by ordinary people (American Government, n.d.).

The reason that the Articles of Confederation established such a weak government was because the colonists were afraid that a strong central government would become tyrannical and oppressive like the British were towards the colonists. However, instead of leading to the downfall of America, the deficiencies that were evident in the Articles of Confederation furthered the definition of the principles of America because the insufficient government of that time voiced a need for a stronger government. To answer this need, the colonists passed the Constitution of the United States. The founding fathers ratified the Constitution in 1787, and it established a much stronger government than the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution founded the laws that would govern America for centuries; it was a crucial factor in the development of the identity of America. The Constitution gave Americans the freedom and rights that have become the hallmark of the country. It organized the foundations of America that would eventually evolve to become one of the most powerful and influential nations in the

The Articles of Confederation was structured to give the majority power to the States while limiting the involvement of Government. The federal government was bestowed with the responsibility of mutual defense for the states and to “secure the blessings of liberty.” Government was supposed to be able to pass acts, however, each state was only permitted one representative regardless of that state’s population and votes needed to be unanimous for an act to pass. The power of the central government was vague and nearly unenforceable. Without a judicial system the federal government was unable to enforce penalties or consequences and without the ability to collect tax they could not finance the government meetings let alone the military to defend

The structure and powers of the federal government changed under the Constitution as compared to the Articles of Confederation. Many people, known as the anti-Federalists, opposed these changes while on the contrary, many people, known as the Federalists, supported them.

The Articles of Confederation were the first set of guidelines for the government in America that was ratified in 1781. The Articles of Confederation limited the powers of the government, gave most of the control to each individual state, did not require a president, and was quickly found to be ineffective. It left America at risk to be invaded by other countries or to suffer from economic problems. If another country wanted to conduct business in America, they had to deal with each state individually. Any amendment required unanimous approval (Evans & Michaud, 2015).

After the American Revolution, the Americans were finally able to break away from British rule. They knew they needed to create a government and with that, the Articles of Confederation were born. However, the Articles gave the states too much power and gave almost none to the federal government. The Founders scrapped the Articles and created a new document, the Constitution, which gave more power the federal government than the state governments. In spite of this, not everyone was happy about the new Constitution. This broke people up into two groups: Anti-Federalists and Federalists.

Madison began discussing the most famous Federalist papers by saying that one of the most grounded contentions for the Constitution is the way that it sets up an administration well-appointed for controlling the violence and harm created by factions. Madison characterizes groups as gatherings of individuals who assemble to secure and advance their exceptional monetary hobbies and political feelings.

After the independence of the United States was a good thing, but at the same time there were problems with the creation of the nation. First problems began with the Articles of Confederation because in 1777, the Articles of Confederation established a weak confederal Government that operated until 1789. The articles were a compilation of plans written by the Governors of each of the thirteen colonies. Although it was an important step toward unification successful, the weakness of those articles was giving no importance to all the problems of the young country. This document, however, would not be effective without the ratification of the thirteen States.

Overtime in history, the United States has developed documents from the Puritans idea of Covenant to what we have today-The Constitution of the United States. The Puritans eventually escaped to freedom in America from England and then later, helped show colonists through experience and history how to develop certain parts of The Constitution. Most events leading up to writing The Constitution, have parts in it that fixes problems of specific events so that if another event similar to the one prior happens, the United States would already know one solution.

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 Articles of Confederation was the first Constitution for the states as a whole (each state had their own by this time), but it was written in a manner that assigned duties, but not so much as to give sweeping power and risk a totalitarian government. Under the Articles

Federalism is the separation of power and responsibility between states and the federal government. It allows the state governments to exercise policy without interference from the federal government. The formation of this system of government has its origins in the Articles of Confederation. That system of government allowed states to regulate their own trade, make their own currency, and make legislation. However, the Articles failed for many reasons, like economic disorganization which led to financial hardship. By the late 1780’s, America’s economy was struggling to grow and it was also having difficulty to pay off debts from its fight for independence. The government’s inability to manage trade also cause economic turmoil; Congress was