How Do You Respond To The Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

After breaking ties with the British government, the colonies had a new found independence and needed a system that unified the states and created a strong form of government. The Articles of Confederation were written in 1777 as a loose organization in which majority of the power were given to the states and put into effect in 1781. However, problems arose within the Articles that caused the colonists to doubt its effectiveness. The state delegates revised the document and created the Constitution which had many changes and little remained the same. The Constitution radically departed from and corrected the ideals of the Articles of Confederation by creating a bicameral legislature, with new government structure, and a stronger central government.

The Constitution used the concept of a two house legislature made to satisfy both the smaller and larger states. The two chambers were the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate benefited smaller states and guaranteed that each would receive equal representation by having two representatives serve their state. The House of Representatives benefited the larger states and guaranteed representation of the state based on population. The Articles applied a unicameral legislature to their government that had one legislative chamber and left the central government with no separation of power. The creators were concerned about building a body of government that had too much central power because they believed that if the central government had too much power, then as a result, the government would become a tyranny. The unicameral legislature had little power and all states were equal however, there were no checks and balances in the government to separate and balance power. By the Constitution dividing power between the Senate and House, the two would rule each other out and always have the same amount of power as the