ipl-logo

What Are The Key Features Of The Articles Of Confederation

526 Words3 Pages

To give some background, the Articles of Confederation was a document signed by the 13 original colonies that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. The Articles of Confederation created a nation that was “a league of friendship and perpetual union.” The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. The Articles of Confederation became effective on March 1, 1781, after all thirteen states had ratified them. It made the states and legislature supreme. There was no executive branch. Judicial functions was really small. As a result of that the government was not as strong. From the beginning …show more content…

The Articles of Confederation took action from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789, when the current Constitution of the US at the time was in action. The 13 states were having a difficult to get their independence. The Anti-Federalists supported the Articles of Confederation. The Anti-Federalists were completing against a strong central government and were states rights advocates. The Articles of Confederation gave a lot of the power to the US. This was led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, Anti-Federalists worried about the position of president, then a novelty, might come together a monarchy.
The Constitution set forth a government that had of 3 branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial. All the branches were given certain powers to make sure that no one branch take force a dangerous amount of power. The Constitution took charged a form of federalism that balanced the authority of the state and national governments. The state legislatures would elect the members of the Senate, as well as select delegates to the Electoral College, which selected the President. The Constitution could be amended by a vote in favor of amendment by three-fourths of the state

Show More
Related

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq

    355 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was written in 1777 by nearly the exact same people who would later go on to write the United States Constitution. This document was meant to unify the colonies to create a sufficient government. The Articles of Confederation’s focus was to ensure that the state and local government possessed the power throughout the colonies. However, the document failed the country due to the lack of a central government because the states did not want to reestablish the type of government that England had after the Revolutionary War. The lack of bigger government caused many problems that would make each state almost look like they’re were separate.

    Read More

  • Why Was The Constitution Created By The 3/5 Compromise Strengthen The Constitution?

    795 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the crucial points when making the constitution was limiting the power of of the government. The solution was formed by creating three branches of government, therefore there was a separation of powers. One branch established was the legislative branch which included Congress with the two houses of representation and population. Their made job was to create laws and the executive branch, included the president and the vice president, would the enforce laws. Lastly the judicial branch which is made up of court, interprets the laws.

    Read More

  • Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

    211 Words  | 1 Pages

    Adopted by Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, The Articles of Confederation served as the United States Constitution and was in effect from March 1, 1781 to 1789 when the current Constitution took effect. The Articles of Confederation was a written document that entailed the position and function of the national government after the United States declared its independence from Great Britain. It established a weak central government that mostly prevented individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy. Until its ratification in 1789, it served as the first constitution of the United States. The Articles had more weaknesses than strengths.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

    1146 Words  | 5 Pages

    There is no denying that the Articles of Confederation, the first written form of government in the United States, was an important aspect of this nations history. The articles were ratified on March 1, 1781 and they served as the basis for the formation of the Constitution and provided some, but not enough framework for adequate organization of United States. Although, it accomplished and lead to multiple advances in the U.S government, it’s ability to act as an effective government failed. Under the Articles of Confederation there was one house body of delegates with each state having only one vote no matter the size or population.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Articles Of Confederation And Under The Constitution

    901 Words  | 4 Pages

    The national government was supreme, and there was a clause that that ensured there was a balanced system of power under federalism. This means that both the national government and the states shared power. The executive was an independent body with the Electoral College mandated to choose it. A separate federal court was established with the powers of resolving any disputes that emerged between the states. Congress would impose and collect taxes and also regulate the trade between nations as well as international trade.

    Read More

  • Powers Of The Federal Government Under The Articles Of Confederation

    243 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was drafted between 1776 and 1777 by the Continental Congress, although it did not go into effect until 1781 (Schultz, 2013). The federal government under the Articles of Confederation had three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. They granted unique powers to each branch. The intention was to make Congress the most powerful branch.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Flaws Essay

    1102 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was the first attempt at a sort of constitution for the United States of America. This imperfect document was adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15th, 1777, but not entirely ratified until March 1st, 1781 when Maryland eventually agreed to the legislation, making it official. It was severely under powered and lacked simple concepts that are now common sense. The federal government had little, if any, power and there was no executive branch to check the others, these problems made the federal government practically nonexistent. Flawed as it was, the Articles of Confederation did have its accomplishments, it was used by Congress to handle business, it lead the colonies in the Revolutionary War, and

    Read More

  • Article Of Confederation Dbq

    634 Words  | 3 Pages

    Article of Confederation was created on March 1, 1781 by Antifederalists. The government of United States was weak after the Articles of Confederation. Anti Federalists created the Articles of Confederation because they believed that the government would become to strong and wouldn’t care about people having equal rights and this gave states their power of making their own rules toward equality and taxes. This made the government a nationally weak system with bits of power in hand. After the Article of Confederation the states had much more power and ability to make their own policies.

    Read More

  • What Are The Positive And Negative Parts Of The Articles Of Confederation

    400 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you know about the Articles of Confederation? Do you want to learn a little about it? Well, if you said “no” to the first one and “yes” to the second one, please continue reading. The reason I am writing about Articles of Confederation was because, it was the first original constitution of the United States of America. It was written by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 during the Revolutionary War.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq

    1206 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States. Stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states before was it was ratified on March 1, 1781. Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Congress was also given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money. However, the central government lacked the ability to levy taxes and regulate commerce, issues that led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 for the creation of new federal laws.

    Read More

  • Articles Of Confederation Dbq

    1997 Words  | 8 Pages

    (1) During the years 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation were created in order to provide a means for an effective government for the United States. Since they were a newly formed independent nation, they required in having a stable government that help keep the country organized. The eleven states would create a document that would become the Articles of Confederation. From the start it would only crash and burn for it had a weak central government that did not contain an executive or judicial branch that we do today, which would make the state governments handle their own affairs. The reason behind such a poorly implemented document was due to the fact that the colonists did not seek to have a government that would merely replace one

    Read More

  • Slavery In The US Constitution

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    Slavery in the U.S. Constitution After the Unites States declared Independence from Great Britain in 1776, they greatly feared a strong national government that would be like a monarchy like the one Great Britain had. To prevent this tyrannical government from happening in the U.S., a convention of delegates from all thirteen states were brought together to create the U.S.’s first written constitution: the Articles of Confederation. This convention was called the Continental Congress. The Articles of Confederation focused on having a federal government, or a loose alliance of the states.

    Read More

  • Ratification Of The Constitution Essay

    494 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.

    Read More

  • Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

    724 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Discuss The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

    778 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about What Are The Key Features Of The Articles Of Confederation

Open Document