Articles+of+Confederation,+1777

Evan Wooster 4/1/09 Period 1 Articles of Confederation Mr. Nolan

=1. As a result of the American Revolution there was a need for unity among the states. The British monarchy was abolished in 1776. The United States needed a central government. A governmental system had to be enacted after North America won its independence from Great Britain. The first constitutional agreement that represented the thirteen states was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles was created in 1977. The United States needed a plan that would insure the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of its people. Our young country needed definition in the areas of powers of individual states and the Continental Congress. It took five years for a central government to be approved. The Articles of Confederation was the United States first attempt at a constitution.=

=2. On July 12, 1776 the Articles of Confederation was submitted to the Second Continental Congress. This was a federal constitution that was written during the early part of the American Revolution. It was the first governing document of the United States of America. The United States had no central government after throwing off the British monarchy on July 4, 1776. A new government had to be designed and installed immediately. The independent thirteen sovereign states formed a committee headed by John Dickinson. Dickinson's proposal requested equal representation for the states, the power to levy taxes and a strong central government that had control over the western lands. On November 15, 1777, in York, Pennsylvania, the Articles of Confederation was in place after a year of debate.=

=3. Since there were disagreements among the thirteen states and an emphasis on the Revolutionary War there was a delay in the adoption of the Articles of Confederation. There was also much controversy. Maryland posed a problem because of border disputes. Other states argued about boundary lines, taxes, sizes of the states. sizes of the population in each state, borders and control of western territories. All this led to the delay of the Articles of Confederation. The thirteen states also feared a powerful central government and therefore revisions had to be made before forming the Articles of the Confederation. Fear of a powerful central government ended up creating one without sufficient power to govern effectively. This naturally led to serious national and international problems. Regulating trade and levying taxes was the greatest weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation. In addition, there were tariff wars, debts could not be payed off by the government, and Congress could not get the needed majority vote in order to make laws. Congress could not carry out its duties because the states ignored them.=

=4. The significance of this document are monumental in American History. The Articles of Confederation were a necessary step in laying the foundation for the construction of the Constitution. Very importantly, for the very first time, the thirteen colonies vested certain powers in a national government. The Articles of the Confederation served as a bridge between governments. It connected the Continental Congress of the Revolutionary period and the federal government. It secured the freedom. sovereignty and independence of the United States. The groundwork for the basic ideas of democracy were laid out by the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution enforced and expanded these ideas.=

=5. I would place the Articles of Confederation as a 5 in importance. It certainly was the stepping stone to the Constitution and much credit has to be given for that. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States and the framework for the organization of the United States Government. The Articles of Confederation deserves much recognition because it led to the birth of one of the greatest documents in history, the Constitution of the United States. However, on its own,due to the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation it would have been very difficult to run an effective government, and therefore I give it a 5 in importance. I place the Declaration of Independence, U.S Constitution, Bill of Rights,18th and 19th Amendments ahead of The Articles of Confederation in terms of importance. These documents have changed American life more than the Articles of Confederation ever did.=

=6. The document, Bill of Rights is 10 spots before the Articles of Confederation. The Bill of Rights include the first ten amendments of the United States. The main writer of the Bill of Rights was Thomas Jefferson. The Bill of Rights makes sure Congress does not violate peoples natural rights and Civil liberties. These amendments assure that there is no corruption in government and that the government does not take advantage of its power. In 1791 there was a lot more stability in government than there ever was before. The importance of the Articles of Confederation can not be denied, but it is fair to say that the Bill of Rights was a more historic document in American history. While the Articles of Confederation eventually lead to the passage of the U.S Constitution, the Bill of Rights features ten very important amendments. The right of trial by jury, freedom of speech and religion, right to a public trial and double jeopardy are some of the most important guaranteed rights Americans have today. As important as the Articles of Confederation was it was still a weak form of government that was replaced by the U.S Constitution and the U.S Bill of Rights. If the Articles of Confederation were more significant and effective than the Bill of Rights, the Articles of Confederation would still exist today in 2009! The Bill of Rights have kept a lot of innocent people out of jail and have preserved the natural rights that every American is born with. The Bill of Rights has changed the life of many Americans while the Articles of Confederation lead to all of the changes made by the Bill of Rights. 7. Political Cartoon: = = = = =