Preview

Differences Between The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
716 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Differences Between The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution
Differences of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

“Let our government be like that of the solar system. Let the general government be like the sun and the states the planets, repelled yet attracted, and the whole moving regularly and harmoniously in several orbits.” said John Dickinson, a Delaware Delegate in 1787 (constitutionfacts.com). The United States has a government that, for the most part, flows smoothly. However, our governing documents have not always been so harmonious. The Articles of Confederation, created and ratified in 1781 during the Revolutionary War, was the first basis for the United States of America’s central government. This was a shaky set of laws, yet it evolved into The Constitution of the United States of America. Though The Constitution was created from the Articles of Confederation, there were many differences. Three of these are differences in powers, in purposes, and in effects.

The Articles of Confederation, in contrast to the Constitution, deprived Congress of the most basic opportunities. Congress could maintain an army, conduct foreign affairs, declare a war, coin money, and establish post offices. However, Congress could not tax the people, elect a president of
…show more content…
They showed that the Articles were not the best document for our country to be based on. Powers in our government need to be divided to prevent confusion and perhaps dictatorship. The purpose of a document is very important to the final effect of the document, as shown by the Articles of Confederation. Finally, the effects of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are very different. They have shown us, as United States citizens, that every country must go through changes and no nation is perfect from the start. Thanks to the revision of the Articles of Confederation that evolved into the Constitution, our country is like that of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Regarding structure, the Articles of Confederation, or simply Articles, were relatively ‘bare-bones’ when compared to the complex constitutions and declarations of government other countries had. It laid out a simple and ultimately primitive government: the power of the government was to lie solely in Congress, a group of delegates from all states. It was to be Congress and only Congress to create laws and run most of the government. This concept did not work well in practice: Congress, the only branch of the government, was weak and unable to bring about policy change for the country. First, all amendments to the Articles required a unanimous vote of all thirteen states - something that was quite rare - and even the simplest of national laws required a two-thirds majority to be established. This became a major issue. As a new country, a lot of issues were going to come forth to Congress, and due to the bureaucratic rules that were in place, it was difficult for a treaty or policy to be approved. Furthermore, the Articles did…

    • 2437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation was the first American constitution completed by the Continental Congress in 1777. The Articles of Confederation created a “firm league of friendship” between all 13 states. Each state agreed to send delegates to the Confederation Congress where each state will cast one vote in Congress. Under the Articles Congress had no possession over trade or passing laws regarding taxes. However, Congress can declare war, appoint military officers, coin money, and foreign affairs. Unfortunately, there were some downsides to the Articles of Confederation that people from all 13 states did not agree with or argued about it such things as alliance, passing laws, courts, money, and trade. (Davidson, 189)…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although it provided an outline to how future government should be formed, The Articles of Confederation did not provide America with an effective government from 1781 to 1789. Nicknamed “The Articles of Confusion”, The Articles of Confederation lacked stability and the power to truly govern the states. Under the articles there was no executive branch and no way for the federal government to raise money.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although there are many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution there are two principles that showcase the greatest differences; separation of powers (three branches that all have different obligations to the people of the U.S.) and checks and balances (the three branches that keep one from becoming tyrannical).…

    • 52 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the history of the United States it is amazing to think that it has only operated under two different constitutions. The first was the Articles of Confederation beginning March 1, 1781 and then the Constitution on June 21, 1788. After only seven years, the Articles were analyzed and re-written by a lot of the same people who constructed them. The Articles of Confederation created the national Congress. The Congress consisted of one single chamber.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. At the end of the American Revolution the free states needed some sort of control that would generate to a unified country. Issues arose such as: How should power be divided between local and national governments? How should laws be made, and by whom? Who should be authorized to govern those laws? How could the government be designed to protect the unalienable individual rights? Their first attempt at solving this issue was the Articles of Confederation, which was a failure for the most part, but not completely. After the failure of the articles, the state delegates tried to revise the articles, but instead, constructed the Constitution. There were so many changes made and very little remained the same.…

    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were both recognized and followed by the same group of people. Even though the same group of people followed these two documents, these documents are very different. One example is the writing style of each document. The Articles of Confederation were repetitive, less direct and less certified for quoting than the Constitution. The two documents have a different approach towards the type of government and its control over the matters.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Articles were the first constitutional agreement made between the 13 American states. They kept the United States together long enough to realize unity. Its goal was to establish a written document of the functions of the national government after declaring independence from Great Britain. The Articles of Confederation were not successful for many reasons. It established a weak central government with no president. The government was ran by the thirteen individual states themselves. They controlled their own foreign policy. Another reason the Articles of Confederation were not successful was because they gave the national government no power of direct taxation. This was a bad decision because governments get their money from taxes. Without taxes, the government did not have any money and would not be able to run…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States (U.S.) Constitution is the source of all government powers and provides limitations on the government that protect the natural rights of U.S. citizens. Prior to its creation, the 13 original states comprising the U.S., were united under the Articles of Confederation. These articles entrusted a Confederate Congress with the authority to wage war, mediate disputes between states as well as set weights and measures. However, the Confederate Congress was completely funded by individual states, did not have the authority to raise funds itself and all decisions required a unanimous vote of approval from all states. It was far from a perfect government. These limitations along with the historical tendencies high ranking officials have toward greed and abuse of power rendered this Congress ineffective, spawning a collective desire for reform. (Whitehouse.gov, 2017) In 1787 delegates from 12 of the 13 states convened in Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. Their goals were to design a government that could provide fair treatment to its citizens, keep peace amongst the individual states as well as with outside nations, defend our country from enemies, and to set a standard for living comfortably, well, and free. To achieve this, the government was split into three separate branches and power divided amongst them.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, although both written documents explaining how the American government would be ran, they have very distinct qualities about them. During the Constitutional Convention, instead of revising the Articles of Confederation as originally planned, those attending the meeting felt that a whole new document needed to be written. Legislation, the sovereignty of states, and the executive branch were all major differences between the two documents.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thee American Confederation and Constitution has caused several colonist to be reluctant for several years. The United States government ratified these articles creating unity between the states and the representations for all citizens. Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are justified for an effective United States rule and law. To better understand what the level of economics and drawbacks were during this time, it is imperative to compare and contrast the situations in which the documents contradict.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This led to the creation of the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation didn’t allow Congress to tax the people. There was no national currency, and it was incredibly chaotic. Then the Constitution was created, and a national currency emerged. A system of Checks and Balances was put into place for the three branches of Government. Congress can tax, raising money for a strong army, and other helpful things. Overall, due to the flaws of the Articles of Confederation and the problems it created, the Constitution was…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confederation Flaws

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages

    While the Articles of Confederation is often noted for its many flaws, it also accomplished many tasks. Firstly, Congress was able to settle and establish a…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Constitution

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There were several weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that was later addressed by the Constitution. One of the weaknesses of the Article of Confederation is that it allowed only one vote per state. Another weakness of the Article is that it didn’t give Congress power. It didn’t give them power to tax nor did it give them power to control foreign and federal trade. In the Articles there were no executive or judicial branches to pass or veto bills or acts. Also, under the Articles of Confederation there was no military to serve and protect our nation. There was no national court system under the Articles. Furthermore, in the Articles there was no common currency each state was allowed to make and issue their own paper money.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, yet there was a struggle for its ratification that went on until 1790. Members of Congress believed that the Articles of Confederation, the first government of the United States, needed to be altered while others did not want change. After the Revolutionary War, there was a need for strong state centered governments, rather than a strong central government based on their experience as a colony. However, an investigation of the historical record reveals that the Articles of Confederation were not meeting the needs of Americans, and the need for a new Constitution was desired. This desired Constitution created a huge dispute and argument between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays