It was on this day in 1777 that the Articles of Confederation, the first American constitution, was sent to the 13 states for consideration. It didn’t last a decade, for some obvious reasons. The Articles formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. The document made official some of the procedures used by the Congress to conduct business, but many of the delegates realized the Articles had limitations. Here is a quick list of the problems that occurred, and how these issues led to our current Constitution. 1. The states didn’t act immediately. It took until February 1779 for 12 states to approve the document. Maryland held out until March 1781, after it settled a land argument with Virginia. 2. The central government was designed to be very, very weak. The Articles established “the United States of America” as a perpetual union formed to defend the states as a group, but it provided few central powers beyond that. But it didn’t have an executive official or judicial branch. 3. The Articles Congress only had one chamber and each state had one vote. This reinforced the power of the states to operate independently from the central government, even when that wasn’t in the nation’s best interests. 4. Congress needed 9 of 13 states to pass any laws. Requiring this high supermajority made it very difficult to pass any legislation that would affect all 13 states. 5. The document was practically impossible to amend. The Articles required unanimous consent to any amendment, so all 13 states would need to agree on a change. Given the rivalries between the states, that rule made the Articles impossible to adapt after the war ended with Britain in 1783. 6. The central government couldn’t collect taxes to fund its operations. The Confederation relied on the voluntary efforts of the states to send tax money to the central government. Lacking funds, the central government couldn’t maintain an effective military or back its own paper currency. 7. States were able to conduct their own foreign policies. Technically, that role fell to the central government, but the Confederation government didn’t have the physical ability to enforce that power, since it lacked domestic and international powers and standing. 8. States had their own money systems. There wasn’t a common currency in the Confederation era. The central government and the states each had separate money, which made trade between the states, and other countries, extremely difficult. 9. The Confederation government couldn’t help settle Revolutionary War-era debts. The central government and the states owed huge debts to European countries and investors. Without the power to tax, and with no power to make trade between the states and other countries viable, the United States was in an economic mess by 1787. 10. Shays’ rebellion – the final straw. A tax protest by western Massachusetts farmers in 1786 and 1787 showed the central government couldn’t put down an internal rebellion. It had to rely on a state militia sponsored by private Boston business people. With no money, the central government couldn't act to protect the "perpetual union." These events alarmed Founders like George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton to the point where delegates from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786 to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The group included Madison, Hamilton and John Dickinson, and it recommended that a meeting of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress agreed and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation.
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Terms in this set (11)Under America's first constitution, the articles of confederation, A) The national government dominated state government. C Which of the following framers was the "principal architect" of the constitution? A) Edmund Randolph E The Three-fifths Compromise at the Constitutional Convention A) Allowed cloture to be invoked, ending a
filibuster in the senate, with the support of 60 senators. C A state must honor the public acts and records of any other state under the A) Full faith and credit clause. A Which of the following is an informal way of amending the constitution? A) Passage of an amendment by simple majority vote in
two consecutive sessions of congress. D The outcome of a conflict between the constitution and the states is determined by A) The Great Compromise. B The framers designed a system of checks and balances for the national government. Which of the following illustrates that concept I. Congress overrides a president's veto. A) I and II A The articles of confederation failed for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: A) The federal government lacked the power to tax. E Which of the following was stipulated in article III of the constitution? A) Creation of the supreme court A Which plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention called for a bicameral legislature, which one chamber having members from states calculated proportionally based on population and the other having two members per state A) Great Compromise A EXTRA: A) Karl Marx. D Sets with similar termsAP Gov: Chapter 2 Workbook20 terms Miguelperez18 Mac civics chapter 569 terms mac119 Pols 021 Chapter 244 terms stengah APUSH: Chapter 646 terms melissadeforest Sets found in the same folderChapter 1: Political Landscape10 terms Yarold22 Chapter 15: The News Media10 terms Yarold22 Chapter 17: Domestic Policy10 terms Yarold22 Chapter 3: Federalism10 terms Yarold22 Other sets by this creator"Aller" conjugated8 terms Yarold22 "Faire"8 terms Yarold22 "Être"8 terms Yarold22 "Avoir"8 terms Yarold22 Other Quizlet setsChapter 11 Study Guide18 terms leo_simonian Caste System / Colonies / Philadelphia African Ame…34 terms yellowasiankid NE 108- Test 3- Practice Questions-Interference wi…65 terms missy_preis Related questionsQUESTION When was a state obligated to follow the Constitution? 8 answers QUESTION a new president might need to appoint several thousand individuals to jobs in the federal government. When these jobs are rewarded to people because they are faithful members of the same politcal party, it is an example of 2 answers QUESTION What was the significance of Tinker v Des Moines? 15 answers QUESTION Johnny is a member of the NRA because he likes the company of people who share his interests in hunting and recreation shooting. Johnny is an NRA member because of 15 answers What was the main reason for the failure of the Articles of Confederation?The central government couldn't collect taxes to fund its operations. The Confederation relied on the voluntary efforts of the states to send tax money to the central government. Lacking funds, the central government couldn't maintain an effective military or back its own paper currency. 7.
Which of the following is identified as a failure of the Articles of Confederation?Q. Which of the following is commonly identified as a failure of the Articles of Confederation? The national government lacked an effective power to raise revenue.
What was one of the problems with the Articles of Confederation quizlet?the problem with that was that because there was no executive branch, the government couldn't defend it's borders, and because there was no executive brand or court system, the government couldn't enforce it's laws.
What were major problems caused by the weakness of the Articles of Confederation quizlet?A major weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress could not tax. Congress could only request that taxes be submitted. This is a big weakness because tax money IS needed to do things like fund a military and provide much-needed services for the country.
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