Running head: THE ARTICLE OF CONFEDERATION 1

The New Constitution

Name

Institutional Affiliation
ARTICLE OF CONFEDERATION 2

Introduction

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution to be documented in the United

States which provided a plan of government after they attained independence from Great Britain

(Milestone, 1987). It was later ratified on March 1, 1781, and led to the creation of a new

constitution on September 17, 1787, due to its many disadvantages and weaknesses. In the

articles of federation, the states were sovereign while the new constitution dictated that the

power of sovereignty divides between the government and the states. The new constitution had a

separate federal law system which resolved the dispute among the states while the articles of

confederation had no federal courts the state enforced the laws. Congress had no taxing power in

the Articles of Federation, and the New Constitution gave Congress the authority to collect tax,

duties, imposts and excises. The New Constitution gave Congress the power to control trade

with other nations as well as among states while in the Articles of Confederation Congress had

no power to regulate trade between states or other countries.

Literature body

The New Constitution implemented separation of authority where it developed the

legislative branch which was to make laws, the executive branch which was supposed to enforce

the law and the judiciary which was to interpret the laws of the nation (Kerry, 2003). The Articles

of Confederation was only to be amended if there was approval of all the states while the New

Constitution only needed 3/4 of states approval to be able to have it amended. There was an

independent executive that chose the Electoral College which differed from the article of

confederation that did not have an independent executive. In the Article of Confederation, the

state governments dealt directly with the people. The New Constitution, the central government
ARTICLE OF CONFEDERATION 3

and the state government, dealt and acted directly with the people. With the new Constitution,

Congress had two bodies, population established the number in a house, and each state had two

senators. The Articles of Confederation had one body and one vote for each state

Strengths

It declared war and made peace. Through this, it successfully waged war on Great Britain

to attain independence. The Article of Confederation was able to coin and borrow money. The

government enacted the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which gave power to the Northwest

Territories to develop their governments which led to the establishment of the state in the

territories (Jefferson, 1783). The government was able to negotiate and sign the treaty of Paris in

1783. It granted privileges and immunities that free citizens enjoyed to the free inhabitants in

each state. It resolved territorial disputes between the states and developed a process where

territories were able to be admitted as new states which would be equal to the original 13 states

Weaknesses

The national government did not have enough powers and were unable to implement and

make people flow their laws it lacked sound and steady leadership. It did not have the authority

to collect the tax, duties in the states or coin money which led to the states developing their

currency. It lacked a federal court system that would have been used to settle disputes between

countries and rights of the citizens; the states governed themselves. Congress was unable to

control trade between states and foreign countries as well leading to each state putting their

tariffs on trade between states (Hoffert 1992). There was a lack of an executive branch that

would be to enforce laws. Amendments were only possible if there was an approval from all the
ARTICLE OF CONFEDERATION 4

13 states. Despite the size of the population in the Number in House, each state gave one vote. It

lacked a national army and navy.

There was a tax rebellion in 1786 and 1787 by Western Massachusetts that indicated the

national government was failing through the Article of Confederation of it being unable to settle

dispute internally. The United States was in trouble economically by 1787 because of the debts it

had incurred from European investors and countries which were brought by its lack of power to

tax or control trade among states and other nations.

Drafting

The New Constitution was drafted by a group of 13 leaders from each state. The

delegates had envisioned a Congress that had one chamber with a given number of

representatives from each state. Disagreements arose on the issue of slavery where the

southerners insisted that it should remain an individual state issue to decide. For the new

constitution to be successful in areas like taxation and have a determined number of

representatives a state could have in Congress slaves were to be recognized as three-fifths of a

person. An agreement was made that Congress was not allowed to ban slave trade until 1808

when all the slaves would be returned to their original owners. A proposed New Jersey Plan was

declined by the delegates mainly because it was unicameral body which only allowed for one

vote per state. It greatly favored the states that had less population and emphasized sovereignty

stating they were independent entities. Some of the delegates who had a large number were for

the Virginia Plan which stated that each state have a different number of representatives

depending on the Number in House it had.

ARTICLE OF CONFEDERATION 5

Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, proposed to have the bicameral or the two-

chambered congress which consisted of the Senate and a House of Representatives.

Representatives from each state suggested that Sherman would send the same number of

representative to the Senate and one House representative for every 30,000 residents of a state.

Shermans plan was accepted all the delegates from both large and small states. It was known as

the Great Compromise or the Connecticut Compromise of 1787.The representatives presented

and explained it to the public for consideration and approval.

Conclusion

The federalists were the first political party to be created in the United States they

supported the constitution; they tried to convince the states to ratify it. Alexander Hamilton

together with John Jay and James Madison published essays which were known as Federalists

Paper. In the federalists' paper Madison questions on how to guard against a group of citizens

that infringe the rights of others and go against the interests of the public by making alliances

with those who are similar to them(Federalist no. 10). Hamilton debated that there was no need

of adding another bill of rights to the constitution stating the new law had provisions that

supported the charter of rights (Federalists no. 84). The federalists that people and the states were

in control of any powers not given to the federal government (Jensen, 1970). The Anti-

Federalists opposed this constitution indicating that it would fail to protect the rights of

individuals and threatened the nations liberty. They were against the constitution because they

believed that a stable government would destroy the sovereignty of the states. They wanted a Bill

of Right that would ensure the government doesnt become strong. The bill of rights would

safeguard the right to individual liberty. The debate over the bill of rights showed a significant

difference between this two. The federalists were open to change and new options by giving
ARTICLE OF CONFEDERATION 6

power to the government while the anti-federalists wanted to maintain control of and not be

ruled. The passed and became successful by putting limits on the government's powers. It

protected liberties like freedom of religion, speech, assembly and press. The addition of the tenth

amendment that all the powers were not expressly given to congress they were reserved to the

states.
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References

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M. (n.d.). Milestones: 17761783 - Office of the Historian. Retrieved January 28,

2017, from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/articles

Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Articles of Confederation:

Thomas Jefferson. Retrieved January 28, 2017, from http://www.shmoop.com/historical-

texts/articles-of-confederation/thomas-jefferson.html

Primary Documents in American History. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2017,

from https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html

The Articles of confederation; an interpretation of the social-constitutional

history of the American revolution, 1774-1781,. (2017, January 20). Retrieved January

28, 2017, from http://www.worldcat.org/title/articles-of-confederation-an-interpretation-

of-the-social-constitutional-history-of-the-american-revolution-1774-1781/oclc/1225801
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