During the early years of the war this desire became a belief that the new nation must have a constitutional order appropriate to its republican character. A fear of central authority inhibited the creation of such a government, and widely shared political theory held that a republic could not adequately serve a large nation such as the United States.
The legislators of a large republic would be unable to remain in touch with the people they represented, and the republic would inevitably degenerate into a tyranny. To many Americans, their union seemed to be simply a league of confederated states, and their Congress a diplomatic assemblage representing thirteen independent polities. The impetus for an effective central government lay in wartime urgency, the need for foreign recognition and aid and the growth of national feeling.
Altogether, six drafts of the Articles were prepared before Congress settled on a final version in Benjamin Franklin wrote the first and presented it to Congress in July It was never formally considered.
None of these drafts contributed significantly to the fourth version written by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania , the text that after much revision provided the basis for the Articles approved by Congress. Dickinson prepared his draft in June ; it was revised by a committee of Congress and discussed in late July and August. In November the final Articles, much altered by this long deliberative process, were approved for submission to the states.
By all the states had approved the Articles of Confederation except Maryland , but the prospects for acceptance looked bleak because claims to western lands by other states set Maryland in inflexible opposition. Maryland also supported the demands because nearby Virginia would clearly dominate its neighbor should its claims be accepted. The weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress was not strong enough to enforce laws or raise taxes, making it difficult for the new nation to repay their debts from the Revolutionary War.
There was no executive and no judiciary, two of the three branches of government we have today to act as a system of checks and balances. Additionally, there were several issues between states that were not settled with ratification: A disagreement over the appointment of taxes forecast the division over slavery in the Constitutional Convention. With large numbers of slaves, the southern states opposed this requirement, arguing that taxes should be based on the number of white inhabitants.
In the middle of the war, Congress had little time and less desire to take action on such matters as the slave trade and fugitive slaves, both issues receiving much attention in the Constitutional Convention. Its revenue would come from the states, each contributing according to the value of privately owned land within its borders. But Congress would exercise considerable powers: it was given jurisdiction over foreign relations with the authority to make treaties and alliances; it could make war and peace, maintain an army and navy, coin money, establish a postal service and manage Indian affairs; it could establish admiralty courts and it would serve as the last resort on appeal of disputes between the states.
Decisions on certain specified matters—making war, entering treaties, regulating coinage, for example—required the assent of nine states in Congress, and all others required a majority. Although the states remained sovereign and independent, no state was to impose restrictions on the trade or the movement of citizens of another state not imposed on its own.
Movement across state lines was not to be restricted. To amend the Articles, the legislatures of all thirteen states would have to agree. This provision, like many in the Articles, indicated that powerful provincial loyalties and suspicions of central authority persisted. George Reed signed for John Dickinson of Delware, who was absent, bringing the total number of signatures to It was an extraordinary achievement. Tasked with revising the existing government, the delegates came up with a completely new one.
Wary about centralized power and loyal to their states, they created a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises.
It stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world. The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government. Maryland held out until March , after it settled a land argument with Virginia.
The central government was designed to be very, very weak. The Articles Congress only had one chamber and each state had one vote. 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.
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. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis May 8, Why did the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation quizlet? Why did the founders decide to replace the Articles of Confederation with the US Constitution in ?
What were the two main problems with the Articles of Confederation? What were the main points of the Articles of Confederation?
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