Essay- Articles of Confederation
It would have been very difficult to run an effective government under the Articles of
Confederation. Many of the great minds politically active after the American Revolution
realized this; thus arrived the birth of one of the greatest political documents of all
time: The Constitution. With the implement of the Constitution, the United States
government became effective.
The product of some of the greatest minds to ever exist in this world, the Articles did
have some positive effects on society. It successfully put an end to the Revolutionary
War, it negotiated a favorable end to the war in the Treaty of Paris, and created a model
for the admission of new territories courtesy of the Northwest Ordinance. Nonetheless,
it was much too weak to give the new nation the necessary foundation on which the growth
of society could be started from.
For one thing, any amendment of the Articles required a unanimous vote throughout the
colonies. Since this was almost impossible, there always being two sides to everything
[a pro and a con], changing the Articles to eliminate the ideas that did not function
properly was near impossible. Another factor of the Articles' ineffectiveness was that
Congress was in essence tied in its authority. After the war, the colonists trusted no
ultimate authority; not even one they designed. It could not regulate commerce, so what
resulted was thirteen colonies with different taxations and tariff laws. This only added
to the already present feelings of dislike and distrust which had existed between the
colonies since they were first established.
After this period of eight years, the "Critical Period", the light at the end of the
tunnel arrived with Thomas Jefferson writing the Constitution. It delegated the power,
at the discretion of the people. It was designed to be amended; the great minds who
designed it realized that they themselves were not infallible, and could make mistakes.
The beauty of the Constitution was that it allowed for these mistakes. Instead of the
outrageous unanimous vote of states to change it, two-thirds of Congress and then
three-fourths of the states must approve. It ensured that no one section of government
could grow so powerful to the point that it could be considered a Parliament through the
Checks and Balances. It promoted unity in that Congress would now regulate all
interstate and foreign commerce; this eliminated many disputes since there was a simple
majority rule to pass laws. The unification of the colonies was beginning.
Thus, it is observed that the Articles of Confederation were without a doubt weak and
ineffective. Nonetheless, they were a necessary step in laying the foundation for the
construction of the Constitution. It showed the basic ideas of democracy, and the
Constitution was used in the expansion and enforcing of those ideas.
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