Confederation and Constitution - Essay Example

Confederation and Constitution Articles of Confederation v. U.S. Constitution The articles of confederation led to the formation of the first government for the United States of America. It was ratified in 1781 and nullified by the U.S. Constitution in 1787 (Young, 1977). The Articles of Confederation was formulated at a time there was a need to unite the states that had been involved in the American Revolution. It was also necessary to define the role of the Continental Congress and the Congress formed within states. The Articles Confederation had its weaknesses and strengths at the time it was formulated. The key differences between the U.S. Constitution and the Articles of Confederation exist in the branches of government, powers of the central government, powers of states, money, success, and elections. These difference showcase the weaknesses and strengths of the two documents. The benefits of the Articles of Confederation including the signing of an alliance between the United States and France in 1778 (Young, 1977). The American Revolution succeed due to the unity that existed between the States. The government successfully negotiated to end the American Revolution. The Articles of Confederation facilitated the formation of an organized government that allowed inhabitants to roam freely in all the states. It played a crucial role given that it was formulated at a time when the States had no agreement. Most people were skeptical about the formation of a central government because the unfair treatment by the British was still fresh in their memories. The Articles of Confederation had a unicameral system of government in which Congress was the only branch of government (Young, 1977). On the contrary, the U.S. Constitution has three branches of government, which include the legislative, executive, and the judiciary. Every branch of government is independent. The Executive is mandated to carry out the law; the legislative makes the law, and the judiciary interprets the law. Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government had powers to declare war, negotiate peace, handle foreign affairs, borrow money, manage the monetary system, settle disputes between states, create a navy and build an army by asking for troops from the different states. The U.S. Constitution gave the National Government more powers. In the U.S. Constitution, the central government has is mandated to collect taxes, handle foreign affairs, raise and maintain an army. The major difference is that the Constitution gave the Central more powers to manage the situation in the country. It had limited powers under the Articles of Confederation, which made it difficult to manage lending, borrowing, and disputes among the states. The government did not have the influence needed to make crucial decisions. As a result, the states struggled with poor foreign affairs strategies and disputes among the states. These factors became a barrier to the development of the nation (Confederation, Articles of., 2015). The constitution provides the necessary powers to facilitate improved governance. The powers of the state were not given to the Congress. The States retained most of their powers under the Articles of Confederation. The Congress was at the mercy of the states. Ironically, the Congress had very many obligations with no powers to fulfill effectively some of these obligations. The states were mandated to protect and care for the interests of its people. Under the U.S. Constitution, the states handles marriages, licensing, education systems, local governments, and gambling. The maintenance of safety was transferred to the Federal government, which is in charge of all armed forces. The other differences include the voting systems, which changed for the better. It increased representation in Congress. Drafting of the U.S Constitution The drafting of the Constitution in the 1780s was preceded by Articles of Confederation as evidenced by constant disputes among states, poor foreign affairs initiatives, and economic crisis. The Constitution was drafted by a group of leaders who met in Philadelphia and presented to the general public for ratification. One of the heavily discussed during when the constitution was being drafted was representation. The delegates had to figure out a way to give the Central government enough powers without being unfair to the states. Connecticut delegates came up with the first compromise in the convention. They suggested the formation of a bicameral legislature, which consists of the upper and lower houses. The upper house is supposed to have two representatives from each state regardless of size. It is a reflection of sovereignty. It was decided that the lower house should have representatives based on the number of white male and three-fifths of the slaves living in the state. It was the great compromise. The other compromise was in the voting patterns. One of the biggest compromises was that of the slave trade. The Free states were against slavery, but the slave states made it clear that they would not support the move to illegalize slave trade. It led to the creation of a fugitive clause, which is partly blamed for the spread of slavery in the United States. Another compromise came after the first draft when delegates from New England and the Southern States disagreed. The disagreement was on the issue of commerce and slavery. Mason suggested a bargain to end the stalemate that threatened the formation of a single state (Tushnet, Graber, & Levinson, 2015). The delegates from Georgia and South Carolina, who wanted to protect their slave trade, made a deal with those from New England. Ratification Debate The ratification of the debate was not an easy task. It was surrounded by many debates, which was between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists did not support the ratification of the constitution while the Anti-Federalists wanted the opposite. The Bill of Rights was among the many topics discussed by these two groups. The Federalists were against the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution on the premise that it will limit the powers of the government to protect its citizens (Hamilton, 2014). The Anti-Federalists felt there was a need to establish boundaries that the powerful Central government should not be allowed to pass. These boundaries were needed to protect the fundamental freedoms of the people. One of the Federalist papers authored by Anthony Hamilton outlines the benefits of revenue collective by the central government. Hamilton starts the paper by pointing the importance of commerce to the economy and individuals (Hamilton, 2014). The central government would make the environment better by collective revenue to improve public services. The Anti-Federalists feared the central government had taken away the sovereignty of the states, and it threatened personal liberties. They feared that such a government would resemble the powerful British government that they struggled to remove. They played a crucial role in the adoption of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is key to the success of the U.S Constitution. It put checks and balances in the powers of the national government to prevent the government from interfering with personal liberties. This made it for the states, which are expected to protect the liberties of the people. The Bill of Rights creates a balance because it formed an agreement point for the states and the central government. References Confederation, Articles of. (2015). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1-2. Hamilton, A. (2014). The Federalist Papers. Dover Publications. Tushnet, M. V., Graber, M. A., & Levinson, S. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of the U.S. Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Young, R. L. (1977). The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. American Bar Association Journal., 63(11), 1572. Read More