AP gang,
Take a look at this question, and answer fully on this blog. Feel free to respond to your classmates' answers as well. Here goes:
"Some historians contend that the Constitution, by providing the structure of government and powers necessary to perpetuate a strong union, 'saved' the fledgling American Republic from collapse and ruin under the Articles of Confederation. Evaluate this argument utilizing your knowledge of the problems of the United States in the 1780’s."
Post your answer by Fri. evening, 10/9, please. Can't wait to see this!!
Knowledge is power...
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8 comments:
The Articles of Confederation was a very important set of laws that established a landmark or a steppingstone towards a better American government. These Articles were very loose in confederation and being so, they had to deal with much conflict and confusion when it came down to common problems. The states had too much in control thus making the American people not as united. Also, under the Articles of Confederation, there was no power to regulate commerce or even enforce taxes. I believe that it is a very good thing we got the Constitution but without the Articles of Confederation, there wouldnt have been the ideal of union and the holding together of states. It generally outlined the powers of the upcoming central government.
The Articles of Confederation was an influential document because it was one of the important steps toward a successful constitution. However, the Articles of Confederation was more of a set guidelines rather than an established way of running the government. There was disagreement about how the Articles of Confederation said states would be represented in Congress, in which all states would have equal representation. This satisfied the small states, but the larger states demanded representation based on population. There was also conflicts among the states about how the president would be elected.
The new nation was already shaky to begin with, and the Articles of Confederation sparked controversy that could have been dangerous to the unity of the states. Thankfully, the Constitution was full of compromises to resolve some of the earlier conflict. Since the new nation was able to work through these early issues, it showed that they really are capable of becoming a strong, united nation.
The Articles of Confederation, although a mess they may have been, served sort of as a "rough draft" for the Constitution. They Articles were established in 1781. the Articles, in my opinion, just announched the states to be "one" but didn't really assert this. They were just like "oh, you have your own rights, do your own thing, but say that you're a part of us" sort of a thing. There was really no sense of authority either with the Articles. At first the states were fine with these, but then the point of equality comes up as Andrea mentions. All of the states had the same number of representatvies, whether it was large or small. The small states had no problem with this, but the larger states felt as though they should be allowed more representation because of their size. After realizing the flaws in the Articles, they knew changes had to be made to keep unity between the states. These changes were known as the Constitution. The Constitution was established in 1789. They equaled it out to where the Senate always had two representatives no matter what your population was, and the House of Representatives had Representatives depending on the poplulation. The decisions were no longer made by the states, but now the "government," thus leading us to the prosepering society as we know it today. The Constitution shaped society to make it equal for all.
Well the creation of the Constitution did save the American Republic from collapse and ruin under the articles of confederation, because the articles completly destroyed the power of congress. Congress under the power of the articles had no power to collect taxes so they had no money and every thing had to be ratified by all thirteen colonies which was almost impossible to do, because they were all different which was a reason for the failings of the articles. But in truth the creatition of the constitution only postponed the collapse of the American republic, sure the constitution brought the colonies closer and made a more centralized government that had better control over everything. But now big states and little states were fighting over the amount of power or representation they had in the governmant but that was solved by the great compromise, so yes the constitution saved america from its collapse in the 1780's because it was able to be amended as time went on which was probably the smartest thing anyone could have ever thought of because society changes overtime, so the constitution saved America from many collapses.
I would agree with these historians because I do believe it saved them but there where also other things that contributed to the saving of America. The Articles of Confederation were very important and a huge stepping in American history. Even though this document/government was weak, it set the ground for the independence of America. There were many loopholes in the Articles but it laid down the foundation for the Constitution. The loopholes did cause many conflicts between the states but thats why they edited and changed it so that every state would be working together in unison. The Constitution then provided a more stable and stronger government because colonists were learning how to work together and how they wanted America to be governed. The Constitution is obviously important in history but so are the Articles of Confederation.
I feel as though the Articles of Confederation were the main ideas of what the Constitution went on to state. We all have learned that the Articles of Confederation did not work out as the colonists had planned and there were many problems with how different laws were stated. But with the weak government that the colonies had at the time the Articles of Confederation did a decent job at helping the colonists come to the realization that it would take all of them working together as one if they were going to become an independent country. So through the Articles of Confederation I feel as though the basis of America was laid. The Constitution did in fact go on initiate the American Revolution and build America into what it is today, but without the Articles of Confederation colonists would not have realized they needed to do something more if they were going to defeat the British.
Good job so far w/ this posting, guys! I get a reaql sense that you grasp that the Articles, though well-meaning, were created by a group of people almost paranoid about the power of a strong centralized government. They attempted to create a loose confederation of independent states that would work together to create a binding union that would be fair to all...but they didn't allow that the motives of some people would not be the same as others. For instance, isn't it a little unrealistic to mandate that all 13 states must agree to anything accomplished. don't even get me started about not giving the federal government any power to raise taxes...
The Articles of Confederation was a very important stepping stone to the unity of the colonies. It provided the ideas and the foundation that the Constitution was later written on, although they were not very successful themselves. The Articles did not work out very well because they required all 13 states to be unanimous. It was written as a form of government, but missed a lot of details that were needed to CREATE that government. This is where the Constitution stepped in. Also, the Articles left too much power in the states hands, this making it hard to form that unity. When the Constitution was written, it provided a more thorough set of laws and a more stable way of government.
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