Articles Of Confederation 5 Essay Research Paper

Articles Of Confederation 5 Essay, Research Paper In the 1770 s, as America s great thinkers and writers were declaring their desire for independence; they also established a committee to lay the foundation for the American form of government. These brilliant writers and philosophers hesitantly began designing the national level of government for use in America and named their final draft the Articles of Confederation. Out of their utter distrust of a centralized government, due to their association with the English monarchial system, the drafters deliberately established these articles as a loose confederation of states, rather than a firmly united nation. Life under the Articles of Confederation was wrought with hardships and uncertainty, and the political scene was

paralyzed with inability due to the lack of sovereignty in a central executive branch and the unanimous state consent required for the ratification of an amendment coupled with the lack of a taxation privilege. However, despite its inherent flaws, the Confederation government did prove capable to accomplish a few foreign and domestic achievements. Under the authority of the Confederation, the United States began to introduce itself in the global scene. The United States determined its place in the community of nations by establishing diplomatic relations and its participation in the world economy. The Confederation Congress also accomplished something many historians overlook. They successfully managed, organized, and eventually won the Revolutionary War. After winning the war,

the Congress went on to successfully negotiate the Treaty of Paris and compelled the British to recognize American independence. On the domestic home front, the Congress began to effectively solve the land ordnance problem. The Confederation Congress established a procedure for governing the new territories and organized them into prospective states. Each prospective state having full and equal status with the original thirteen states. Furthermore, they institutionalized systems of local government, and public education. Moreover, while accomplishing all this, the congress managed to keep the national economy afloat. This proved to be an enormous feat because the economy was suffering from the removal of their guaranteed markets. These major achievements were all accomplished

despite the inherent flaws in the basic structure of the Confederation government. The Articles of Confederation created a unicameral Confederation Congress, with each state having only one vote. On most political matters this legislative body required the approval of 9 out of 13 states to ratify any proposed Congressional intention. In article 13, the Articles declared that in order to ratify an amendment to the Articles the consent of all 13 states were required. This left the national government, running through the Confederation Congress, powerless and unable to proceed with the most trivial matters of politics. The Confederation Government, under the Articles, also lacked a federal executive and judicial branch. This caused Congress to be severely handicapped when it came to

the enforcement of her requests. This lack of an executive, coupled with the Congress s negated power of taxation, caused a major national problem. The Congress, having only enough power to request essential national funds from the states, found that many refused to pay, or were late in doing so. Due to the lack of a powerful executive, Congress did not possess the power to enforce their plea for capital and nationwide debt developed. Since change was virtually impossible, due to the unanimous amendment process, the Articles remained unchanged and caused hardships for many Americans. The major hardships of America in the period of Confederation rule were primarily between the debtor and the creditor. The economic downturn of the mid 1780 s, caused by the removal of the guaranteed