The Continental Congress needed a document, ratified/approved of by the colonies, during the Revolutionary War to give them authority. So in 1781 the "Articles of Confederation & Perpetual Union" were finally adopted by the colonies. Written in 1777 by John Dickinson, the AOC was America's first constitution.
The AOC had some positive aspects but overall it gave the Continental Congress very little authority and the colonies (which became states after 1783) way too much power. Eventually the Constitutional Convention in 1787 developed the U.S. Constitution which is our governing document today.
For this week's blog, conduct your own research on the Articles of Confederation. In the comment section, list and describe two-three POSITIVE things the AOC accomplished and two-three NEGATIVE aspects of the AOC. You should have 100 words for the POSITIVE section and an additional 100 words for the NEGATIVE section (total of 200 words).
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ReplyDeleteOne of the most positive things of the Articles of Confederation is that they kept the new United States together through the Revolutionary War and the early years of the country. That is definitely not an easy thing to do. A second thing is that it was under the Articles of Confederation that the U.S. successfully prosecuted the Revolutionary War and concluded the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain formally acknowledged the United States independence and gave the United States all land north of Florida, south of the Great Lakes, and west of the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. So that was a major plus! (107)
ReplyDeleteSome negative things about the Articles of Confederation, is that each state only had one vote. We should have not just had one vote! If some people voted for it in a state, but someone did not, I guess it would not be exactly fair. Another bad thing, is that with a 2/3 majority needed to pass laws, made change to the articles very difficult. In order to pass any major laws they needed 9 of the 13 states to approve which was very difficult to do! Lastly, they couldn’t regulate trade with other countries which lead to bad foreign relations, and it left little power for the government over the states. At the end of all of this, it leads to a poor loose government. (126) Total of:235
There are several positive effects from the Articles of Confederation. First, under the Articles of Confederation, it provided a new government where the states kept most of their power. This is very important because it gave Congress less power. For example, Congress did not have the power to regulate trade, force citizens to join the army, or impose taxes. Second, under the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance law was passed by Congress to prohibit slavery in any of the territories which comprised the Northwest. This was the first serious attempt to limit slavery and inherently limited it to the South. This was the first step in bringing slavery to an end. (word count: 110)
ReplyDeleteOne thing that was negative about the Articles of Confederation is that the Confederation government did not have enough power to deal with the country’s financial problems. They also did not have enough power to deal with the country’s issues with other countries. Second, the Articles of Confederation did not provide a strong government to handle the problems facing the United States. Also Congress could not pass a law unless 9 out of 13 states voted in favor of it, which was a big problem. Lastly, each state could only have one vote, regardless of the population. So the states with big populations thought they deserved more than just one vote. (word count: 113) Total: 223
One of the biggest achievements of the Articles of Confederation is that this is what kept the colonies together during the Revolutionary War and in the first few years of them being a country even though it was highly flawed. It also opened up the idea of federalism and gave the states a lot of power. Sure it was a bad thing in the long run, but was somewhat needed in the time being. If they had immediately tried to put so much power in Confederation's right away, the states probably would have freaked out and thought they were going to be like England and have a monarchy. It was also kind of a test run for America. It was the first written form of government for the United States. Finally, the new nation needed some funds from France to pay for its revolution. Well since the colonial governments were no longer able to valid and could not get financial help. So the AOC made the United States a legitimate thing and allowed them to get financial help. (178) The AOC also had some negative points. They gave the government too little power. They couldn't enforce taxes. That meant the armed forces couldn't be supplied with the necessary weapons. The government could not do a lot of things that needed to happen because they always needed all 13 states to agree to changing something in the Articles which meant things usually didn't change. Another weakness was that in order to pass a law 9 states had to agree. This limited the Confederation's ability to act quickly. Lastly, the fact that the Confederation and the states had to share the power to conduct affairs with other country's caused them to become divided among each other. This also caused other countries to lose respect for the United States before they even really had a chance to begin. (136) (Total: 314)
ReplyDeletePOSITIVES:
ReplyDeleteThere are many positives about the Articles of Confederation like the most important reason was that the Articles of Confederation kept the states together during the Revolutionary war. It also tried to form a strong government. The Articles of Confederation controls , through congress, the surveying and selling of the land between the Appalachian mountains and the Mississippi River. It was the Articles of Confederation that united the 13 states for the first time. The Articles of Confederation also established congress. It began a new form of government and it got them to rely on each other for support in wars and such. (101)
NEGATIVES:
Among the things the Articles of Confederation COULD do the number of things it could NOT do outnumbered the things it could do. Like the Articles of Confederation could not levy taxes or regulate trade. The Articles of Confederation were a terrible idea to begin with because they were not fair! The Articles did not allow each state to have more than one vote. It also did not allow a federal military. If you wanted to change what the articles said ALL the states had to come to an agreement and we all know that was not going to happen. Including all that the Articles of Confederation took power away from the national government and it made the states to independently from the government! therefor i believe the Articles of Confederation were a bad idea to begin with! (138)
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Possitve:
ReplyDeleteThe positive side of the arrticals of confederation is that this document was the first actual attempt of government in the new country. Another positive side is that congress had the power to forieng affairs and the powers to declare war and peace. Congress also had the power to make alliances for the countey. They also had the power to manage native American affiars with the country. Another plus side of the AOC is that it suppoeted the contanetal army. It also encouraged the settlement between the states. The AOC also approved the formation of a state if the population is at least 60,000. So there were many possitve things about the AOC. (117)
Negative:
Although there were many possitve things about the Articles of Confederation but there were also many flaws in the document. One of which being no matter the size of the state the state only got one vote. Another flaw is that there was absolutely zero regulation in trade in the colonies. States could put tax on anything that they wanted coming into and from states, that was a pretty big flaw in the writing. Another flaw in the document is that government didn't have any power to tax the states. A huge flaw is that it could not force any of the states to obey the laws or pay taxes. So that was the plus and minus of the articals of confederation. (119)
There was some positive things about the Articles of Confederation. One is that this document was the first real government in the new country. The other is that government kept the states together during the Revolutionary War. Another good thing about government was the Northwest Ordinance law that was passed by Congress to prevent slavery in any of the territories which consisted the Northwest. This was first attempt to prevent slavery in America. The South didn’t agree to not have slaves so it didn’t work. It also made the United States a real country and allowed them to get foreign help.(101)
ReplyDeleteThere was some negative things about the Articles of Confederation. It took all 13 states to amend the document, but they don’t always agree everything. The government doesn’t have enough money to help pay for the country’s financial problems. It also didn’t have the power to help with the issues of the other countries. The government couldn’t enforce taxes for the country. The soldiers who were farmers came back from the revolution couldn’t pay the high taxes and eventually made them lose their land which started Shay’s Rebellion. The AOC did not let states have more than one vote. It also did not allow a federal military.(107)
POSITIVE:
ReplyDeleteThe document had stated to provide protection against the cruel act of ruling the American colonies by the Britain government that was led by King George III. It was stated to have a desperate attempt of establishing a new form of government that will go against the tyranny of the British Government.
The document created a bridge to connect the individual States by empowering league of friendship among them. This article delivered an assurance of mutual interactions for the whole nation’s general welfare. League of Friendship was also necessary for defense and attack against offensive assault of nations external to their boundary. The declaration of this war is a power given to the Congress.( 114)
NEGATIVE:
The central government that was established left with insufficient power. That is why it was a weak government that could not efficiently run the nation.
The government were unable to operate the collection of taxes that eventually left them with tons of debt and was unable of paying for needed supplies to equip the Revolutionary War. The individual states were to collect tax right after the government requested for it. The inability to tax the citizens was because the Confederation was not empowered with enforcement of those requests as they were completely ignored.
There was a poor establishment of the military program. Rather than producing the national military, the Confederation produced one militia in each individual colony in providing a uniform defense for the emerged nation. However, things got worst due to lack of military training and financial support to provide the soldiers with supplies and equipment. (150)
The articles of confederation had some good things and some bad things but first i am going to talk about the good things.
ReplyDeleteThe most important positive aspect of the Articles of Confederation is that they kept the United States together through the Revolutionary War and the early years of the country. which is not an easy thing to do , even if the Articles were severely flawed. The Articles left the vast majority of power with the states. In the long run, this was a very bad thing. However, in the short run, it was probably necessary. If the United States had tried to form a strong central government the states would probably have split apart from one another. They would not have trusted each other enough to stick together under a strong central government. But the Articles were confederal enough to keep the country together. I think that this is their biggest achievement. (147)
Now i am going to talk about the flaws in the articles of confederation.
The big flaws i found while reading about this was that they couldn't change a law without all 13 states agreeing about it and what the chances of that happening. another thing i found wrong with the articles were that if their was like a rebellion or an uprise against the federal gov they couldn't send troops to help right away they had to wait for other states to send them troops, which in my opinion is stupid because if you already have troops in your state for the war you couldn't use them unless you sent a letter to the state that they were from and then they have to send you a letter back giving you the okay to do it. (140)
Positives: 1. The Articles of Confederation allowed for the establishment of new states of a population of sixty thousand. This allowed the Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to come about.
ReplyDelete2. These articles also untied the thirteen colonies/states under one banner of the United States. Even though these articles had a few minor setbacks by a few states not willing to sign at first, they eventually established a united legislature.
3. Different divisions under the head legislature were formed under these articles. This obviously made it easier on the legislature to operate because they didn't have to worry about as much with the divisions under them. (108)
Negatives: 1. The Central government was left with hardly any power. that is why it turned out to be a weak government.
2. The government was unable to complete the process of collecting taxes which eventually put the government in debt. The reason for this is because the articles didn't give the Central government the right to tax the citizens therefore putting them in debt.
3. The military was also weak because of the Articles of Confederation. Instead of making one big military the articles established a militia in each individual colony. Therefore never really having one strong powerhouse, but instead a having good fighting groups. (103)
These are some positive thing that came from the Article of Confederation. First, it was under the Articles of Confederation that the U.S. successfully prosecuted the Revolutionary War and concluded the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain formally acknowledged U.S. independence and gave the U.S. all land north of Florida, south of the Great Lakes, and west of the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. A second achievement was the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The Land Ordinance of 1785 set up a system of surveying and selling land in the Northwest Territory. Land would be divided into townships and sections, with one section in each township dedicated to public schools. This law laid the foundation for the public education system in the U.S. today. The Northwest Ordinance set guidelines for how the Northwest Territory would be governed and how new states could enter the Union as equals to the original 13 states. This is important because it established the idea that the U.S. would grow as a republic, and not as an empire with new colonies.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the Articles created a loose confederation of individual states. The government had little power over the states which they keep to themselves. With no power to raise money by taxes the government could not raise an army. Or even regulate monies by creating universal money they couldn't regulate trade between states or even to other countries. This also led to poor foreign relations. In addition the articles left a loose central government. With little to no power to execute executive powers— like trade commerce and foreign affairs the ability to amend the Articles or even vote when a majority was needed which a majority vote was need when states seemed to worry about just themselves. Without the states identifying themselves as a nation and as Americans the Articles were bound to fail. (317)
There were some things that the Articles of Confederation got right. One of those was successfully prosecuting the Revolutionary War and concluded the Treaty of Paris, in which America was recognized as an independent country. Another thing the Articles of Confederation got right was the Land Ordinance of 1785. This set up the ground work of townships and other ways to settle the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. The last reason is the Northwest Ordinance. The Northwest Ordinance set up the ways to govern the Northwest Territory. Then, once a certain number of people living in the area was released, they could apply for statehood.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of things wrong about the Articles of Confederation got wrong. One of them is that it lacked one central government. And the government was really weak. The only thing they had going for them is the post office.Literally. Another thing was that to change a vote, the vote had to be unanimous. There was also no central court. How can you have a nation that big, but without a central government? That makes no sense! Also, each state had only one vote, which would cause a riot because it supported the smaller states. That is why there had to be a settlement on differences. All in all, the Articles of Confederation had its goods and bads.(226)
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ReplyDeleteThere were some things that the Articles of Confederation got right. One of those was successfully prosecuting the Revolutionary War and concluded the Treaty of Paris, in which America was recognized as an independent country. Another thing the Articles of Confederation got right was the Land Ordinance of 1785. This set up the ground work of townships and other ways to settle the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. The last reason is the Northwest Ordinance. The Northwest Ordinance set up the ways to govern the Northwest Territory. Then, once a certain number of people living in the area was released, they could apply for statehood.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of things wrong about the Articles of Confederation got wrong. One of them is that it lacked one central government. And the government was really weak. The only thing they had going for them is the post office.Literally. Another thing was that to change a vote, the vote had to be unanimous. There was also no central court. How can you have a nation that big, but without a central government? That makes no sense! Also, each state had only one vote, which would cause a riot because it supported the smaller states. That is why there had to be a settlement on differences. All in all, the Articles of Confederation had its goods and bads.(226)
There were some positive and negative things the articles of confederation did. One obvious thing that it did was hold the country together during and after the revolutionary war. If these are not passed there is a chance that the nation could have fallen apart during or after the war. It also gave congress limits so that America couldn’t be controlled by congress. This made it to where they can’t say who we can and can not trade with. They can not impose taxes, and most importantly, most people would say, they can not force anyone to join the military.(100)
ReplyDeleteAlthough there were many good things about the articles of confederation there were some bad things too. One of them was actually one of the good things too. They can not force people to join the military. Yes its great that they could have choice but what happens if we really need people in it so that one goes both ways. They also could not really force any thing on them. They had no control over if the states paid taxes or not, and no control over if they followed the laws. You can probably see how that could back fire fairly quick.(103) Total: 203
Like most governments, there are pros and cons. It was the same case with the Articles of Confederation. (18)
ReplyDeleteOne of the pros of the AOC was that all of the states were united together. This meant that they would help each other out if any sort of disagreement about religion, trade, self-government, etc. They basically had to defend each other. Another advantage was that every free person--sadly not including slaves--had the same free rights in every state. The AOC even had a positive aspect when it came to the law. If someone was put in jail in one state, for some sort of crime, and tried to run away to another state--obviously getting caught, the criminal could be brought back to the original state where the crime had taken place. (115)
But then there are the cons of the AOC. If there were ever a problem that came about, it was basically not going to work to get all the states to agree to an amendment because all thirteen states had to be in agreement. Another negative was that Congress was not in charge of trade. All of that was up to the states themselves. And another con that bothered Congress was that they were unable to gather taxes for money, but when you really think about it, it was a good exercise for Congress to learn a new way of raising money. Taxes can't always solve the problem of an empty storage system for money. (115)
So as it can be seen, some of the negatives and positives intertwined. So altogether, this AOC project didn't work out as the Second Continental Congress had planned. (28)
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