I believe the Constitution did a better job of protecting liberties, specifically in the areas of the federal court system, representation of the people, and the levy of taxes. Alexander Hamilton, statesman and economist, proclaimed "Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation”. The Articles of Confederation which gave rise to the Confederation government that took effect in March 1781, did not give the national government any means to enforce the federal laws. The states could, and often did, choose to interpret or enforce federal laws in any manner they saw fit. This led to disputes amongst the states that could not be readily settled, as it relied on each state’s court system which invariably chose to discount the ruling of the other states.
Kelley Hogan History 201 US September 20, 2011 Importance of the new Constitution on Early America America, at the beginning, needed to establish a strong central government; therefore they wrote the first Constitution, called the Articles of Confederation. But as in many first tries it was unsuccessful in establishing a strong government, as division caused many faults in the political and social spectrum. Many faults and strengths of the Articles of Confederation played into the role of the new Constitution. The importance of this first Constitution in relating to the new Constitution is realizing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the strengths of the New Constitution and the Federalists versus Anti-Federalists debate. The first factor to play into the new Constitution was the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Zinn also uses an excerpt from historian Charles Beard to explain his reasoning. Beard basically said that the rich controls the government or the laws the government operates by. Zinn points out that the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights shows that quality of interest hides behind innocence. Meaning that Congress completely ignores the freedom of speech. Professor of history Gordon S. Wood views the struggle for a new constitution in 1787-1788 as a social conflict between upper-class Federalists who desired a stronger central government and the “humbler” Anti-Federalists who controlled the state assemblies.
In a way we could see the Articles of Confederation as a stepping stone to something greater, the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution addressed many of the issues the Articles did not such as regulating currency, collecting taxes, controlling trade, effective voting laws, and a strong executive branch. The failures of the Articles of Confederation led to the Constitution which eventually led to the ultimate success of our nation. The Articles of Confederation was not designed to be the perfect document to lead a nation. Despite its imperfections, the Articles were able to provide the Colonies ability to conduct diplomacy and a sense of colonial unity.
While Madison supported a strong central government, he also helped implement what are common separations of power and checks and balances. Originally a Federalist and author of many of the Federalist Papers along with colleagues such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, Madison was not only a scholar but a statesman that saw the dangers of a hard, ridged stance for federal government. Madison feared the likelihood of each state in the Confederacy having its own monetary systems and laws. He feared that bankruptcy from one state might seep to the next with a catastrophic result. He held a firm stance against treason and sedition.
Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation to those of the Constitution. Which document did a better job at protecting liberties? Which document did a better job at running a government? Explain your answer with specific examples The Articles of Confederation was drafted in 1777, but was not ratified by all the states until March 1st, 1781. At the time, the states feared a strong central government, for this reason, the Continental Congress tried to give the states as much independence as possible.
How did the Constitution Guard against Tyranny? Nolen Michael Ms. McKee U.S. History Nov.27, 2012 Abstract In the summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates representing twelve of the thirteen states met in Philadelphia to fix the national government. The problem was that the existing government, under the Articles of Confederation, just wasn’t doing the job. It was too weak. The challenge was to create a strong central government without letting any one person, or group of people, get too much power.
The validity of the Articles of Confederation Tom Masters 11/5/11 DBQ From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation was set up as a weak federal government, that gave power to the states, but had its weaknesses. Among its many weaknesses was the single branch government, and the inability of Congress to tax the states. The Articles did solve the land boundaries in north west by creating the ordinances. During the 1780's, the United States witnessed several individual states trying to expand their borders. According to a map of western lands ceded by the states, each state claimed new lands on their own.
Supporters believed that under the Articles of Confederation the government did not hold enough power. The leading figure in this party was Alexander Hamilton who had served as Secretary of Treasury for George Washington’s first term as president. Hamilton proposed the state debts that had come from the revolutionary war, which had created a national debt for the U.S. Hamilton answered this with the idea of the first bank of the United States. The main goal of the idea Hamilton had proposed, of state debts was to avoid unnecessary and possible destructive competition between state and federal governments. Which also allowed the federal government the opportunity for revenue.
The Constitution needed fixing and there were multiple weaknesses and many were unsure that the constitution will hold all the states together. Tyranny is cruel, unreasonable or arbitrary use of power or control. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways which were federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the senate. The first guard against tyranny was federalism which is a political system that allows states united under a central government to maintain a measure of independence. Federalism is included in the Constitution by showing that powers were divided between the central government and the states.