Constitution Vs Articles Of Confederation Essay

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Jennifer Hodges Week 4 History There are many differences between the Constitution and the articles of Confederation. With the Articles of Confederation the states are sovereign with no independent executive. The laws were also enforced by the states and only the state courts could act on the people. With the Articles of Confederation nothing could be amended without the agreement of all states. The congress under the articles had no power over tax or over interstate and foreign commerce. The Congress also was seen as one body and each individual state has a vote. The Articles gave the Congress only specific delegated powers. (2008) The Constitution on the other hand had a separate federal court system in order to handle disputes between the…show more content…
The Articles of Confederation had apportioned taxes not according to population but according to land values. The states consistently undervalued their land in order to reduce their tax burden. To rectify this situation, a special committee recommended apportioning taxes by population. The Continental Congress debated the ratio of slaves to free persons at great length. Northerners favored a 4-to-3 ratio, while southerners favored a 2-to-1 or 4-to-1 ratio. Finally, James Madison suggested a compromise: a 5-to-3 ratio. All but two states--New Hampshire and Rhode Island--approved this recommendation. But because the Articles of Confederation required unanimous agreement, the proposal was defeated. When the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, it adopted Madison's earlier suggestion.The taxes that the Three-Fifths Compromise dealt with were "direct" taxes, as opposed to excise or import taxes. It was not until 1798 that Congress imposed the first genuine direct taxes in American history: a tax on dwelling-houses and a tax on slaves aged 12 to
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