dbq articles of confed
After the war, the Continental Congress of 1776 called the colonies to draft a new constitution. The rule of these new states, according to the theory of republicanism, would rest on the power of the people. The Articles of Confederation was in the making. The Articles of Confederation was America’s first Constitution in affect from 1781 to 1789. It provided the new country with a loose confederation, or a “firm league of friendship.” It however was not an effective government. Congress was very weak and was purposely designed to be weak. After winning the War of Independence, the people did not want to surrender their new privileges to an American parliament, even if it was their own. The government did not have an executive branch. The judicial arm was left to the states. Each state had a single vote. The government could advise, advocate, and appeal, but it could not command, coerce, or control. This is what made the Articles of Confederation so weak. The Articles of Confederation stated that Congress had no power to regulate commerce. This left the states free to establish different laws regarding tariffs and navigation. In the letter from Rhode Island Assembly to Congress on November 30, 1782, the assembly decided
Soon the Articles of Confederations were picking up more problems. States were getting out of hand, and quarreling over boundaries. An uprising known as Shay’s Rebellion showed that more problems were comprehensive than solved. In the letter from John Jay to George Washington, John Jay said that there were more problems now than during the war. If republicanism was a bad foundation, then something newer and stronger was needed. “That we shall again recover, and things again go well, I have no doubt...” John Jay stated. Still some citizens were eager to scarp up the Articles of Confederation, under which the states had more power, and come up with a new form of government where there was a stronger central government. In the letter, John Jay feared that doing so many people would be uneasy and lose confidence, but something was to be done. Since the central government was weak under the Articles of Confederation, British did not remove themselves from US soil. Redcoats continued to hold a chain of trading pots in the northern border. In John Jay’s instructions to the United States Minister to Great Britain, he said that “You will in a respectful but firm manner insist that the United States be put, without further delay, into possession of all the post and territories within their limits, which are now held by British garrisons.” The main reason that the British stayed was to get favor with the Indians. Many citizens also asked Congress to force the British into line by imposing restrictions on their imports to America. John Jay taking that into consideration said “You will represent to the British Ministry the strong and necessary tendency of their restrictions on our trade to incapacitate our merchants...” Congress however could not control commerce under the Articles of Confederation, and the states refused to adopt a uniform tariff policy. Before the Articles of Confederation were put into affect, the Union was not integrated. The disappearance of the Tories left the political system working toward experimentation and improvement. The Patriots had fought with great disunity, but they all had freedom and allegiance in mind, now even that was gone. There were many debts to be paid off, such as to the army. This was stated in the Letter from Delegate Joseph Jones of Virginia to George Washington on February 27, 1783. He said “one ground of discontent in the army, and on which they found the opinion that justice
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Approximate Word count = 1654
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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