Congress had the power to make peace between America and foreign countries, but not between the States. A small war broke out between Virginia and Pennsylvania because both states claimed a piece of land in the West as their own. Vermont came very close to splitting off from America and joining Canada. The Articles did not grant the government the power necessary to keep the states united; however, the major weakness of the Articles was the inability to tax the people. Without the power to tax the people, the government had no funding and thus no power to accomplish anything important. The Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia in order to revise the Articles. This was an impossible task, the format of the Articles did not allow the leeway needed to revise them. The Founding Fathers had to start from scratch and create a government for the country.
The Roman Empire was based largely on a republican form of government. The idea of a representative democracy appealed to the Founding Fathers. They believed that people were naturally bad and needed a government to look out for them. Although this was their belief, they also believed that the people should have a say in their government. The Founding Fathers were faced with a dilemma. How could they give the people they so distrusted the power to have a voice regarding government policies? The republic provided the answer to their dilemma. Although the people have the right to vote, the right to democracy, the government retains its power over the people. Instead of having the people vote directly on government matters, the people elect representatives who, in turn, vote on government matters.
Checks and balances, though not directly taken from the Romans, were based largely on the idea of a republic. The Founding Fathers also feared the government, or rather, the ability of a government to gain supreme control. This fear resulted in the checks and balances so clearly visible throughout the Constitution.
