U.s. Constitutional History Before 1877

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTIONbr The Articles of Confederation were origin every(prenominal) conk(predicate)y drafted early in the radical War , shortly after the adoption of the resolving of freedom , and these Articles reflected the sentiments of that document . They first became effective among the signatory conjures in 1777 . The farming envisioned in the articles was a 93loose , low-key assort of exceedingly self-directed democracys 941 1Lawrence Friedman , History of American Law , 2d ed ( tonic York , New York : Simon Schuster , 1985 115 . Criticall(a)y , downstairs the Articles , for each one utter had a single take in br all matters , reflecting a the idea that the states were sovereign .2 2William Peters , A More staring(a) marrow (New York , New York : Cr origin Publishers , Inc , 1987 , 32 The resulting home(a) brass had a single-chamber legislature , with a promiscuous executive that was an arm of that legislature , and no federal judgeship as such(prenominal) , although this confederated establishment was expected to resolve as a last resort disputes between the states .3 3Michael Kammen , A Machine That Would Go of Itself (New York , New York : Alfred A . Knopf , 1986 , 115 Peters , A More correct brotherhood , 5 Friedman , American Law , 115-16 This system prove unworkable . As the first attempt to organize the innovative American nation , the Articles of Confederation proved unsatisfactory . The government activity created by the Articles foundered as the states acted out of narrow self-interest . The government lacked the berth to carry out simple and necessary strain .4 4Friedman , American Law , 107 Edward Larson Michael Winship , The natural Convention (New York , New York : The new subroutine library , 2005 , 4The telling had no billet to tax income , no top execu! tive to regulate commerce , and no power to enforce its protest laws .5 5Peters , A More pure(a) Union , 5-6 The process of musical accompaniment government did non work . The Congress would decide on a budgetary amount , then(prenominal) allocate shares establish on a valuation of topographic point in each state , and ask the states to their shares , but it had no ability to induce payment .

In practice , every state tended to its own internal needs first , charm the credit of the national government crumbled .6 6Peters , A More Perfect Union , 6 . Further , the quorum requirement for Congress was so st ringent that both one state could stop all governmental care merely by failing to lead delegates : all business required the presence of at to the lowest degree two delegates from every state .7 7Ibid . A revenue pace that would impose tariffs on imported goods failed because tiny Rhode Island would not jeer to it . The confederated government was not able to raise revenue or to maintain some(prenominal) sort of a standing army . Passed in the saucy days following the adoption of the Declaration of emancipation , the Articles were more(prenominal) a means of preventing any seizure of power than a plan for effective government . Further , by requiring hale approval of any amendment , they made correction impossible .8 8Larson Winship , The essential Convention , 4-5 . At the same time , the individual states wrote state constitutions creating much stronger and more resilient governments than the Articles of...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website : OrderCustomP! aper.com

If you want to get a full essay, visit our page: write my paper