Ny-asia Folk                               

American civilization 1607-1877

   Although the system of national government provided by the articles of confederation had a number of weaknesses it did also have a few accomplishment.The articles of confederation were the first frame of government for the united states, it was drafted by the congress in 1777 and in effect from 1781 until 1788. It was replaced by the constitution.

   The biggest accomplishment of the government under the Articles of confederation would be the winning of the American revolutionary war also known as the  American war of independence. Another would be the the negotiation of the treaty of Paris in 1783. The treaty of paris gave America control of the region between Canada and Florida east of the Mississippi river. It also gave Americans the right to fish in Atlantic waters off of canada.

   There were more weaknesses than accomplishments under the articles of confederation. One of the weaknesses would be economic problems, congress had to borrow large amounts of money by selling selling interest-bearing bonds and paying soldiers and suppliers in missives that they could redeem for cash in the future, to finance the the American revolutionary war also known as the American war of Independence. With a lack of a stable source of income it found itself unable to pay interest nor debts.

   Another weakness would be that under the confederation the power resided in the thirteen states and not in the government as a whole it was to weak to enforce laws. For instance congress had no power to tax citizens or commerce directly.  A passage of a law was required to have the vote of nine out of the thirteen states, majority of the states didn’t approve of anything during the seven years that the articles of confederation were active. The government had one house legislature, Congress, with a delegate from each state,  no judicial branch or chief executive. The congress also didn’t have provision for a national army,  but it needed to request that individual states contribute troops.

   Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between the central government and the states. Federalism also known the system of checks and balances and as the division of powers between the different branches of government in other words the separation of powers. Federalism is the relationship between the national  government and the states, unlike the articles of confederation the constitution strengthened the authority of the government.  For example it gave congress the power to impose taxes, regulate commerce, declare war, etc. It also authorized the president to enforce laws and control the military. Meanwhile most habitual matters of the government like education and law enforcement still lie in the control of the states, this is still a debate today.  

  The separation of powers better known as checks and balances is the way the constitution tries to prevent any branch of government from overpowering the other two. Congress can act laws but the president has the right to veto them. The president can be impeached by the house of representatives and taken from office by the senate for crimes and misdemeanors.

   The constitutional convention was a meeting in philadelphia that took place from may 25, 1787 until september 17,1787. Representatives from twelve states all except Rhode Island meet up during these months to revise the articles of confederation the meeting consisted of fifty-five men in total. The meetings resulted in the production of a new constitution. All delegates agreed on having a legislative, Executive and judicial branches.

   In my opinion the most significant compromise resultings  from the constitutional convention in philadelphia would be the making of three branches. I say this because unlike the articles of confederation the power is split into different sections, so all power isn’t going to one person or group like a monarchy. Checks and Balances aka separation of powers  is what this is called. This is significant because it doesn’t allow one branch to just take control over everything without the consent of others. For example if a president negotiates a treaty it still has to be accepted by the senate to be approved. This stops one branch from over too much power even the the judicial branch is considered to be the highest branch of all three.