Articles on Confederation and Constitution

Confederation and Constitution
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Confederation and Constitution
Constitution and Articles
The Articles of Confederation, or just the Articles, differs significantly from the Constitution. Articles – this document specified that: Congress of the United States only possess particular powers that have been granted to it; Congress did not possess the power to tax; states are self-governing; there is no autonomous executive; all states in the nation have just a single vote; and that Congress is made up of just a single body (Brookhiser, 2015). In addition, the Articles spelt out that it was only the state governments in the nation, and not the central government, that could actually act on the people in a direct manner. It also indicated that Constitution amendment can only be done following the approval of every state and that Congress had no power over interstate or overseas trade (Swindler, 2011).
Articles strengths: the Articles created a powerful legislature; brought all states nationwide together; and plans/ordinances were devised under the Articles for paying off America’s national debt as well as for forming new states that would expand the country, particularly westward (Swindler, 2011). Articles weaknesses: the Congress was unable to settle interstate disputes with regard to tax or boundaries; all states had 1 vote only each; Congress had many problems including procedure for developing Western lands; and most American citizens were fearful that the central government was in fact not influential and had little powers (Broadwater, 2015).
The Constitution – this document indicated that Congress possessed implicit as well as explicit powers; Electoral College would pick self-directed executive; central government and state government have power of acting on people in a direct way; ¾ of all the states in the nation is what is needed to revise the Constitution; Congress can collect taxes as well as duties and can regulate trade amongst states and with foreign nations; and Congress was made up of 2 bodies (Brookhiser, 2015). Constitution strengths: states: cannot impose taxation on products brought in the state from another state, produce own currency, or declare any warfare (Broadwater, 2015). Unless re-elected, America’s president serves for 1 term only of 4 years. Weaknesses of Constitution: president of America is authorized to support or veto passage of laws; the Electoral College; and judges of the courts across the United States serve till their death (Brookhiser, 2015).
Drafting of Constitution
In order to ensure that the American Constitution in the late 18th century was properly drafted, a number of states across the new nation had to compromise. Bigger states in the west and the smaller ones in the east compromised, and so did the states in the North where slaves were free which compromised with those in the South in which slavery was still being practiced. The Three-Fifths Compromise and the Great Compromise are certainly two of the popular compromises that were reached. The Three-Fifths Compromise, in essence, refers to a compromise that was made between the Northern and the Southern states in America (Broadwater, 2015). ...