Constitution and articles of confederation essays

Constitution and articles of confederation essays The constitution of the United States was written to correct weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. The articles were introduced in 1777 and this gave the power to individual states. The problem of the Articles of Confederation was that it limited the power to central government. This meant that the congress had no power to tax. The congress gave all the authority to the states over and left it with no power over the nations economic affairs. The main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation are that it legislated for states but not for individuals. Congress had no power to tax or regulate trade. It lacked power to control commerce. And it was too difficult to change any of the articles. Then the Constitution was put into place 1787 to overthrow the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution put far more powers into Congress. It gave the congress power to tax, borrow coin money, regulate commerce and raise armed forces that were needed. Most of the power came in the expense of the states, which were no longer allowed to pass tariffs or issue money. The government got the right to declare state laws unconstitutional. But the Constitution did not leave the central government too powerful. They put internal and external restraints on the government. The Constitution divided the government into three branches the executive, legislative and judicial. This was set so that no one part of the government can have too much po wer. It was a system of checks and balances where one branch can check on the other. The Constitution granted power on taxes and armed forces, gave the power to states and government instead of just to the states. Changed from a bicameral from a unicameral system. Originally every state had equal representation but the bicameral system sets up two houses. The Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate gives representation to the states and the House of Representatives gives membership that depends on po...