Question

1. Which was the better document, the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution?  Why?  This is your opinion so please feel free to choose either one.

2. What do you think would be the hardest part of being the first President?  Why?

3. Give one example of how the government has changed since the very beginning of the Constitution?  For example, is there something the government does now that it did not before or vice versa?

4ConstitutionArticles Article I Section IV or Article III, Section II. For the amendments (Bill of Rights) please needs explanation.

1.  If you were President in 1812, would you have gone to war? Defend your answer.

2.       2. Based on the readings from this chapter, are there ever times when the government should limit a person's right to free speech?  

3.  As a new and young country, what would have been the best way to deal with all of the foreign crises that occurred from 1789-1812?

Answer 1

1. Based on a comparative analysis of the two, the Constitution appears to be far better than the Articles of Confederation. Although both these documents emerged in the late 1700s, they differed in terms of the distribution of power and civil rights they bestowed upon the American state. In this regard, The Articles of Confederation failed because they did not give Congress and the national government enough power. The new United States just fought a war to end the tyrannical rule of a strong British government that had subjugated the local government. The states had more power than the Federal Government. The Congress created by the Articles could not Enforce Treaties nor could it collect taxes from the states which made it difficult to pay the soldiers when they were fighting in the Revolutionary War. The condition of states having more power than the Federal Government meant inequal distribution of wealth and resources and it seemed to threaten the very idea of a Conference and it instead intensified the rifts between wealthier and underdeveloped states.

On the other hand, The Constitution created a government that proved to be stronger than the one created by the Articles of Confederation. This was a result of the introduction of the policies of Federalism which divided the power between the states and the Central Government. Moreover, Under Federalism, only the Federal Government was empowered to generate money, but the states and Federal Government could levy taxes. More importantly, The U.S. Constitution gave the Federal Government a Judicial Branch and an Executive branch leading to a three tiered system of government which proved to be a highly strong feature of governance. Thus, the Constitution truly appears to be stronger than the Articles of Confederation.