The Confederation Congress: Why A Constitution?

The Confederation Congress called for a constitution due to the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation, which served as the United States' first constitution. The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress rule-making and funding request powers, but it lacked enforcement, commerce regulation, and money printing capabilities. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. The central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce, impose taxes or effectively support war efforts, leading to economic disaster. The Constitutional Convention, which assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, aimed to revise the Articles of Confederation and create a stronger federal government. The convention, led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, resulted in the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, marking a significant event in the country's history.

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The Confederation Congress lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the power to tax

The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states. However, it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the power to tax.

The Confederation Congress lacked enforcement powers, which meant it could not effectively enforce its decisions or the Articles of Confederation. This was particularly evident in foreign policy, where individual states often blocked the enforcement of treaties and trade agreements that they found counter to their interests. For example, the 1783 Treaty of Paris stipulated that debts owed by Americans to British subjects were to be honoured, but many states refused to comply. As a result, the British refused to vacate military forts in US territory, and British traders flooded US markets with goods, to the detriment of American businesses. The Confederation Congress lacked the authority to regulate this trade effectively, and intrastate trade was further disrupted by states' attempts to impose import duties on goods from other states.

The Confederation Congress also lacked the ability to regulate commerce and set commercial policy. With the states retaining considerable power, the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce effectively or set commercial policy. This led to economic instability, with states competing against each other through tariffs and import duties, and paper money flooding the market, causing extraordinary inflation. The Confederation Congress's inability to regulate commerce also extended to foreign trade, as it was unable to coordinate retaliatory trade policies when foreign nations imposed restrictions on American ships and products.

In addition to lacking enforcement powers and the ability to regulate commerce, the Confederation Congress also lacked the power to tax. This meant that it was often unable to fund its operations adequately, as it relied solely on requests for funds from the states. This resulted in a depleted treasury and further contributed to the economic instability of the young nation.

The lack of enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the power to tax led to concerns that the young country was on the brink of collapse. This prompted James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington to advocate for a new constitution, and a Constitutional Convention was assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation. The convention ultimately resulted in the creation of the Constitution of the United States, which provided for a stronger central government and addressed the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation.

Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart

The United States' first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states. However, it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, and couldn't print money. This led to economic instability, with Congress attempting to function with a depleted treasury and paper money flooding the country, causing extraordinary inflation.

The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. For example, the Spanish government, which controlled New Orleans, barred American ships from navigating the Mississippi River. This led to sectional tension between the North and South, with southern delegates to the Confederation Congress wanting to lift this ban, while coastal merchants in the northeast were willing to make concessions in exchange for a favourable treaty.

Additionally, the federal government faced challenges in conducting foreign policy due to its inability to pass or enforce laws that individual states found contrary to their interests. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence, included provisions that were unpopular and blocked by many states, such as honouring debts owed by Americans to British subjects. This led to the British refusing to vacate military forts in U.S. territory and flooding U.S. markets with British goods, hurting American importers and manufacturers.

The Confederation Congress lacked the authority to regulate this trade, and intrastate trade was further hampered by states' attempts to impose import duties on goods from other states. Congress also lacked the power to settle quarrels between states, and disputes over territory, war pensions, and taxation threatened the country's stability.

Fearing the country was on the brink of collapse, Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organise a Grand Convention of state delegates to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, leading to the creation of a new Constitution that established a stronger central government.

The Federalists believed a strong central government was necessary, while Anti-Federalists fought against the Constitution

The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and was in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789. It gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn’t regulate commerce, or print money. The states’ disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.

The Federalists, who believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation’s challenges, needed to convert at least three states. They saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. They believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not the abuse of central power, but the excesses of democracy. Leading Federalists included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

The Anti-Federalists fought hard against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government that reminded them of the one they had just overthrown, and it lacked a bill of rights. They included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and laborers. In national politics, they favored strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties. Patrick Henry was an outspoken Anti-Federalist.

The Federalists were better organized and connected. They published a series of 85 powerful newspaper essays known as The Federalist Papers. To combat the Federalist campaign, the Anti-Federalists published a series of articles and delivered numerous speeches against ratification of the Constitution. These writings and speeches have come to be known collectively as The Anti-Federalist Papers.

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Congress lacked the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and states imposed import duties on each other

The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states. However, it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the power to print money. This led to states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young country apart.

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, among others, believed that the country was on the brink of collapse due to these issues. Madison and Hamilton played a crucial role in convincing Congress to organise a Grand Convention of state delegates to revise the Articles of Confederation. This convention, known as the Constitutional Convention, assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787.

One of the significant challenges faced by the Confederation Congress was its inability to regulate foreign and interstate commerce effectively. While Britain, France, and Spain imposed restrictions on American ships and products, the lack of a centralised regulatory authority allowed individual states to implement their own trade policies. For instance, when Massachusetts and Pennsylvania imposed reciprocal duties on British trade, neighbouring states like Connecticut and Delaware established free ports to gain an economic advantage.

The states' attempts to impose import duties on each other disrupted interstate trade and further highlighted the need for a centralised authority to regulate commerce. Congress proposed an amendment in 1784 to gain powers over foreign trade, but it failed to receive unanimous approval from the states. This inability to regulate commerce and the power struggle between the states and the central government contributed to the push for a new constitution.

The Constitutional Convention debated and ratified the Constitution of the United States, electing George Washington as president

A few years after the Revolutionary War, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that their young country was on the brink of collapse. America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.

Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. While the convention was initially intended to revise the league of states and devise the first system of federal government under the Articles of Confederation, leading proponents of the Constitutional Convention, including James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, sought to create a new frame of government rather than revise the existing one.

The delegates elected George Washington of Virginia, a former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and a proponent of a stronger national government, to serve as president of the convention. The convention debated and ratified the Constitution of the United States, making it one of the most significant events in American history. The convention created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches.

The delegates appointed a Committee of Detail to put its decisions in writing. Near the end of the convention, a Committee of Style and Arrangement condensed the articles into a final form. On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the Constitution. The convention established a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments.

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