"Articles of Confederation"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, from 1777 to 1787, the United States acted under a set of rules, established under the "Articles of Confederation", which were little more than a loose alliance among the thirteen original states with no real effort to create a strong national government. The author points out that, following the American Revolution, it was apparent that the rights of the government and citizens under the "Articles of Confederation" were insufficient but there was still a substantial desire to limit the powers of government. The paper relates that, although the Constitution was a definite departure from the "Articles of Confederation", many rules regarding the nation remained the same such as the name of the newly founded nation; however, the most significant change was that the Constitution made the election of federal officials direct from the populous where, in the "Articles of Confederation", they were elected by the state legislatures.

From the Paper:

"For the United States to remain united, the federalist stance needed to prevail over the states' appeals for self-government. It is important to note that when the United States was conceived of as a single nation, it was essential that the doctrines that held it together cater to the needs of the individual states. After all, they were significantly separated geographically, and had become quite accustomed to instituting and enforcing their own laws. Therefore, the new government of the United States needed to demonstrate to its inhabitant territories that the implementation of this regime was not going to drastically alter their way of life, and neither was it going to establish expansive laws that were contrary to locally held customs or beliefs. Ideologically, this was the foundation for American federalism."

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