Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the two important documents that shape America's political and social life today. The writer looks at the similarities between the two documents and shows how the founders who wrote the Constitution based many of the ideas on those of the Articles of Confederation.

Contents
Thesis
Social Comparison
Political Comparison
Economic Comparison
Conclusion

From the Paper
The Articles of Confederation were composed during the Revolutionary War when the King of England had much control over the lives of the people living in the colonies in America. The need for a replacement government was felt and through this need there was created a a unification of the states with the authoritative power residing within the state government. The thirteen states considered themselves as thirteen different countries rather than one cohesive nation. As a result of this, there existed loopholes within the governments of the states.

Tags:government, history, u.s., civil, war, ammendment, nation

Abstract
By the late 1780's many Americans had grown dissatisfied with the Confederation. It was unable to deal effectively with economic problems and weak in the face of Shay's Rebellion. A decade earlier, Americans had deliberately avoided creating a strong national government. Now they reconsidered. The paper shows that in 1787, the nation produced a new constitution and a new, much more powerful government with three independent branches. The government the Constitution produced has survived far more than two centuries as one of the most stable and most successful in the world. The paper discusses how the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution resembled each other in some cases and differed from each other greatly in other aspects.

From the Paper
"There were three important ordinances that were formulated and retained by both the Articles and Constitution. The ordinance of 1784, based on a proposal by Thomas Jefferson, divided the western territory into ten self-governing districts, each of which could petition Congress for statehood when its population equaled the number of free inhabitants of the smallest existing state. The Ordinance of 1785, Congress created a system for surveying and selling the western lands, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 abandoned the ten districts established in 1784 and created a single Northwest Territory out of the lands north of the Ohio; the territory out of the divided subsequently into between three and five territories. It also specified a population of 60,000 as a minimum for statehood, guaranteed freedom of religion and the right to trial by jury to residents of the Northwest, and prohibited slavery throughout the territory. As a matter of fact, this may have been the ordinance's most important feature. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was the first attempt to ban slavery and outlaw territory."

Tags:Declaration, of, Independence, Thomas, Jefferson, House, of, Representatives

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the 1861 Confederate Constitution with the 1787 United States Constitution. The author includes citations from the two constitutions that support her thesis that the Confederate Constitution was simply a modified version of the 1787 Constitution.

Abstract
This paper examines the adoption of the Articles of Confederation and the failure of those articles as a plan for national government. According to the paper, the Articles were primarily intended to prevent usurpation of power, but they had the effect of leaving the national government so powerless that they were unworkable. The result was the Constitution, which was much stronger than the Articles, and which actually did create a sound government.

From the Paper
"After adopting the Declaration of Independence, Americans drafted the Articles of Confederation in much the same spirit. The Articles aimed primarily to prevent usurpation of power by the government, rather than providing for effective governance. The result was not a nation, but a "loose, low-key grouping of highly sovereign states." (Friedman, 115) With each state having one vote in all matters, a single-chamber legislature was the governing body. (Kammen 115; Peters, 5-6; Friedman 115) This system proved unworkable. Government foundered, able to do even basic business. It could not levy taxes..."

Tags:constitution, confederation, ratification

Abstract
This paper shows how the shape of the American government as embodied in the U.S. Constitution was influenced by such factors as the colonial experience, the revolt against British rule, and the failure of the earlier Articles of Confederation. The paper also discusses how the ideas embodied in the Constitution had been taking shape for some time before any of these elements had come into being, changing the way many in the colonies thought about government in the late eighteenth century. It shows how the ideas expressed in the Constitution derived from European theorists such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, though the manner in which these ideas were adopted by the colonists was influenced by the various elements of the colonial experience.

From the Paper
"The Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 as a statement of the Second Continental Congress of the independence of the American colonies from British rule. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft, and ideas were then incorporated from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The document was adopted on July 4 and led to the success of the American Revolution. The document produced at the request of the Second Continental Congress expressed a number of political ideas than current in the colonies, ideas which had been expressed by others in a different form and which were now brought together by Jefferson in a final statement of independence from England."

Tags:locke, hobbes, hume, rousseau, colonial, revolt, british, confederation

Abstract
This paper discusses the fierce battle waged between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the US Constitution.
In order to explain this battle, the paper highlights the differences between the Articles of Confederation, supported by the Anti-Federalists and the proposed Constitution, supported by the Federalists. The paper then explains that the Federalists believed a national government had to be strong in order to function properly while the Anti-Federalists argued that a strong national government threatened the rights of common people.

From the Paper
"Leaders of the United States realized the Articles of Confederation needed to be revised. The replacement document would be the Constitution of the United States. In the process of formulating this plan for the country, two major parties developed: Federalists and Anti-Federalists, each believing the nation should operate under their plan. While each group proposed completely different roles for the government, a consensus was necessary to ratify the Constitution."

Tags:Articles, of, Confederation, national, government, power, control

Abstract
This paper explains how the US Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution had different purposes and reasons for their respective creation. The paper discusses how the Declaration of Independence was more ideological and philosophical than the Constitution while the Constitution is detailed and lacks any kind of emotion or propagandistic qualities. The writer relates that he favors the Constitution's ideology over that of the Declaration of Independence, since the Declaration is fundamentally unsuitable for a government foundation while the Constitution is arguably one of the most successful, if not the most successful, political doctrine.

From the Paper
"When analyzing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, it is clear that there is a difference in ideology between the two. The two documents had different purposes and reasons for their respective creation. The Declaration of Independence is a protest against the tyranny of the British monarchy and a basis for revolution. The Constitution, however, does not allow for revolution and creates a liberal government for the purpose of stability. The Declaration was created in response to events that had oppressed the colonists and inspired them to overthrow their aggressors (Jayne)."

Tags:Articles, of, Confederation, Bill, of, Rights, federalists, doctrine

Abstract
This paper first relates that the Constitution of the United States of America was adopted on September 17, 1787, after significant and intense debates between the Federalist and Anti-Federalist officially united in compromise. The paper reviews the debates of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist, and how such debates shaped the Constitution at its birth as well as established a means of flexible ambiguity, which left the Constitution always exposed to debate and resulted in the Constitution's continual state of evolution.

From the Paper
"Within a year of its creation, the federal government was in vast, uncontrollable debt and absent of nationalized currency. The federal and states governments inability to pay obligations, resulting from the Revolutionary War, ignited social restlessness. The discontentment among the states continued to compound as various currencies and trade restrictions among the states produced a stagnate economy. The economy did not receive strength from international markets due to the federal government's inability to ensure states' compliance with international treaties. As domestic and foreign failures compounded in the new nation, the fledgling country began to acknowledge that the central government, as established under the Articles of Confederation, lacked the power to establish national essentials, such as, a prosperous economy, trade regulations, international treaties, and support a federal declaration of war. The consensus of the majority agreed that the infant nation would fail under the governing structure of the Articles of Confederation."

Tags:Revolutionary, War, Articles, of, Confederation

Abstract
This paper explains that the Articles of Confederation allowed states the ability to create their own laws and govern citizens prior to the ratification of the constitution. The paper also discusses the weakness of such a system, pointing out that under it federal authority was very weak and failed to unify the states, regulate taxation or control commerce. In the years previous to the ratification of the US Constitution, the country was experiencing rebellion and the growing tensions and unrest in the states was creating a sense that the nation would experience destruction if action were not taken. The paper further explains that because of these conditions, the concept of altering the framework for the nation was proposed and supported by federalists who were all of the wealthiest Americans. These individuals contended that there had to be strong federal government that would serve as a universal body over the states and control how the nation functioned economically, militarily and through law.

Tags:constitution, federalists, anti, federalists

Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of "The Federalist Papers" by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison and their ultimate impact on the shaping of the Constitution. The paper notes how "The Federalist Papers" are a primary source of evidence used to help understand the intentions of the Founding Fathers in drafting the Constitution. Additionally, the paper describes the time period in which "The Federalist Papers" were published. Then, it highlights the tree major points the authors intended to make with these articles, particularly the role of the central government, the issue of individual rights and freedoms and state representation in the Congress. The reviewer gives a personal reflection on reading this work and concludes by stating that "The Federalist Papers" fill in many of the blanks of American history, illustrating the ongoing debate between "big" and "small" government and the role of federal powers in protecting the rights of the people.

From the Paper
"The Federalist Papers were published between the time the Articles of the Confederation and the Constitution. Before the Constitution was ratified, the confederacy of state was loose, and no federal government had been established. The Federalist Papers argue in favor of a strong federal, centralized government and each essay offers specific reasons why a federal government is desirable. The authors argue that a federal government serves several key functions. First, a loose confederation of states is always at risk for the development of cross-border conflicts and possibly war. A federal government unifies the ideals of member states while still allowing for their sovereignty with regards to individual rights and freedoms. The potential for factionalism within states is addressed in Madison's Federalist 10."

Tags:Articles of Confederation, individual rights, Federalism, States rights