Rewriting The Articles Of Confederation
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Before the American Revolution went to an end, congress knew that the states will not survive unless they had a government that united the states. The Articles of confederation was first drafted in November 15, 1777. The articles of confederation stated that all 13 states functioned alone and were free to conduct business as they wanted. The states were obliged to come together in situations such as war or foreign affairs. (The Post Revolution)
The articles of revolution presented many weaknesses that eventually resulted in the birth of the declaration of independence. Because the articles of confederation did not permit the congress to tax the states, money could not be collected to pay off the 40 million dollar debt owed to other countries and to American citizens. Also the congress was not able to regulate the trade between the states and foreign countries, so it was not able to place tariffs on trading goods. The United States had no means of gaining money to pay off their debt. Another flaw was that there were no courts to protect the rights of the people and there were no enforcements to ensure that the laws were followed. (The Post Revolution)
This eventually became one of the reasons why the article of confederations was rewritten. The political leaders believed in a strong central government that could bring in revenues to pay off debt and other necessities. Although Alexander Hamilton was not part of the signing of the declaration of independence, he was strongly supportive of the idea. In Federalist No. 12, which was in the New York Packet, Hamilton stated that it is important for a country to be allowed to collect revenues. Without revenues the country will not exist for long. “Ð It must resign its independence, and sink into the degraded condition of a province.”(Federalist No. 12) In Federalist No. 13, which appeared in The Independent Journal, Hamilton proposed that the states united by one government will be easier to provide for as opposed to thirteen different states with thirteen different governments.
During the time of the articles of confederation, the United States went through an economic depression mainly because the British Empire cut off all business with the United States. The farmers and the working class were burdened with debt, and heavy state taxes, that they were not able to pay off. Unfortunately, creditors seized the farmers property and sold it so they can receive the money owed to them. Because the central government had no power to control the states way of revenue, the Shay rebellion arose. Famers stood together and demanded that the state senate needs to provide paper money to pay off their debt and put a stop to the imprisonment of people who are in debt. When the government refused their demands, armed Shaysites, led by Daniel Shay, marched to the courts threatening the lives of the courts men. The rebellions including Daniel Shay were eventually captured but later pardoned in June 1788. The rebellion illustrated the weakness of the current government and the convention was called in Philadelphia to draft the constitution in order to prevent future abruptions. (Impact of Shays)(Shays Rebellion)(Rethinking the Articles)
Although there were many reasons the articles of confederation was revised, James Madison in Federalist No. 10 claimed that a union that is well developed can control and destroy the troubles of factions. He believed that the new union created by the declaration of independence would be a remedy for any republican disease which is factious rebellions. (Federalist No. 10)
John Jay expressed hi s reason for reform in a letter to Jefferson in October 27, 1786. He stated that