Chapter eight questions
Compare the government under the Articles of confederation with a contemporary confederation of nations, such as the UN, the European Union, or the Organization of American States. In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?
Both formed after war, kept the people united, both trying to keep them together and both accepted popular sovereignty . One was a confederation of states the other a confederation of countries. The Articles were formed as a form of government, the UN was created to end tensions after WWII UN is a lot stronger than the Articles since they had power to reinforce their orders UN was a second attempt after the previous organization failed
Why did the Articles of Confederation create only a legislative branch of government? How did the Articles of Confederation deal with the fears that some states would dominate others in the national government?
The Newly founded country didn't want anything that even resembled a Monarchy. An executive could resemble a king, therefor, they didn't want and executive branch. The states wanted to be able to interpret their own laws. Each state had only one vote. However, in order for the smaller states to not out vote the larger states, a 9 out of 13 majority was needed. The Articles also created a formula for devising funds, though it was unsuccessful for such a large country.
What were some of the achievements of the national government under the Articles of Confederation? What were some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
Under the Articles of Confederation the national government managed to achieve a variety of successes such as the creation of executive departments to administer finance, foreign relations, and military affairs but the most important achievement would be the Northwest Ordinance which guaranteed equal treatment for states new and old and also prohibited slavery within the territory. It's weaknesses limited power so much that the government could not tax, force states to honor agreements, make laws regulating trade, and neither could they make laws to regulate the citizens.
What was Shay's Rebellion? Why did it occur? What was its historical importance?
In Western Massachusetts, Daniel Shays helped lead a rebellion of former revolutionary soldiers and farmers in a time of economic and political unrest and instability. As the economy continued to fail for them, these rebels were neglected their pay, and attempted to take the Magazine (an arsenal) at Springfield. As America was under the Articles of Confederation still, the government institutions were not strong or consistent enough to stop the spreading of the uprising, and George Washington himself was called to escort the state militia in to stop the rebellion. This was an imperative turning point in the history of our nation. The fact that the president had to be called down to stop a simple uprising drew scrutiny upon the Articles, and the fact that they were failing to uphold a country: the central government was too weak and the state governments too diverse for America to be considered a nation, as opposed to a collection of neighboring states. Thus, Washington was compelled to turn to James Madison in an effort to begin to shape a strong national government.
What were the positive and negative consequences of a limited national government? Which Americans were satisfied with government under the Articles of Confederation? Why?
Some of the negative consequences with a limited national government was the Congress had no power to tax which caused them to be in deep debt also they couldn't force state to honor agreements made with foreign country which made it hard for them to import goods since some of them refused to pay them. Congress also didn't have the power to make laws to regulate trade among state therefore some states had levied taxes on good passing through other states and they couldn't make laws regulating the behavior of citizens only states government could govern citizens and the states didn't obey the national government. Limited Government did have their benefit they created the executive department and they administer foreign relations, finance and military affair which resulted to the later cabinet department. They also created the admiralty courts which heard the appeals from state courts and these were the first federal court. And they also established the Northwest Ordinance which was major for the reason defined the Northwest Territory and created a plan for its government not only that it also laid out process where a territory could move to statehood and guaranteed that they would have equal footing with existing ones also in Northwest Ordinance it prohibited slavery and provide education. The localists since the states passed laws that cancel debt for the people fallen in debt and the state government created paper money which cause inflation that benefited debts at expense of their creditor