Problems with the Articles of Confederation that were...

Since the birth of the United States, the issue over how strong the national government should be has always been a controversial one. While some believe that decentralization will inevitably lead to chaos, others contend that a powerful central government will inevitably become a tyranny. Although the United States would wholeheartedly embrace the idea of a loose alliance of independent states at first, the many glaring problems that the nation faced under the Articles of Confederation would quickly change the minds of many Americans. Indeed, the nation s confederal system of government was eventually rejected and replaced by federalism, a political philosophy that calls for a sharing of power between the national government and the†¦show more content†¦The Constitution, however, would be able to solve all of these economic problems by granting Congress the right to tax the states and by allowing only the federal government to print and control the circulation of money. Las tly and perhaps most importantly, the Constitution was able to ensure that the nation would always be safe from outside forces and internal forces. While the United States had a confederal system of government, a lack of security was a frightening reality. The state governments did not have to provide the central government with any soldiers and most of the state militias were extremely inadequate. This lack of preparedness became evident during Shays Rebellion, an uprising of farmers from western Massachusetts who attacked courthouses in Massachusetts in order to prevent judges from taking their land away from them. The rebellion was eventually crushed, but it was so close to succeeding that it is considered by many historians to be the event that sparked the Constitutional Convention. The Constitution successfully addressed the country s military problems by requiring states to provide the federal government with soldiers in the event of a war and encouraging the states to establ ish militias that would deal with internal problems. Because of the Constitution, the many problems that came with extreme decentralization, such as heated conflicts between states, economic disorder and turmoil, and a pitifully weak and inefficientShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking