The Articles of Confederation from the period 1781 till 1789 - American Government

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AP US History        DBQ        John Pham

        The Articles of Confederation from the period 1781 till 1789 would be a period least effective of a government according to the fully oppositional Constitution that came right after the articles.  The effectiveness of a government contains the factors such as economy, political, and foreign policy.  Based on these, one could base a government as being worthwhile effective or an absolute mishap of such.

        Based on factual history, the economy of the states, under the articles of confederation, was brought down based on their lack of taxation & control of trade, and its debts.  Without a united power the states themselves had to deal with exporting and the importing goods.  The estimated market value of the states’ exports during the time period of the articles could be compared to the population growth that continued to grow while their income on exports hindered.  The taxation that occurred on imports drastically penetrated states such as Rhode Island, as mentioned in a letter to Congress, where economy is much based on the importation.  John Jay’s instructions to the US minister to Great Britain pertained to the problem of not being able to pay debts showed many problems which arose from it, and also the weak state divided trade powers.  The economy during this time period created a debt not only foreign but domestically with its own people, such as the military by which the delegate Joseph Jones brought up through a letter to Washington.  These examples of general problems during the articles also tended to create disasters on lower scales throughout the then weak country.

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        Also to aid in judging between effectiveness would be its political organization at the time of the writing of the articles.  The Constitution included the two missing branches during the articles, the executive and judicial, differences that contributed to the disaster, one power to create a “check and balance” government and the power to create laws for the country.  Another problem, which would be abolished by the executive branch, happens to be the passing of changes in the government through unanimous voting making the changes almost impossible.

        Lastly, foreign affairs, one of the first main reasons of building ...

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