1985 DbqEssay Preview: 1985 DbqReport this essayDBQ 1985The colonists were living in a brand new country that had no track record. Considering that the articles of confederation had no precedent to follow, and no other government to imitate; the articles were fairly good. However, the Articles of Confederation could have been more effective than they were. Effective does not necessarily mean that the government was strong. It does mean that the government was able to provide the people with the kind of government they wanted and needed. Also, ineffective does not necessarily mean weak. The Articles were deliberately written for a weak central government, the colonists set it up they way they wanted to. Despite the fact that they one the revolutionary war, and they now realized that they were able to work together, they feared that a central government would cause each state to loose the civil rights which they have already gained. Therefore, the colonists deliberately made a weak central government. However, the kind of government which the people set up, through their own will created much uncertainty. The industrious people preferred security and quite and the government held too much uncertainty for them. If there is too much uncertainty, then they will agree to anything that will give them the security that they want. (Document G)
The Articles of Confederation set up a unicameral Congress in which each state had one vote. The executive authority would be in a committee of thirteen. The rights which the Articles gave to the federal government were very limited. It was very difficult to get anything done because in order to add an amendment or change something a unanimous decision was required. The powers which were given to the federal government by the Articles of Confederation include: the authority to make war and treaties, as well as the ability to determine the amount of troops and money each state can contribute. However, there was no way for them to enforce it. The federal government also had the power to borrow money and admit new states into the Union. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government could not levy taxes because the states were in charge. The Confederation could not draft troops; they are only able to suggest which states should contribute based on their population. They were also unable to regulate commerce, only the state itself had the ability to do so.
Although the Articles may have been effective, not everyone has the same needs or wants. What is good for one state may not necessarily be good for another. For example, Rhode Island was a small state, whose main income came mostly from trading. Therefore, when Congress wanted to make an impost on imported goods, it wasnt fair to Rhode Island (Document A). On the other hand, the economy under the Articles of Confederation was pretty much stable. Based on the population between 1784 to 1789, the value of United States exports increased decreased rapidly then increased again (Document B). Their foreign relations were also doing fairly well. For example, the colonists and Spain were disputing over who had navigation rights to the Mississippi river, and the territory between the United States and Spanish territory. They soon
were even beginning to get their differences over. There is some good literature on the history of trade in Rhode Island states. There are a lot of excellent, well-written articles on the subject. The United States Congress (2 March 1894) in its Constitution created the department of the States which administered New England state sales. These states (the Districts of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Connecticut-Yale and Rhode Island) then sent a letter to Congress on 24 April 1895 to promote trade between the respective states. When the Congress began to send letters, one thing changed: They were directed to increase their imports of the country. The problem was getting New England to accept these import quotas. On 1 May 1894, President William Tecumseh Sherman sent the U.S. Congress an 1894 letter in the form of letters. On 20 May 1894, a bill was introduced setting up a department within the Departments of the S.S. of the Treasury by a Senator of Maine. The Act authorized “A bill to act by common consent and subject to the assent of all States, but without majority vote of the General Assembly and with regard to which no other person, firm or person not of the same sex or age shall be acting, and in such wise give effect to such bill as shall be enacted, if such person shall by law or law of the United States be, with cause and with effect, convicted of anything of the same kind and within the jurisdiction thereof; and any statute or ordinance, as to matters relating to the government or commerce of any State, of the United States, shall, for such purpose and for such time, be made such law as shall be necessary for effecting the things by which it shall be made enacted.” The act then established a separate department within the Departments of the Treasury, but on 6 June 1894 another bill was introduced (see section 7, paragraph 3). The Act authorized “A bill to be enacted by common consent and subject to the assent of all States” (the Act contained in its final two amendments had been amended on 6 April), which created a division within the Treasury (except section 5.2.2). If the House of Representatives took one more day, the division would get a letter from the governor to “commemorate the act of the Senate of 16 November, 1894 and make all other provisions hereafter in this title available in that place and every place in the United States, in respect thereof.” The act also had another amendment to the Constitution that added one of the new divisions until 1894, known as the Bill of Rights. The amendment, which provided that state’s legislatures had the freedom to regulate trade at all times and for equal rights of man as their local laws permitted, also authorized the House of Representatives to make “certain regulations necessary to insure such rights may not be violated and to pass the laws accordingly.” The bill was signed into law on 28 June 1894. Under the Bill of Rights the right of individual states to determine their own rules of conduct was also restored (see section 9). The state of Rhode Island became the 50th state to have a Federal Reserve Chair. This helped insure free trade (1 July 1901). The Act of 1894 also made the first step towards reforming the federal Constitution. It authorized “a new