Pick two (2) issues of the Articles of Confederation and describe the main problems that the United States was faced with under the Federation government.
• Analyze two major debates by which the Constitution was created in the summer of 1787.
Then, address one (1) of the following to your initial post:
• Discuss the ratification process of the Constitution of 1787.
• How did ratification lead to the formation of America's first two political parties, the Federalists and Anti-Federalist?
• What were the major differences between the Federalist and Anti-Federalist, and who were the best-known members of each party?
Sample Solution
The first issue under the Articles of Confederation was that Congress had limited powers and could not tax, regulate commerce between states, nor maintain an army or navy. This meant that they were unable to raise money to pay off debts incurred during the American Revolution. The second issue was that each state had one vote regardless of population size, so smaller states felt outnumbered by larger ones. In order to address these issues, the Constitutional framers established a stronger federal government with authority to collect taxes and regulate trade among states as well as with other countries. Additionally, the creation of a bicameral legislature allowed for representation based on population size – giving more power to larger states without completely disregarding smaller ones.