By Zack Hill

The articles of confederation was the first form of united states government since it was ratified in 1777 one year after the revolutionary war. They lasted until 1789 when the u.s. constitution replaced it because it was not strict enough, and did not give the government enough power over the people.

In this PowerPoint presentation I will be comparing and contrasting the U.S. constitution with the Articles of Confederation. I am going to compare them on many key subjects like taxes, voting, passing laws, ect and at the end I will talk a bit more about the history and why the constitution is a more stable form of government.

The articles of confederation had very limited power when it came to taxation, since congress could pass taxation laws, but had no way to enforce their laws, and could make very few changes to taxation laws once they where passed. It also required a unanimous vote from all 13 state legislatures to pass any law or modify any article. The constitution states that all states control the taxation for that state, but it must be voted on by congress, the senate, and the general population The constitution goes more in depth and has a stronger and more complex tax system then the articles of confederation and allows for the government to collect money more efficiently from all of its citizens

The articles of confederation had no federal courts system, so it was hard for people to settle disputes, and people did not get punished for committing crimes, or harming each other. The constitution realized their was a lack of order and established a court system with 3 different levels to punish people who commit crimes, settle disputes, and clarify and resolve issues with the constitution

In the articles of confederation, all laws where passed by congress , and the people had little say in what congress decided, since each state only had one congressmen no matter the size and population of that state. Also laws had to be passed by a 9/13 majority or the law failed, which made it very hard to fix shortcomings of the articles of confederation. The constitution has a senate where every state gets 2 representatives, a house of representatives based on state population, and then a majority vote of all the citizens who voted in that election to make sure the law being voted upon is fair and that the state majority wants that law in place.

The articles of confederation had no laws regulating trade and sales tax, so traders had no rules to follow, and people did not have to pay sales tax on anything they bought or purchased. The constitution gave congress power to regulate and pass laws on all forms of trade and to be able to put sales tax on goods so the government could make money.

The articles of confederation established the presidential position, but only gave the president ruling over congress, and very little political influence, since congress was decided by majority decision. The constitution created a whole new branch of government, the executive branch, so that the president actually had some political power, but was still able to be overruled by the senate, and congress so he didnt have too much control over the government.

Their where very few state powers of the articles of confederation, since it was apposed to lots of government power and restrictions over the people. It was very hard for states to make laws, and since their was no law enforcement officials it was very hard to enforce the few laws that the articles of confederation did cover The constitution gave the states way more power, including the right to tax, the right to make and enforce state laws, and to govern its people, as long as it did not interfere with stronger, federal laws.

The articles of confederation did not allow congress to draft troops to fight in wars, and relied on the states to decide how many troops to send, and how to use these troops to help protect the nation. In general it was more like having 13 different armies which where very disorganized and had little communication with the other states armies. the constitution allowed congress to raise an army for the good of the nation to protect itself and defend against any military threats that this country faces

The articles of confederation only had 13 representatives, one for every state, which did not have enough variety and could not speak for everyone, especially in the states which had a large population. The constitution created a senate with 2 senators from each state so the smaller states have equal political influence as the bigger states, a congress so bigger states had more representatives to account for their bigger population, and a presedent and vice presedent to lead the contry andmanage the contries political affairs.

The articles of confederation made it so that in order to declare war , all 13 states must agree that war is necessary, and then each state sends whatever amount of troops they deem necessary to go fight in the war. All the soldiers who go to war would have to volunteer because their was no draft so if no one decides to volunteer to go to war, then the united states has no troops. The constitution states that congress has the power to vote and decide weather to declare war on a contry. when congress decides to issue a formal declaration of war against a contry it is usually after a request from the president to declare war and often times because the U.S. had just been attacked by another contry. Congress can issue a draft, forcing teens of 18 and above to register for the draft and to serve their contry, in a time of war when lots of soldiers are required.

The articles of confederation had no state court systems, so disputes between states where very difficult to solve and could not be settled by the government. Also their where no police or law enforcement officials so their was nobody to settle domestic disputes and things like that when then occurred. The constitution created 3 levels of court systems so that the courts can settle many different kinds of cases and almost any dispute that people have based on the laws and articles of the constitution and state laws which the people and congress decide upon.

The articles of confederation require a 13/13 legislative vote to change and/or make an amendment to the articles of confederation. The constitution makes it so that it requires a 2/3 vote from both houses of congress, so it is hard to change the laws, but it is not impossible if a change has to be made.

The articles of confederation made it possible to print national money, but inflation skyrocketed on the money, and it became pretty much worthless. States refused to try to make a new national currency and began making different currencies for different states, further increasing the inflation. The constitutiongives congress the power to coin money and regulate its value, while it also prohibits states from creating their own currency, so that they are forced tio use the national currecy.

The articles of confederation gives sovereignty, or supreme power to the states and the united states as a whole had less power than each individual state. The constitution gives sovereignty to the nation as a whole, but gives states limited power to create laws and govern themselves.

The articles of confederation allowed presidents to serve up to 3, one year terms within a period of 6 years, but did not set term limits on congress, just like the constitution. The constitution lets presidents serve up to 2, 4 year terms, but a member of congress can serve for however long they desire

Overall the articles of confederation tried to create a free nation with very limited government because the colonies where sick of britain and its oppressive government, but it was too weak because it did not have enough government support so it failed. The constitution built off the basic ideas of the articles of confederation, but had more structure and government backing so it has lasted a lot longer, and has a lot more power then the articles, and it is a lot easier to change when an problem occurs with it.

The articles of confederation where drafted in mid-1776 and they was not rattified by all 13 states untill 1781. it became apparent that this new form of government was to weak and it was replaced by the constitution in 1789.

The constitution came into effect on march 4 1789 to replace the articles of confederation and its weak government. The constitution setup a lot stronger of a government then the articles of confederation, and has fixed all the mistakes of the articles of confederation.