Articles of the Confederation
By Phillip Bui
1st American Constitution
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the U.S. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the Presidents; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
Strengths
September 17, 1787 is a day that went down in history as the day when the United States Constitution was signed by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention. Admittedly, the document was not officially ratified until nearly two years later, which was due to certain states debating it among themselves. But this day marked another step toward the government system that Americans have today. Government free from a monarch.
Weaknesses
First, it had no bill of rights. Bill of rights were common in state constitutions at the time, but the Framers felt one to be unnecessary and even dangerous to liberty. However, of all the arguments of the Anti-Federalists, the lack of a bill of rights was one of the most compelling, and the omission was quickly corrected. Second, the method of presidential selection, with the first place candidate becoming president and the second place candidate becoming Vice President, was flawed, mostly because the Framers failed to foresee political parties.
North West Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio, and also known as the Freedom Ordinance or The Ordinance of 1787) was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States (the Confederation Congress), passed July 13, 1787. The ordinance created the Northwest Territory, the first organize territory of the United States, from lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains, between British Canada and the Great Lakes to the north and the Ohio River to the south.
Shays' Rebellion, positive and negative effects
Farmers were unable to pay the debts and taxes on their farms and they were being taken away by the congress. Daniel Shays reasoned that his farm could not be taken away by the court if there was no court. He raised a militia and led an uprising. They started burning down the courts in Western Massachusetts. The idea quickly spread and others began to do the same. At the time the states had very little federal backing and were unable to deal with crisis such as this on their own. Shay's Rebellion was a product of the American Revolution. Many soldiers were not paid adequately in service during the struggle, as the colonies were revolting. These soldiers were farmers who had to leave their homes to fight. When the colonies were freed from Britain, the government was unstable, as there was no strong economy nor domestic manufacturing abilities. Many veterans of the war were angry that the government could not support them. Many vets were so far into debt that they were put into debtors jails. 1000 or so men marched to Springfield and burned most of the town and freed the debtors.