Articles of Confederation

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Shays Rebellion and the Constitution

April 3, 2024 thefpAdmin 0

Shays Rebellion was an uprising in Massachusetts that took place in 1787. It was in response to dire economic conditions after the Revolutionary War and Government indifference to the plight of rural Massachusettsans.  Shays Rebellion highlighted deficiencies of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. As a result, many historians consider it a catalyst to the adoption of our current Constitution.  Economic Problems  In 1780, Daniel Shays retired from service in the Revolutionary War after he became injured. The Fledging United States of America operated at that time under the Articles of Confederation. This first effort to organize a Government in the new World gave almost no power to the Central Government. Although […]

History

Articles of Confederation, Part 2: Confederacy Lessons Learned

May 1, 2023 Shannon D. Hanson 0

The Articles of Confederation, Part 2 The Articles of Confederation formed the first government of America, but it did not last long.  The idea of a weak central government and strong state governments appealed to colonists who had come to fear any type of strong central government. Their prior experiences with England warranted this.  A confederacy appealed to the colonists, because of that fear.  In Shannon D. Hanson’s first article about the Articles of Confederation, he explained the basics about that document.  His follow-up article explains the difficulties that came with having a central government that was too weak.  Links to Hanson’s first article about the Articles of Confederation and also the full text of […]

History

Shays Rebellion and Our Constitution

April 23, 2023 Shannon D. Hanson 0

Shays’ Rebellion, Impact That Led to Our Constitution Shays Rebellion was an uprising in Massachusetts that took place in 1787. It was in response to dire economic conditions after the Revolutionary War and Government indifference to the plight of rural Massachusettsans.  Shays Rebellion highlighted deficiencies of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. As a result, many historians consider it a catalyst to the adoption of our current Constitution.  Economic Hardship  In 1780, Daniel Shays retired from service in the Revolutionary War after he became injured. The Fledging United States of America operated at that time under the Articles of Confederation. This first effort to organize a Government in the new World gave […]

Our Constitution

Our First “Constitution”: The Articles of Confederation

April 17, 2023 thefpAdmin 4

Why the Articles of Confederation failed its New Nation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. It established a confederate style of government for America, which united 13 States with their own strong governments under one purposefully weak central government. A Confederacy was born The Founders established a confederacy, because they had just fought a war (the Revolutionary War) against the British to escape an oppressively strong central government. The Founders wanted to avoid any type of strong central government. They opted to give the States the power to establish their own governments, foreign relations, trade agreements, military and economic practices. This distribution of power was chosen by […]

Our Government

The Forgotten Articles of Confederation

March 24, 2023 Guest Writer 0

The Articles of Confederation: America’s Forgotten Constitution The story of the Articles of Confederation, Colonial America’s first and nearly forgotten, original Constitution. Before the Confederation Began, an Intro John Hancock’s signature is the largest one on the Declaration of Independence.  Most people know this, but some do not know why or they only consider the popular legend that he did this, so “the fat old king could read it without his spectacles”. The fact is, Hancock was the president of the “Congress” at the time and, in that capacity, he would be the first to sign, centered below the text. The title was ceremonial for the most part. It also made him the most important […]