What are the similarities and differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution?

Articles of Confederation and Constitution are two known documents that note the changes that American Revolution made. The regulations of the Articles of Confederation were accepted and signed by the 13 states of the United States of America. 

Articles of Confederation and Constitution are two known documents that note the changes that American Revolution made. The regulations of the Articles of Confederation were accepted and signed by the 13 states of the United States of America. 

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the agreement that the 13 states of the United States agreed to follow. This was considered as their earliest constitution.

The constitution in India is the longest one containing 444 articles, making it the largest democracy. Constitutions can also be implemented by individual institutions to prescribe the rules for them.

Articles of Confederation vs Constitution

The difference between the Articles of Confederation and Constitution is that the Articles of Confederation are the rules that were agreed by the United States of America in the 18th century whereas the constitution is the rules that democratic countries and other legalized institutions develop to implement law and order in their body.

The Articles of Confederation and the Perpetual Union was a bond that was signed between 13 states in the United States of America. It consisted of the rules that were to be followed by these states in the 18th century.

The Articles of Confederation was a written document that embellished the idea of introducing a friendly bond between the states.  This process was a long one.

The committee included 13 people to finalize the draft. John Dickinson was the head of the committee and he presented the final draft of Articles of Confederation on 12th July 1776.

Virginia ratified the Articles of Confederation and was followed by the others in the early 1779’s. But these articles gave minimum power to the central government and hence there it was headed by an unstructured central government.

The Constitution of a country is the collection of all the rules and regulations that a citizen has to obey in the country. This is made by a group of people who are trusted by the government because of their social knowledge.

This is a written document where the principles are written by considering the behavior of the entity. If the constitution is written in a single comprehensive unit, then it is known as a codified constitution.

Anybody who intends for a systematic and organized working structure can create a constitution that they need. A constitution is the backbone of a democratic country and hence the power is divided among different departments.

The constitution considers the central government as the epitome of powers. The central government can decide or nullify the laws that the state government implied.

1. The individual citizens were not allowed to claim the Bill of Rights according to the Articles of Confederation. Anyone can claim their rights according to the constitution.
2. If 9 out of 13 states accepted a law, then it was brought to act by the Articles of Confederation. The constitution demands that both the houses have to pass the law for enforcing it on the public.

The Articles of Confederation was an early representation of a government drafted by the United States of America. This was drafted to divide the powers among the states. It came into action by the late 18th century.

The constitution is the latest document that is prepared by the officials to decide the way their government has to operate. Constitution is the document that leads to a democratic government.

Key Differences Between Articles of Confederation and Constitution (PDF Format)

Download the key differences in .PDF format, to read or print them later:

References

Search for "Ask Any Difference" on Google. Rate this post!

Articles of Confederation and the Constitution The United States operated under two different constitutions. The Articles of Confederation was placed into effect on March 1, 1781. There were many weaknesses with this system. After several years, this document was replaced by the Constitution on June 21, 1788. There were a few similarities within the documents, but mostly vast differences. The legislative bodies were both referred to as Congress. The Articles operated under a unicameral system. The Constitution changed this system to bicameral, meaning two chambers. These chambers are the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both systems had to have members. The Articles determined that each state would have between two and seven members.

The Articles of Confederation emerged as an issue of great debate among the United States citizens after the American Revolution. Encouraged by victory over the European crown, they claimed that the article was inadequate in governing the central authority. This is because it had no recognized executive power. In addition, it lacked the judicial branch, so disputes were not arbitrated sufficiently. International treaties were used to govern the country in the late 18th century. However, individual states disobeyed the treaty and as a result, the republic was put in a bad place diplomatically. The US constitution was formed to address these problems. This paper will elucidate the difference and similarities between the two articles.

Our experts can deliver a customized essay tailored to your instructions

for only $13.00 $11.05/page

308 qualified specialists online

Similarities

The Articles of Confederation and the US constitution were considered as the official law. Therefore, it was obeyed by all states. In addition, they were both created by the legislature in the congress and the central government regulated the value of money. The federal roles in regards to foreign countries are similar in the two documents. They state that negotiations with other nations should be handled by the central government only. Therefore, activities such as receiving and sending ambassadors, diplomatic missions, and signing of international treaties are done at a centralized level.

In the two articles, congress only has the mandate to wage or declare war. However, during the war, individual states were allowed to recruit and levy their militias, which falls under the overall command of the federal government. There are term limits for holding government offices in both documents. For instance, in the Constitution, the representatives serve in the legislative offices for two years only while the senators’ term is six years.

Differences

The two documents codified the law differently. The Articles of Confederation had an established unicameral government, it had a weak central government and a strong independent state with one legislature. This system delegated the voting powers to committees from each state. Conversely, the Constitution has created a bicameral legislature, which allows one vote for a single legislative representative according to the census population. It has a strong central government with some powers reserved for states.

The Articles of Confederation relied on the lax union, it had no executive positions and roles. On the other hand, the Constitution centralized authority in one political entity by creating an executive branch of government. This position provided a figurehead in the government department, who was accountable to public scrutiny. The serving term limits differed between the two documents. For example, the office of the legislature term does not exceed three years in confederation while there is no limitation period for the legislature in the US constitution.

The organization of the two documents varies significantly, the Articles of Confederation have congress only while the Constitution is made up of the judiciary (supreme courts and the federal courts), the congress, and the president. In both documents, Congress has powers to regulate trade, declare war, make treaties, borrow and coin money, and make laws. However, the power to tax and regulate trade is only present in the American Constitution.

In the US Constitution, the laws are made by the House of Representatives and the Senate, each state is represented by two members in congress (Kollman 28). Conversely, the legislature in Confederation was made up of an unbranched congress, which consisted of two to seven people. Representatives in Congress are elected through a popular vote in the Constitution system. On the other hand, the state legislatures appointed members into the congress under the Article of confederation.

On-Time Delivery! Get your 100% customized paper done in

as little as 3 hours

The American Constitution has a more expansive governance system relative to the Confederation Article. This is because it creates balances and checks between the three government branches (Maggs 397). Additionally, it has a clear enumeration of how the states and the federal government should relate. Notably, the Bill of Rights was established under this structure. The amendments of this document laid a foundation for civil liberties currently enjoyed by American citizens. The reformations based on democracy have been enabled by the Constitution. However, people never demanded a Bill of Rights under the Confederation laws because the government had no powers to amend the rules.

The Articles of Confederation united 13 states, which are Connecticut, Massachusetts-bay, the States of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia. It gave room for Canada admission into the United States if they wanted. The American Constitution adopted these 13 states. However, it does not allow Canada to join the Union at any point.

The American Constitution

The American constitution is currently divided into three. The first part is an introduction called Preamble, which states the purpose and goals of the federal government. Then the 7 articles of the constitution form the main part of the article, this section describes the government setup. Finally, the 27 amendments done on the constitution form the last portion, which states the changes made on the constitution over the years.

The Constitution has seven articles: The first one outlines the lawmaking processes, the second elucidates presidential powers, and the third interprets the laws. The fourth item explains the relationship between the states and the national government while the fifth describes when these rules can be changed. The sixth article declares the Constitution as the “supreme Law of the Land and the last describes the constitution ratification process.

Articles of Confederation

The Confederation has thirteen articles, the first one termed the states as “The United States of America” and the second explained the state powers. The third required the states to protect each other from attacks and the fourth gave authority for people to move freely within the states. The fifth article created the Congress of the Confederation and the sixth one elucidated the roles of the central government concerning other countries. The state was allowed to choose its military leaders in the seventh section. In addition, the states were required to raise money for the central government as stipulated by the eighth article.

The functions of the federal government in regards to peacemaking and declaring war were stated in article nine. Committee of States group and the allowance for Canada to join the union are represented by the tenth and eleventh articles respectively. The nation’s mandate to pay war debts is the twelfth, the last state when and how the Confederation can be altered.

Conclusion

The two articles have played a major role in shaping American history. The Articles of Confederation laid a solid foundation for the United States. This is because it was successful in unifying 13 members’ states. However, the government formed under this document was weak because it had no powers to regulate trade, and collect taxes. Thus, the formation of the American Constitution to boost the strength of the country was inevitable. Currently, the constitution has given the federal state authority to levy taxes and regulate trade. For this reason, the government is currently strong.

We’ll deliver a custom paper tailored to your requirements.

Cut 15% off your first order

Works Cited

Kollman, Ken. The American Political System. WW Norton, 2017, p. 28.

Maggs, Gregory E. “A Concise Guide to the Articles of Confederation as a Source for Determining the Original Meaning of the Constitution.” The George Washington Law Review, vol 85, 2017, 397.