DBQ-Articles of Confederation essays

DBQ-Articles of Confederation essays After the American Revolution ended, life in America was different. States reduced the property holding requirement for voting and got rid of primogeniture. The aristocratic leadership was weakened. The Quakers founded the first antislavery society in 1775. Individual states could trade freely with foreign nations. The states also wrote their own constitutions. Even though they were written for separate states, they had a few things in common. They all called for the annual election of legislators and most included a bill of rights. In 1776 Congress called for a committee to draft a written constitution for America; the result was the Articles of Confederation. Adopted in 1777, it was not enforced until 1781 when Maryland finally ratified it. These articles set in motion a system of government which, even though it had some good points, seemed to take its toll on the newly named United States of America. The states were united in a firm league of friendship (Article 3) but retained their sovereignty and independence. This meant that each state could do what it wanted without concern to what the other states thought. The Articles of Confederation put Congress as the dominant power without any executive or judicial branches; judicial duties were left up to each individual state. In the years between 1784 and 1789, the market value of exports from the United States ultimately rose; its only drop was in 1786 (Document B). This came at the same time as Shays Rebellion. Farmers who were losing their homes to taxes and mortgages demanded cheap paper money and lighter taxes. After the rebellion fell, aristocratic colonists said that the revolution had created a mobocracy. The domination of Congress would have been a good idea if they had more control over commerce. In 1784, Spain closed the Mississippi River to American commerce. Secretary of foreign affairs, John Jay, spoke to Congress about ...