Articles of Confederation - Constitution Dbq

Allee Tiefenwerth        

Mr. Dircks

Constitution DBQ

Once the leaders of the continental congress realized that the Articles of Confederation was not an adequate way to govern the new country of the United States, they decided to create a new constitution , a plan of government designed to solve the governmental problems experienced under the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution they created in 1787 has remained a flexible, living document that continues to guide this nation today.  The Constitution was not only a product of its time, but it was written with enough flexibility to meet the challenges of the future.

The Constitution was extremely advanced document of government for its time. the Constitution was a product of its time in that it addressed various political concerns, such as the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation did not have the power to enforce laws and regulations over the country, but the Constitution was able to solve this problem. Document 3 states “ Representatives… shall be determined by adding to the… number of free persons… three fifths of all persons [slaves] ”, this refers to the three fifths compromise, which was included in the Constitution and dealt with the controversial topic. The topic of if slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxing purposes and in fact allowed 3 out of every 5 people to be accounted for. The integration of checks and balances into the political system was also an alternative to an overwhelmingly strong central government. Document 4 is a quote from the federalist James Madison, he says “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether one, a few or many.. May justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” This quote refers to the separation of powers, better known as checks and balances that were included in the Constitution. This is evidence that the constitution was a product of its time because it was advanced enough to include checks and balances within the government. By including the separation of powers it guaranteed that the United States government would never turn into a tyranny such as the one in Great Britain that we had just gained our freedom from. One other weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that there was no national court system. But in Article III, section 1 the Constitution states that the judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court. Document 5 contains 2 examples of crucial supreme court decisions that have had major impacts on american history. Without supreme courts being added into the Constitution, America would be an extremely different place. Without judicial review from Plessy vs. Ferguson or segregation being ruled against in Brown vs. Board, the Constitution truly was a product of its time.