Historical Essay #1: Confederation and Constitution
Anthony Snow
DeVry University
08/01/2015

HISTORICAL ESSAY #1: CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION

As with anything in this world there are always strengths and weaknesses when people are comparing two different items, as no one item can be a perfect solution; there are always compromises. The same happens when we are comparing the Articles of Confederation and the New Constitution of 1787. Both of theses two solutions each have their own strengths and weaknesses. First we have the Articles of Confederation that when written gave each state a lot of individual powers, and because of this was one of the main reasons for the New Constitution, and I want to show how these two solutions …show more content…

The new Constitution set up a section of checks and balances in order to guarantee this, and split the power between three different branches of the government. Each of the other branches checks the power of the other branches, and maintains equal balance of power. By May of 1987 many people in congress as well as ordinary citizens felt that the national government needed to increases their authority. “The fifty-five delegates who met in the Old State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia did more than revise the Articles: they drafted a new document as a replacement” (Burke, n.d.). The delegates had a tough decision on whether they should try and fix the Articles of Confederation, or start with a blank slate. In order for each state to ratify the constitution many compromises had to be made. Some people wanted their representation in congress (New Jersey Plan), while others wanted representation based on state population (Virginia Plan). Also the New Jersey plan wanted a single house, while the Virginia Plan supported two separate houses. The Constitutional Convention was at a stalemate and so Roger Sherman came up with a new plan that was a compromise of the New Jersey and Virginia Plan. This new plan was called the Connecticut Plan and even the great compromise. “The compromise provided for representation in the House of Representatives according to population and in the Senate by equal numbers for each state” (Connecticut Judicial Branch: Law