Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, Research Paper Example

The Articles of Confederation established the union of the states as a new nation. The Articles emphasize the equality of each separate state to act independently as a sovereign state united as a sovereign union; however, keeping equality while working together presented a challenge. The Constitution dealt with the imperfections of the Articles, to include the Bill of Rights; the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Middlekauff (1985) describes Americans before the American Revolution as living by standards such as grace, thrift and virtue; the Revolution changed this and Americans began to live by honor, glory and sacrifice (665). The Articles had little strengths and multiple weaknesses. While the Revolution strengthened the people through independence, the Articles were meant to establish an organized government to insure the success of the United States. Quickly prepared and heavily flawed, they presented a weak national government without common currency. There were no provisions for an executive or judicial branch and congress could not tax or regulate commerce among the states.

Balancing local autonomy and centralized authority presented problems. Sanford Lakoff  (1994) acknowledges that sovereignty does not require or necessarily imply absolute monarchy (4). The U.S. Constitution was the answer for the nation to function as one united country and not small unorganized nations. Protections included in the constitution allowed for congress to levy taxes and created a court system to address issues between states as well as citizens individually. It created an executive branch and changed how representation of the states was structured.  Richard Brown (2000) maintains that “the American Revolution and the formation of the Constitution remain central in the history of the United States” (13).

The inclusion of the Bill of Rights was important as it recognized natural rights and civil liberties. The Bill of Rights was “enacted to alleviate fears of some Americans that their liberties might be a casualty of forging a new society, created a bond of trust between the people and their new government” page 1. The Bill of Rights gave the protection that the individual people demanded.

Works Cited

Brown, Richard D. Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791

(2^nd). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

Lankevich, George. Roots of the Republic. Danbury: Groller Educational, 1996.

Middlekauff, R. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1663-1789. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Sanford, Lakoff. “Between Either/or and More or Less: Sovereignty Versus Autonomy Under Federalism”. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 1994: 63-78.