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The Articles of ConfederationAmerica’s first written constitution was not the Constitution that we have today but another document called the Articles of Confederation (AOC). The AOC, which was America’s first constitution, or set of laws, from 1776-1789, provided Americans with an extremely weak central (national) government. This was based on the Americans’ experience with Britain’s monarchy and their goal to give as much power as they could to the “people” through the power of the states. Nevertheless, the AOC had too many limitations that hindered the smooth functioning of the government. Some of the powers the national government had under the AOC:Established a union or a “league of friendship” between the statesHad representative government (unicameral legislature)Declare warCoin moneyEstablish post officesSend and recall AmbassadorsSome of the powers the national government did not have under the AOC: Levy (impose) taxes to fund the government (had to ask states for support)Some of the more serious weaknesses of the articles included:Could not regulate the trade of goods between the states (states could put tariffs on each other)A strong legislative branch and no executive or judicial branches (no president or court system)Each state had its own currencyAll 13 states had to approve a law for it to passOne vote per state no matter the size of the state’s populationThe Georgia Constitution of 1777The Georgia Constitution of 1777 was a document similar to the Articles of Confederation. It was based on the idealistic principals of the Declaration of Independence and was not a constitution capable of meeting the realistic needs of governing a state. Though this constitution had three branches of government, most of the power was held by the unicameral legislative branch. One of the legislative branch’s powers was the ability to appoint members of both the judicial and executive branch; including the state governor. The governor, in turn, had very little power and a term limit of only one year. Though this constitution offered the citizens of Georgia many freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and trial by jury, Georgians were not given the opportunity to ratify it. Nonetheless, with all of these weaknesses, the Georgia Constitution of 1777 was the state’s constitution for 12 years. Georgia’s second constitution, the Constitution of 1789, was changed to model the U.S. Constitution.Strengths- Recognized important ideas:- Popular Sovereignty- government’spower is in the will of the people- Separation of Powers- spread thepower out to different branches Weaknesses- Appeared to separate power, butlegislative was supreme- Unicameral legislature: “House ofAssembly”-House of Assembly could enact lawsand appoint officials for executiveand judicial branchThe Articles of ConfederationAmerica’s first written constitution was not the Constitution that we have today but another document called the Articles of Confederation (AOC). The AOC, which was America’s first constitution, or set of laws, from 1776-1789, provided Americans with an extremely weak central (national) government. This was based on the Americans’ experience with Britain’s monarchy and their goal to give as much power as they could to the “people” through the power of the states. Nevertheless, the AOC had too many limitations that hindered the smooth functioning of the government. Some of the powers the national government had under the AOC:Established a union or a “league of friendship” between the statesHad representative government (unicameral legislature)Declare warCoin moneyEstablish post officesSend and recall AmbassadorsSome of the powers the national government did not have under the AOC: Levy (impose) taxes to fund the government (had to ask states for support)Some of the more serious weaknesses of the articles included:Could not regulate the trade of goods between the states (states could put tariffs on each other)A strong legislative branch and no executive or judicial branches (no president or court system)Each state had its own currencyAll 13 states had to approve a law for it to passOne vote per state no matter the size of the state’s populationThe Georgia Constitution of 1777The Georgia Constitution of 1777 was a document similar to the Articles of Confederation. It was based on the idealistic principals of the Declaration of Independence and was not a constitution capable of meeting the realistic needs of governing a state. Though this constitution had three branches of government, most of the power was held by the unicameral legislative branch. One of the legislative branch’s powers was the ability to appoint members of both the judicial and executive branch; including the state governor. The governor, in turn, had very little power and a term limit of only one year. Though this constitution offered the citizens of Georgia many freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and trial by jury, Georgians were not given the opportunity to ratify it. Nonetheless, with all of these weaknesses, the Georgia Constitution of 1777 was the state’s constitution for 12 years. Georgia’s second constitution, the Constitution of 1789, was changed to model the U.S. Constitution.Strengths- Recognized important ideas:- Popular Sovereignty- government’spower is in the will of the people- Separation of Powers- spread thepower out to different branches Weaknesses- Appeared to separate power, butlegislative was supreme- Unicameral legislature: “House ofAssembly”-House of Assembly could enact lawsand appoint officials for executiveand judicial branch ................
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