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Morgan Leavitt

Political Science 101

Donald Mirjanian

September 25, 2019

I would like to cast my vote with regards to the “Plan of the New Federal Government”.

In this letter, I will cast my vote for the passage of the US Constitution. I will discuss why and

point out the problems I have with the Articles of Confederation and where the US Constitution

will fix it. I understand why the Articles of Confederation were created the way they were. We

fear a central government with too much power will become a tyranny, but now we’re left with a

central government that cannot fund itself, resolve disputes between the states, or defend the

country. Next, I’ll discuss four main issues I have with the Articles of Confederation and why.

Then I’ll point out where its fixed in the US Constitution.

First, I’d like to discuss Article II of the Articles of Confederation, where it says, “Each

state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and

right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress

assembled.” Sovereignty means that the state maintains the power to run its own affairs and that

any rights, privileges and powers that aren’t specifically given to Congress by the Articles of

Confederation are maintained by the state. Under these articles the states remain sovereign and

independent where as Congress only serves as the last resort on appeal of disputes. This gives

Congress limited powers. Congress won’t be able to raise an army, collect taxes, regulate trade

interstate or foreign trade, or force states to follow laws. I believe this could create a tyranny and

misuse of power. “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the
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same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective,

may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” (Madison, Federalist Papers) In

Articles 1-3 of the US Constitution, three branches are created, the Legislative, Executive and

Judicial. Each of these branches has certain powers, and each of these powers are limited, or

checked, by another branch. The federal government will be given delegated powers to declare

war, make treaties, etc. The states will be given reserved powers to regulate education and issue

licenses. Lastly, the concurrent powers will be shared equally to raise taxes. I think this will

make for a more unified and organized government.

Next, I would like to discuss Article 9 of the Articles of Confederation where it says,

“The Committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess

of Congress, such of the powers of Congress as the United States in Congress assembled, by the

consent of the nine States, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with; provided

that no power be delegated to the said Committee, for the exercise of which, by the Articles of

Confederation, the voice of nine States in the Congress of the United States assembled be

requisite.” This means that Congress needs nine out of thirteen states to pass any laws. Having

the requirement of such a high majority makes it very difficult to pass any laws. This article also

requires approval of all thirteen states to amend any laws. This makes it very difficult to make

laws and nearly impossible to fix the Articles at all. In the US Constitution it grants all

Legislative powers to the Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and

House of Representatives. This will solve problems down the road because we will have a more

organized system and efficient way of making and amending laws. Alexander Hamilton said, “If

the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical

use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed,
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and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may

suggest and prudence justify.” (Hamilton, The Federalist Papers) I think this quote supports why

we need to have a more effective legislative system in place.

Next, I’d like to discuss Article 8 of the Articles of Confederation where it says, “All

charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general

welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a

common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States in proportion to the value of all

land within each State, granted or surveyed for any person, as such land and the buildings and

improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the United States in

Congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that

proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the

several States within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled.” This

means that each state would each have to collect the taxes owed on their own, and then provide

the monies to the central government, but the government has no way to enforce it. This is a

problem because, each state would raise its own military, leaving the government at the states

mercy if we had foreign invaders. This article also poses a problem because the central

government cannot collect taxes to fund its operations. The Articles of Confederation rely on the

voluntary efforts of the states to send tax money to the central government. However, the states

are often negligent to this duty. With the lack of funds, it can cause the government to not be

able to maintain an effective military or back its own paper currency. Without money, how do

we expect the government to repay the debts from the Revolutionary War? Or collect new funds?

In section eight of the US Constitution it fixes those problems“The Congress shall have Power

To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the
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common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises

shall be uniform throughout the United States;”

Lastly, I would like to address Article five of the Articles of Confederation. In this article

it states that each state can decide how it wants to select its delegates. It must be done once a

year before the annual meeting of Congress. States have to send at least two and no more than

seven delegates to Congress. A delegate cannot serve more than three years for every six years.

A delegate also cannot hold another position in the United States government for which he

would receive any kind of pay or benefits. It also says that each state has only one vote in

Congress, regardless of how many delegates they have. Lastly, it states that delegates freedom of

speech is protected while they are serving in Congress, or traveling to and from, unless they have

committed treason, a felony, or have been guilty of breach of the peace. Under these Articles of

Confederation states could decide the number of representatives to send to Congress. Why have

these minimum and maximum limits if each state can only vote once? This is a problem because

it creates an unequal representation of the people. A state with more representatives than another

state would have more voices and influence to present and promote laws, but could only vote

once. A smaller state would have just as much say as a bigger state would. I don’t agree with this

because each state should be represented by a number of delegates based on the population of

their state. In the US Constitution where this is addressed, it states, “Representatives and direct

Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union,

according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole

Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding

Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.” It also addresses in the US Constitution that,

“The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State
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shall have at Least one Representative”. In the Federalists Papers, Alexander Hamilton wrote,

“It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this

country to decide, by their conduct and example, the important question, whether societies of

men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or

whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and

force.” I think this best describes why we have the House of Representatives and why our

government now works the way it does. “We The People” are the first words in the US

Constitution. And I believe it was created to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, ensure

domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure

the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

I may not agree with everything the Articles of Confederation say, but I understand why

they were created in the manner they were. After the Revolutionary War, a series of problems

such as, economic problems, disputes between states, and an armed rebellion, made it obvious

that The United States of America needed a stronger central government to address it challenges.

The Articles of Confederation were written to document the established functions of the national

government and the states. Although, they did this, it created many problems because the Federal

Government couldn’t really enforce anything. I don’t think the Articles of Confederation were a

complete failure. I think it was something we learned from and gave us a better understanding of

what works best for the people, but, The US Constitution established America’s national

government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. Therefore,

I, respectfully, wish to cast my vote for the passage of the US Constitution. I hope that my letter

was able to point out the main problems I see with the Articles of Confederation and why I want

to pass the US Constitution. In conclusion, I’d like to end with a quote from James Madison, “It
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may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the

abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human

nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men,

neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a

government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you

must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to

control itself.” (Madison, The Federalist Papers)

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Work Cited

Madison, James. “The Federalist Papers”

https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/The+Federalist+Papers#TheFederalistPaper

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Hamilton, Alexander. “The Federalist Papers”

https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/The+Federalist+Papers#TheFederalistPaper

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