1.05 – How were problems of the Articles of Confederation fixed by the new Constitution?

Directions: Cut out each box in the chart below. On your construction paper, create a T-Chart with the headings at the top. Put each problem that you find under the correct heading along with the appropriate fix that the Constitution made. After you are certain that they are correctly positioned, glue them to the construction paper.

Problem With The Articles of Confederation / Fixed By The New CONSTITUTION
Congress is given the power to regulate trade between states, though it agreed not to tax exports or interfere with the slave trade until 1808. / The new government is set up with a legislative branch to pass laws and an executive branch with the authority to enforce them.
Congress could not pass laws without approval from 9 out of the 13 states. / Because of their bad experience with British monarch, the states did not want a single leader or group directing government policy – this meant that no one was really in charge.
Congress could pass laws, but it could not enforce them, because there was no one who had the power to do so. / Congress is given the power to collect taxes
The Nation was in debt after the Revolutionary War, but could not pay it off because Congress could not collect taxes. / The President is elected and given the role of national leader for directing government policy, though his power is not unlimited.
The bicameral (two-house) Congress of the House of Representatives and the Senate can pass laws with a majority (just over half) of the members voting. / The Constitution can be amended (changed) with 2/3 of the members of Congress voting for it.
State governments who were heavily in debt taxed products coming in from other states – this hurt trade, but Congress could do nothing to stop it. / No national court system existed to interpret the laws and make sure that they were fairly applied.
The Articles could not be changed without the agreement of all 13 states. / Article III of the Constitution creates a judicial branch consisting of a national court system to interpret the laws and see that they are fairly applied.

Robert Raeford-Northeast High School