Introduction
The struggle for independence began in 1775 and it was the fight for the national and political identity of America. There was the question about its further development. The Continental Congress discussed the ideals and forms of the development of the country. America was searching for a national government. There was a dispute between the federal power and the state concerning the means of financing the Continental Army (McYahney, 2010).
Main Text
Patriotism seemed to flower in America when the war started. Nevertheless, there were not enough military forces to wage this war. There was not enough food and supply for the army and the American farmers preferred to sell their products to the British for higher prices. The problem of supplying the federal armies and the necessity of military forces was the main reason for the creation of the federal system that has remained till our time (McYahney, 2010).
This system is presented as the Active National Guard in our times protecting the country from outside invasions while the states protect the rights of their citizens. States are also obliged to support the country during the war. The best example of the modern federal system was during World War ll (McYahney, 2010). States do not remain without any rewards and privileges when they support the development of military forces being trained or stationed on their borders.
The Continental Army needed material support and the Federal Banking System was created to fund this army. Although it was not well developed at the beginning of its functioning, today it is the best example of capitalism for the whole world. The American government had to borrow from other countries as far as they did not have enough means to fund their military forces when the country was in a state of war. It was decided to introduce a national debt that was necessary for the development of the federal system and remains nowadays ensuring the financial stability for the country. The Articles of Confederation were the document that gave the possibility to the USA to borrow from France to support the American Revolution.
According to Gordon Anderson, “States that had not paid their share of expenses for the war refused to pay anything. Massachusetts ended up paying a disproportionate amount. Disputes between states erupted with no successful means of resolution; there was no executive or judicial branch of government with the power to compel arbitration” (Anderson, 2005). The document needed to unify the states together that was the most positive aspect of the Articles of Confederation. The Second Continental Congress signed the Articles of Confederation on November 15 in 1777. All states ratified them on March 1, 1781. This document was necessary to get through the Revolutionary War and sign the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain which was quite profitable for the USA. Great Britain accepted the independence of the USA and all lands north of Florida, west of the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes belonged to the USA.
The Articles of Confederation were an important decision for the further development of federalism in the USA. This document is considered to be the first written form of government of a new federal system developed in the USA. This country has chosen the way of its development with the adoption of this document. This document was very effective in the short run but there were a lot of drawbacks and gaps for its long use. The Articles of Confederation were used to unite states providing them a lot of power. Long use of these articles weakens the power of the central government. This document provided a lot of power and independence to every state so that they did not depend on each other and followed their interests making the whole country crumble. There were no limits to the states and every state might make treatments with other countries without any permission from Congress. The Articles did not provide any unique power and separation of branches so that there was not a president who could control the whole political and economic situation in the whole country (Kelly, n.d.). Congress was considered to be the only branch of the government. Despite these weak points, the Articles of Confederation saved the situation in the country and they were adopted in time. According to Clinton Rossiter, “The record of the Confederation government was not wholly bad, and the years between 1774 and 1789 should be judged as a period of useful (if also nearly fatal) experiment rather than of inglorious folly” (Anderson, 2005).
Conclusion
From the above said we may conclude that the USA is in a state of war found a good decision to solve that problem and it accepted the Articles of Confederation. Despite the weak points of this document it was necessary to save the whole country and choose the way of its further development.
Reference
Anderson, G. (2005). The Formation of the United States. Philosophy of the United States, 3-11.
Kelly, M. (n.d.).Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? Web.
McYahney, F. (2010). The Search for a National Government. Web.