Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

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Following the independence of the colonies from Britain was a dispute on how America should be governed. The founding fathers scrambled to create a groundwork for the new country. While the Articles of Confederation was still in place, it was weak and many argued it was not suitable for the country. It gave too little power to the federal government. Federalists argued that a new constitution should be made, this time stressing the importance of a strong central government. The antifederalists opposed this notion, arguing that it could lead to tyranny. The Constitution should be ratified because it improved upon many things that the Articles of Confederation lacked. It provided a greater sense of of unity between colonies. The first key weakness …show more content…
The founding fathers all agreed that everyone was entitled to certain rights at birth. Antifederalists contradicted their own deep-rooted beliefs by opposing the Constitution, which gives everyone their rights. Denying people their right to free speech, right to bear arms, and so on is a form of tyranny. Only a tyrannical government would aim to suppress the liberties of the people that way. The Constitution outlines a Bill of Rights, giving everyone the freedoms that Americans fought for against Britain. Slaves opposed the Constitution because they believed their civil rights weren’t being defended. An advocate of the abolition of slavery stated, “How increasingly is the evil aggravated when practiced in a land, high in profession of the kind of doctrines of our blessed Lord who taught his followers to do unto others as they would have others do unto them” (Document 7). While this is a valid concern, they would have more freedoms under the Constitution than the Articles of Confederation anyway. The Articles of Confederation did not outline any natural rights whatsoever, while the Constitution did. At least under the Constitution slaves would be able to argue that their natural rights were being infringed upon; this would not be possible under the Articles of
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