Articles of Confederation & Constitution the Articles Essay

Articles of Confederation & Constitution

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

The United States government has operated under two constitutions since its inception. The Articles of Confederation was ratified by Maryland on March 1, 1781 and was in effect until it was replaced by the Constitution upon its ratification by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788. The two documents differed in many respects. The Articles of Confederation was unicameral. Each state had two to seven members and who were appointed by state legislature in a manner each state directed. The Constitution is bicameral, with a House of Representatives and a Senate. Representatives were elected by popular vote and apportioned according to the population of each state. Each state was allotted two Senators appointed by that state's legislators.

Under the Articles of Confederation each state was given one vote while the Constitution provided for one vote per Reprehensive or Senator. Terms of office were for one year under the Article of Confederation, with term limits set at no more than three out of every six years.Congressional members were paid by the states. Terms of office under the Constitution are two years for Representatives and six years for Senators. There is no provision for term limits and congressional pay is provided by the federal government.

While there was no executive authority under the Articles of Confederation the Constitution provided for the election of a President. The President of Congress chaired the legislature under the Articles of Confederation and when Congress was not in session a Committee of States held the full power of Congress. The Constitution gave the President the power to call for Congress to assemble and the Speaker of the House chaired the House of Representatives while the Vice President filled those duties for the Senate.

The national judiciary provided by the Articles of Confederation was the….....