Founding Fathers
Politics and Government
Articles of Confederation
Why did the Founding Fathers chose federalism instead of either a confederation or a unitary system in 1787?
Answer
Wiki User
06/18/2007
Federalism is known as State's Rights. It embodies the concept
put in the Constitution by the founding fathers that each state was
to be a strong and definite political body in and of itself. The
states were to retain most authority to govern their own affairs
without interference from the federal government. While we think of
our modern America as a democracy, that was not the original intent
of the founders. Their concept was for the states to be a group
united together under the idea of a free republic. After the
Constitutional Convention, when Benjamin Franklin was asked by a
citizen what they had been given, he replied, "A republic, if you
can keep it". A republic would have less of a central government
with more power residing in the individual states.
Related Questions
Asked in Founding Fathers
What was the founding fathers main goal of the constitution?
The main purpose of the Constitution was to have some foundation
for a central government, instead of the Articles of Confederation,
which were rules for a coalition of separate states.
...
Read More
Asked in Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Johnson
What is the difference between 'Founding Fathers' and 'founding fathers'?
Some might consider the capitalization just more formal or
forceful. Others would say that capitalizing the term means that
you are referring to a specific group of people, i.e. the American
Founding Fathers, instead of a generic group of founding fathers
who could have founded anything.
...
Read More
Asked in Founding Fathers, History of the United States
What would the founding fathers say about the move towards a direct democracy?
You can't, and nobody should try, to presume what the founding
fathers would've thought. Instead just understand that they would
agree with your right to defend yourself and to have a say in your
country.
...
Read More
Asked in Articles of Confederation
Why did founding fathers want to change the articles of confederation?
The Founding Fathers felt the need to change the Articles of
Confederation because of the desire for a stronger Government. A
conflict called Shay's Rebellion created a fear of violence, and
many saw stronger government as a solution. The issue of states'
freedom was also a contributing factor, and how each state could be
represented in the government. The initial meeting of the now-named
"Constitutional Convention" was intended just to revise the
Articles, but instead they ended up writing a whole new
document.
...
Read More
Asked in US Presidents, Christianity
Which presidents were not Christians?
The Founding Fathers may have been dipicted as Christians, but
in actuality were more Deists or Idealists instead. If you notice,
they were also the ones who started the Free Masons.
...
Read More
Asked in History of the United States
What did the founding fathers mean by to form a more perfect union?
Where the 13 colonies were united as one nation instead of
thirteen divided entities. It was a "united we stand, divided we
fall" mentality.
...
Read More
Asked in Articles of Confederation
Who held the power in Articles of Confederation?
Essentially, the state governments held most of the power under
the Articles of Confederation. The founding fathers wanted to keep
as far away from a monarchy like Britain's, which gave nearly all
power to the central government, as possible. As a result of the
terms of the Articles of Confederation, though, each state
functioned almost like its own individual country instead of a
component of the United States, the central government couldn't do
anything about it, and the entire country faced economic...
Read More
Asked in History, Politics & Society
What issues were at stake in accepting or rejecting Hamilton's financial plan?
The founding fathers were not sure that Hamilton's gamble would
work. Instead, they thought that the new nation would be more in
debt that it originally expected.
...
Read More
Asked in History of Canada, Canada Politics, Canada Provinces and Territories
How did Confederation effect Canada's Identity?
Confederation created Canada as a country instead of a British
colony. Confederation meant Canada would have its own government to
look after its affairs.
...
Read More
Asked in Nigeria, Importing and Exporting
What are the problem of Nigeria federalism?
One of the problem facing the Nigerian Federalism is the
complexity of the interest and units as represented by the local
government, ethnic group affiliations, and some states. Instead of
uniting the country, Nigeria federalism has divided the nation
through tribal appointments and corruption.
...
Read More
Asked in Founding Fathers, US Constitution, Articles of Confederation
The purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to fix problems in the Articles of Confederation What did the delegates do instead apex?
Instead of fixing the problems with the Articles of
Confederation, the delegates drafted a new plan. The new plan was a
compromise they thought most people would agree to. The US
Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation.
...
Read More
Asked in Parts of Speech, Gettysburg Address
Why do half the people say your forefathers instead of fathers In the GETTYSBURG address?
Probably because Lincoln was using "fathers" to mean
forefathers. In a literal interpretation, fathers are our male
parents, one generation back.
...
Read More
Asked in History, Politics & Society, Founding Fathers, History of the United States, Articles of Confederation
What was the main reason the Articles of Confederation failed?
The Articles of Confederation created a loose confederation of
13 independent states with a weak central government instead of
creating one united nation with a strong central government like
the constitution.
...
Read More
Asked in Domestic Dogs
Why do male alphas father the puppies instead of the girl?
Because "girls/females" can not be "fathers/males".
Read More
Asked in New York, New York City, Colonial America
What were the reasons for the founding of New York?
henrey Hudson was looking for the north west passage but instead
he found the Hudson river which led up to the founding of New York.
Also for money and the resources there.
...
Read More
Asked in John Adams
What problems did john Adams face as president?
he had problem with Thomas Jefferson (3rd President;
anti-federalism). Jefferson impeded Adams instead of helping
him.
...
Read More
Asked in Articles of Confederation
What did the delagates to the Constitutional convention exempt to accomplish?
They expected to change the articles of confederation instead
they changed the whole constitution.
...
Read More
Asked in History of the United States
The purpose of the constitutional convention was to fix problems in the articles of confederation. What did the delegates do instead?
Wrote a new constitution
Read More
Asked in Founding Fathers, History of the United States, US Constitution
What happened to the Constitutional Convention?
- The Constitution was written
- The founding fathers wrote the
Constitution
The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania , from May to September 1787.Fyfty-five delegates from
12 of the original 13 states ( except for Rhode Island ) met to
write amendments to the Articles of Confederation. The delegates
met because many American leaders did not like the Articles. The
national government under the Articles of Confederation was not
strong enough. Instead of changing the articles of Confederation,
the delegates decided to create...
Read More
Asked in Articles of Confederation
What did the leaders decide to do instead of revising the Articles of Confederation?
The convention that came to be known as the Constitutional
Convention or the Federal Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, was
instructed by the government under the Articles to revise the
existing frame of government. Instead, the delegates decided to
throw out the Articles of Confederation and write a new
constitution for the nation.
...
Read More
Asked in Law & Legal Issues
How does the overall power of the national government compare to that of the states?
The national government's power is greater than that of any
individual state. This was made to have one unified country. Before
the Constitution was created, there was the Articles of
Confederation. This document gave immense power to the states
because the colonists feared if they created a strong central
government, that they would have another King George III. However,
this plan proved to not be the best as it felt as if there were 13
different countries instead of one. The founding...
Read More
Asked in Politics and Government
American leaders gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise?
It was NOT the Declaration of
Independence they met to revise, but the Articles of Confederation.
They were supposed to modify the Confederation; instead they came
up with an entirely new government, described in the
Constitution.
...
Read More
Asked in Founding Fathers, History of the United States, US Constitution
Why did the founding fathers establish a system of checks and balances?
Since the Founding Fathers went to a lot of trouble to escape
from the clutches of a tyrannical British colonial government, they
did not want to wind up with their own home grown tyranny instead,
so they put in various safeguards to protect against government
corruption. There are 3 branches of government and each has some
power to intervene to correct abuses by the other two branches. It
is hoped that this will serve to prevent the worst abuses. When the
President...
Read More
Asked in Articles of Confederation
How were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation resolved?
They weren't. When the delegates met to resolve the problems of
the Articles of the Confederation they scrapped the whole document
all together; instead, they drew up a new document, The United
States Constitution.
...
Read More
Asked in History, Politics & Society, Founding Fathers, History of the United States, US Constitution
Why did the delegates meet in Philadalphia in 1787?
They met with the intention of modifying the Articles of
Confederation. Instead, they created a new US Constitution.
...
Read More