The stable national government that we have in the U.S. today isn't the same government that we had when we first gained our independence. Many events, and much thought and effort went into the creation of the Constitution of the United States. The major contributing factors include the Articles of Confederation (our first form of government), Shay's Rebellion, The Annapolis Convention, and the Constitutional Convention. Our Forefathers created a brilliant, amendable document, based on their philosophy and these events, that has provided us with a remarkably strong and stable government for over two centuries.
The Articles of Confederation were completed in 1777. It was the first attempt at setting up a government for the United States. There were many problems with the Articles. There was no executive branch, which meant there was no leader for the people. Also the Congress was very weak. They couldn't implement a tax or raise an army.
The Articles of Conferderation, ratified in 1781. ...
The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781. T...
The Articles of Conferderation, ratified in 1781. ...They had to ask, sometimes even beg the states for either of those. Another reason the Articles were unpopular was that it required a 2/3 majority of the states to pass any subject of importance and a completely unanimous vote for amendments. Regardless, it was a good model of what a loose constitution should be.
In 1786, a rebellion started. Like all rebellions, Shay's Rebellion was to cause a change with something that was unfair in the eyes of the rebels. The rebellion was aimed towards tax collectors and many other rich people who lived near the Eastern Coast. The uprising scared many of the wealthy landowners until a state militia finally took it down. The government saw that there needed to be some changes in the Articles, so they called together the Annapolis Convention later that year.
The Annapolis convention was not very big. Only...