To what extent were political, economic, and social development between the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution, a reflection of the colonists' dreams for independence.

Essay by 90LARHigh School, 11th gradeA+, February 2006

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During the settling of the New World, the European colonists underwent many situations that caused the desire for independence to arise. From that point forward the colonists cultivated ideas regarding their dreams and how they were going to achieve their dream. After the Revolutionary War, the colonists were ready for the better life that they hoped for, but they were sadly mistaken. Instead the colonists, who were now Americans, were faced with creating their own political system/ government, establishing peace within the nation, and regaining their economic standing as a nation and not as individual states. These tasks, which seem simple to an outsider, caused the Americans much distress and dampened their hopes and dreams of a better and more stable life. The main contributor to their dilemma was the, newly developed, Articles of Confederation, which had numerous flaws that made the colonists' dreams begin to dim. The political, economic, and social development between the ending of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution was not an accurate reflection of the colonists' dreams for independence.

The colonists hoped that after the Revolutionary War and their separation from England, creating a functioning government would be smooth sailing. However, the creation of the Articles of Confederation made that extremely hard. The Articles of Confederation contained several flaws that became apparent as America tried to develop. For one, the Articles did not give the national government the power to tax or regulate trade. In addition, the government was unable to levy/ charge taxes during wartime. As a result, the government tried to finance wars by printing more money, which naturally led to inflation. Moreover, under the Articles of Confederation the government was unable to impose tariffs on goods. This article left the nation powerless when the British denied the colonies...