Politics
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation has been written up and it is now
up to the states to ratify it. This will be the first written document to lay down the
framework of the new government, unifying the states. There are
several proposals in this document:
In Congress, every state has a single vote, whether it’s Virginia with 700,000 citizens, or Rhode Island with 70,000.
Bills presented to Congress need a two-thirds vote. Amendments of the Articles need to be unanimous.
Congress can not regulate commerce. This means that each individual state can set their their own tariffs. In addition it could not enforce a tax-collection program.
This document will be the model for what a confederation should act like. Among the supporters are Thomas Jefferson, who praises the Article of Confederation.
At the very least this constitution lays out the general powers that the government could have, while making a sort of union at the same time.