Confederation and Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Confederation and Constitution - Essay Example The American constitution underwent a lengthy process during its drafting and various amendments have been made so that it can be more efficient for the governing of the states. In 1776, the continental congress drafted â€Å"the article of confederation† which brought together 13 founding states of the United States of America: This article was later ratified in 1781. In the article of confederation, the relationship between the uniting states was defined and also a common name was adopted for the union of the states (Howard, 2005). After various administrative set backs, this article of confederation was found to be inefficient and hence was later replaced by the American constitution in 1789. Though the article of confederation had some similarities with the constitution, these two documents were different in the following ways. The constitution established an organized form of government. The government was divided into three main braches, which included the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. In the constitution, the executive was the supreme arm of the government and it was headed by the president. The constitution provided the rules and regulations governing election of the president and his deputy. However, in the article of confederation, there was no such structured government. The states had the liberty to decide the method of leadership they wanted. The constitution established a federal system government. In this system, the states had some authority.