Articles of Confederation

            Advantages of the Articles of Confederation.
             Every great success comes from humble beginnings. Be it Nascar coming from whisky runners in the south, or skateboarding coming from surfers who put wheels under their boards, over time things improve to make better products. This hold true for nations as well. Even before the American Revolution, America had its first government in the Articles of Confederation. Over time, the Articles of Confederation were dropped for the Constitution due to its faults. Though it did have problems, the Articles of Confederation had its advantages as well. Through unity of the nation, good foreign affair policies, and acting as the basis for future government, the Articles of Confederation was a success. This was the first unified government of the United States after Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan of Union has failed.
             During the pre-Revolution stages of America, each state saw itself as a separate entity. Each state governed itself and passed its own laws. Previous plans of unification, such as the aforementioned Albany Plan of Union, failed because states were not willing to give up any of their powers to others. As revolution neared, England began to tax all of the colonies, through acts such as the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Townshend Acts. The only way the colonists could overcome was by all uniting. The Articles of Confederation were created as a governing body for all colonies. This helped for the colonists to see each other as brothers rather than enemies, and turned the focus toward England. The colonies no longer saw each other as separate from one another, but from their mother country, and pushed toward revolution.
             The Articles of Confederation also had good foreign policies. They allowed for ministers to be sent to other countries and for the ministers to negotiate treaties. Through this the US made the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France.