Chapter 2, The Road to Philadelphia Summary

In the years following the revolution, there is a great deal of interest in the United States and how it is progressing in the establishment of, and experimentation with, republicanism. The Articles of Confederation are fundamentally weak, and movements to amend the document are underfoot before the first federal charter becomes effective on March 1, 1781. In short, the new government needed revenues and needs to impose taxes. (Taxation is what started the revolution.) The Articles of Confederation do not give the Congress the authority it needs to raise revenues or to function properly in the area of foreign policy. Because of this, trade is suffering as the British ban Americans from their West Indian ports and cut American importers out of their trade deals in America. The Congress does not have the authority to retaliate under...