How Did The United States Shaped The Political And Economic Crisis Of The 1770's
542 Words3 Pages
The political and economic crisis of the 1770’s – 1780’s shaped the Constitution of the United States in numerous ways. When the British and the Americans signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it stated that Great Britain recognized the United States’ independence and in the long run it meant that America had been victorious and won the revolution. Although America had won its independence in order to become a strong nation it would first have to overcome failure in order to come out a powerful nation (Qingyuan). Coming out of the Revolutionary War, America was very unstable. At this time, the only thing in place that brought the thirteen states together was the Articles of Confederation so this period of time was filled with economic depression and political crisis. The Articles of Confederation did not set up executive and judicial organizations to enforce laws; the only branch of the central government was a single-chamber congress where each state had only one vote. They had no power to regulate trade or put taxes in place. The central government also had no power to control…show more content… After the American Revolution the restoration of the economy was very important to the American people, the revolution had drained America of manpower and of material resources, but because the Articles of Confederation did not grant the central government enough powers this task was very hard to fulfill. As of 1784, the total federal debt was $40 million, to pay the interest and principle of the debt the Congress proposed an Amendment to the Articles, which granted them the power to lay a five percent duty on imports. However, amendments required the consent of all thirteen states and in 1781 Rhode Island resisted and New York rejected in 1783. Congress was unable to pay the debt, military expenditures, pensions to military officials, or the interest of the debt