2.08 Free-Response
a. Under the Articles of Confederation, states’ rights had become a predominant factor in keeping the country together. The purpose of the Articles was to reduce the central government and increase the liberties of the states. This, however, did not prove to be successful, eventually leading to the creation of the Constitution. Under the Articles, the federal government did not have the power to tax the states. The states were quite satisfied, as it did not force them to pay to support a stronger national government. As a result, the central government and Congress had to beg the sates for money in order to form an army (as during the Revolutionary War) or carry out other projects in which only tax money would have been sufficient. This led to the addition of Article I, Section 8 in the Constitution, allowing Congress to collect taxes to pay debts, so congress no longer had to beg for money from the states. State liberties, however, did not stop at not having to pay taxes. It also involved equal representation in Congress more specifically, one vote for each state regardless of size. This was a major point in the Articles and mainly appealed to smaller states, which did not want representation to be based on size. It was, however, unfair to larger states, since the essence of a democracy is a government by the people. And if the majority of the population (who usually reside in the larger states) cannot get their votes pushed, since smaller states have equal representation, then there becomes a conflict between the small and large states. The Constitution, however, was extremely efficient in sorting this out. It allowed for two parts in Congress: a Senate and a House of Representatives. It helped the smaller states by allowing each state to have two senators, while the larger states also were pleased because the number of Representatives per states was based on population. The Constitution had now fixed yet another problem and had pleased both large states and small states. Lastly, one of the Articles’ biggest weaknesses was how it could be amended. Every single state had to agree to amend the Articles. This was most likely the biggest problem since it was virtually impossible for every state to agree on the same terms. Naturally, each state would want to be the top priority, and it was most likely that at least one state would not agree with the changes. The idea behind the Articles of Confederation seemed promising and fair, but they were missing a strong center where all the states could fit in; a stronger central government. The sense of individualism between the states that occurred as a result of the Articles could not create a strong nation, only unison could.
b. Gun control has to be controlled by the state police, since there is no national police. The trade and use of firearms means the state has to spend money to send police to handle situations that may arise due to gun possession. Gun laws are also dependent of the state. Some states are more relaxed about gun control while others are stricter. After the Newtown, Connecticut shooting, it was debated whether or not a state level or a national level should control gun control. There was also controversy on whether or not there should be restrictions to the sales of guns, such as not distributing them to the mentally ill. This would, however, become a violation of the second Amendment, the right to bear arms.