Establishing A New Nation
     The Americans began to set up a new system of government as soon as they declared their independence. In 1781, the states established a confederation under a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation. It was given the power to declare war and manage foreign affairs, but was not allowed to control the affairs of the states, such as collecting taxes or regulating trade.

    The Articles had many shortcomings, and these hindered the running of the new government. The states began to ignore the Articles. They also argued among themselves about the organization and powers of the new government.


The Articles of Confederation

    The thirteen states had different opinions on how each state should be governed and what form the central government should adopt. Some of them wanted to give more power to the central government. Others wanted to protect the Rights of the states and give less power to the central government.

     After the War, the 13 states faced many problems. Which are divided into 2 groups:

          1. Economic Problems
 
     The United States had borrowed money heavily from foreign countries to fight the War of Independence. Now they had to repay the loans with interest. But the government did not have the power to collect taxes. Therefore, it was unable to raise money to pay the debts. Also, the government was unable to improve the economy because it had no power to regulate the trade between states. Each state had its own economic policies. Some states even issued their own paper money. This caused sharp changes in the value of currency and difficulties in the nation's trade.

      The War of Independence brought economic difficulties to the farmers, especially those in the southern states. They borrowed money from the rich merchants during the war. After the war, they were unable to repay the debts, and mamy farmers were put into prison, or had their farms confiscated. These problems therefore showed that a stronger government was needed to maintain law and order.
 
          2. The Need for a Strong Government

      The new government also faced problems in foreign affairs.It was impossible for each of the thirteen states to send ministers to major European countries.

      After independence, some states did not have fixed boundaries. This caused many disputes among the states, particularly those in the west.

      Also, there was also a quarrel about the power each state should have.

      It became clear that the states needed a strong government to settle their disputes and act as their representatives in foreign countries.


        To slove the above problems, the 13 states met in Philadelphia in 1787. After much discussion, their representatives drew up a set of rules on how the USA should be ruled. This set of rules was adopted 2 years later. We call it the American Constitution.
 
      It gave basic human rights to all Americans--
  1. the right to life, liberty, property, petition and trials by jury;
  2. freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion.
To read the FULL text of this important document

      This stronger central government made the United States of America become a federal republic. It was a union of separate states under a central government. The states had to yield some of their freedoms to the central government in order to unite the nation. The constitution gave more powers to the federal government, including the rights to declare war, manage foreign affairs, collect taxes, regulate trade and issue currency.

      The system of federal government is similar to the idea of Montesquieu, based on the separation of powers. It consists of three branches- executive, legislature and judiciary- which are represented by the President, Congress and the Supreme Court respectively. Congress makes the laws which the President enforces, and which the Supreme Court interprets if any question arises.

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