For what reasons might some Americans have wanted a weak central government after gaining their independence?

Answer 1

What were the positive and negative consequences of a weak national government? First of all, the states did not originally intend to create one nation as is apparent when they called themselves a "league of friendship". By having a weak national government they could remain separate states while maintaining good relations with each other and the rest of the world. Some form of central government was also necessary to win the war, but that did not mean it needed to be a strong one that could turn around and abuse the powers it was given. A weak government cannot abuse powers not given, and thus there would be no repeat of the colonist's experience with British rule. Also the colonists feared that some states would dominate in a national government and majority tyranny would result through representation, expenses, and territorial claims. The supporters of such a weak government thought that, theoretically, if most power was left to the states, classical republican society could continue to flourish throughout the nation because governmental communities would remain smaller and more personalized. Many of the founders realized that government will eventually corrupt and end ( Greece, Britain). Perhaps by having a weak central government they would prevent great corruption and if the government did become corrupt it could only affect the states and the people to a small extent. However this did not turn out as planned. By taking it to such an extreme they found that the national government could not perform even the simplest of tasks. They could not tax; thus, they could not look out for national finances and debt. They also had neither money nor authority to create a national defense system. Without the money it required, it also could not pay soldiers for their time in the Revolutionary War, leading to debt for many soldiers and eventually to Shays' Rebellion. A weak national government may be able to make agreements with foreign nations but in the case of the Article of Confederation, it could not force the states to comply, causing other nations to refuse to trade. A weak national government practically cannot regulate anything of importance, including trade or laws made. This creates conflict throughout the states over import/export taxes, ruins the economy, and prevents important national laws from being obeyed. This weak government also gave state governments too much power to do what they wanted. In the case of the Articles of Confederation the government was nothing more than a thin farce designed to make the states look like a legitimate government while actually doing no good to unite them in the least.

Answer 2

Because they thought if they let the government get to strong there wouldn't be freedom, which was why they had the war in the first place.
The people wanted free rein to choose and do what they liked especially in business,. with out the interference of the government With a weak central government the people could have this.

Answer 3

Americans fought for independence from a monarchy, so they knew first hand what it was like to live under a system with a strong government. The American Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 to 1783.

Answer 4

The Americans were afraid of a repeat of a strong government like England & King George. For example: they made their government weak without a ruler or president. Also, they only had a congress (legislature) that can make a law. Therefore, the Americans only want to have a congress not a king. All in all, the Americans were afraid of the strength of the king.The Americans didn't want a strong king. As an example: the Americans gave everything to the state and the state took charge almost everything of the new nation. Generally the country didn't have its own money, army, and navy as one of its states had everything that the country didn't actually had. All in all, the government didn't have control over the nation in all the states .

Answer 5

Americans didn't want a strong central government because they were afraid of a tryannical government, like they had previously with King George III. This fear of a tryannical government eventually led to the Articles of Confederation which created a central government but it was weak and had almost no power as compared to the power of the states.

Answer 6

When the American colonies had won their independence from Great Britain the next step was to create a new nation founded on written laws and procedures. This is a normal situation and there were several factors to be considered. Each of the colonies, had for the most part operated their economies and local laws in accordance with the established ways carried on throughout the many years as part of Great Britain. They, for example, had certain policies related to their economies. In the Boston area colonies, fishery was a major business and the economy and laws were written concerning aspects following that sort of economy. At the same time, colonies in the southern colonies were focused on tobacco and cotton plantations. In order to preserve their colonial identities within the new nation, the founders wanted to be extra sure that any new central government would not govern like the old one under King George and his parliament. The founders knew all about strong central governments as they had been ruled by one over many years form the 1600's on forward.

The Articles of Federation created a central government that was a weak one in order that such a body would not dictate and control them as Kings of Great Britain had done. The new nation was a "confederation" of colonies. No strong united central government could force taxation or create a powerful army to rule the "confederation".