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America’s First Constitutions and Declarations of Rights
Some constitutional historians have speculated that the Articles of Confederation, had they remained in force, might have succeeded in the long
run, and that the government could have eventually evolved into a parliamentary system of some sort, with a cabinet made up of congressional
leaders exercising the executive function. This is an optimistic view of the
matter, however, and it may be doubted whether the Articles would have
long endured without substantial revision. The problem was that, even
when members of Congress were aware of the need for change, there was
little they could do about it. A major flaw in many of the first State constitutions was the failure of colonial draftsmen to include a provision allowing for amendments to correct errors in the founding document. In
some instances the State legislatures sidestepped this difficulty by simply
treating amendments as ordinary legislation, thereby assuming the right
to amend, as is customary under a parliamentary system. The Articles of
Confederation, however, presented a more serious obstacle. Simple legislation required the vote of nine States, making it relatively easy for a
minority of States, with a minority of the population, to block legislation.
Worse, the Articles specifically required the unanimous consent of all the
States for an amendment, making it possible for a single State to prevent
any change in the original compact. Thus in 1781 Rhode Island blocked
a proposed amendment that would have allowed the Confederation to
collect a five percent import duty. In effect, it was exceedingly difficult to
pass legislation and virtually impossible to pass an amendment. Indeed,
not a single amendment was adopted during the eight years in which the
Articles were in force, even though the need for a major overhaul of the
system was generally acknowledged by many of the members. Because
they could not in reality be changed much, if it all, the Articles of Confederation were doomed to extinction.
B