The first guiding principle enumerated in the Constitution claimed that one of the purposes of the government was "to form a more perfect Union." While it is easy for modern readers to dismiss this phrase as mere hyperbole--an expression of the desire to make America better than the traditional monarchies of the Old World--this phrase had direct and visceral importance to the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Those delegates knew that the first constitution of the United States was failing, and they knew from painful experience why it was failing. In 1787, the phrase "to form a more perfect Union" had to be the first guiding principle because the union to be replaced was crumbling under Articles of Confederation that did not give the central government sufficient power to hold the United States together for much longer.
The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in November, 1777, and they were ratified by all thirteen states in 1781. The country they established was a confederation of 13 sovereign states. Each state controlled its own commerce and collected customs. Geographically fortunate states exploited their ability to control the flow of goods to and from less fortunate neighbors. The central government had no authority to collect customs. State legislatures were supposed to raise the money that funded the central government, but the central government had no authority to compel the states to pay anything or to provide any supplies. This put the Continental Army under a perpetual threat of disintegration during the Revolutionary War, and created post war financial pressures that ultimately led to Shay's Rebellion in late 1786. The failures of the Articles of Confederation, specifically a central government that was too weak to discharge its responsibilities, led directly to the effort to "form a more perfect Union."
The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in November, 1777, and they were ratified by all thirteen states in 1781. The country they established was a confederation of 13 sovereign states. Each state controlled its own commerce and collected customs. Geographically fortunate states exploited their ability to control the flow of goods to and from less fortunate neighbors. The central government had no authority to collect customs. State legislatures were supposed to raise the money that funded the central government, but the central government had no authority to compel the states to pay anything or to provide any supplies. This put the Continental Army under a perpetual threat of disintegration during the Revolutionary War, and created post war financial pressures that ultimately led to Shay's Rebellion in late 1786. The failures of the Articles of Confederation, specifically a central government that was too weak to discharge its responsibilities, led directly to the effort to "form a more perfect Union."
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