ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the iron fist,

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the latest trend in men's gloves. Yeah.

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All right, take a look at the excerpt.

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[ mumbles ]

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The structure of the government that the Articles of Confederation

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established most clearly reflects

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the Republican belief that... what?

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ dog barks ]

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All right, well... [ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ]

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All right. So what's this question asking?

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Well, first, it looks like we need to know

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what exactly the structure of government

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was under the Articles of Confederation.

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The only branch mentioned in the excerpt is Congress,

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and that's a great clue, because under

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the Articles, there was only one branch -

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Congress.

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So let's keep that in mind as we check out our potential answers.

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Did that one-branch system reflect

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the Republican belief that A -

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the government needs checks and balances?

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Well, hmm. In order to have checks and balances,

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you kind of need more than one branch of government.

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That'd be like saying justice is blind,

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but only out of one eye. So it's not A.

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Did the Articles of Confederation reflect

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the idea that B - citizens should

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participate directly in a democracy?

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Well, actually, the national legislature

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under the Articles was made up of representatives

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elected by state legislatures,

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not the people themselves.

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So it wasn't direct democracy.

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More like indirect democracy.

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Then did the Articles recommend C -

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voting rights should extend to

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those who don't own property?

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Well, seems fair, right?

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Well, not in the eyes of those farmers.

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Because if you didn't own property, well,

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you couldn't vote. Rentals don't count.

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That eliminates C, as well.

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So that means the Articles of Confederation

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reflected the idea that D - a strong

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central government leads to tyranny.

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That it did.

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Remember what the colonists had just experienced

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leading up to the Revolution -

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the destructive power of a strong

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central government under England's monarchy.

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Under British Parliament, the colonists were subjected

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to persecution, income inequality,

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and civil rights abuses.

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So to prevent the American system from following

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in its deadbeat dad's footsteps,

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our founding fathers created a weak central government with

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only one branch, Congress.

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So the correct answer is D.

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But remember, that one-branch system didn't last.

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The Articles were replaced by the U.S. Constitution,

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which called for three branches of government.

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And we all know the best things

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come in threes. Like Larry, Curly, Moe.

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