Constitution and the Articles of Confederation

It was an interesting class discussion today about the differences between the U.S. Constitution and the Articles of Confederation. Due to little emphasis placed on the content of the Articles of Confederation in history classes, I did not have much of an idea of what exactly it stated. Today, I learned that much of this document left most power to the states at that time. In contrast, the Constitution places power in a federal government. It is strange to think that in only a few years the leaders of our country changed to an entirely different format of government with an entirely different view of what the United States was and should become. However, at the same time it is amazing that it only took a short time from the point of our leaders knowing that change needed to be made to the point of taking action and drafting the Constitution.

And learning about South Africa's lengthy and detailed Constitution makes me further understand why our brief and somewhat vague Constitution has lasted so long. The U.S. Constitution has not been amended very often because the basic foundation is still the same and the rest can be left to interpretation by the Supreme Court when new issues arise in certain court cases. Also, it makes me wonder if the Constitution would have ever been drafted had it not been brief and generalized - would agreements and compromises have been made to a document of great detail?