<span>The major downfall of the Articles of Confederationwas simply weakness. The federal government, under the Articles, was too weak to enforce their laws and therefore had no power. The Continental Congress had borrowed money to fight the Revolutionary War and could not repay their debts</span>
Through out the twentieth and twenty‐ first centuries internationals human rights law have increased and improved with it's main purpose to protect individuals and groups from verbal and physical abuse.Certain states have certain laws and regulation against hateful comments and action taken on certain groups of people.
In a nutshell, the cruel and unusual punishment clause measures a particular punishment against society's prohibition against inhuman treatment. It prevents the government from imposing a penalty that is either barbaric or far too severe for the crime committed.
Governments typically had been either unitary or confederated. Or another way to say that is that they either focused on centralized power (in someone like a king) or particularized power -- the power in the parts of a kingdom rather than at the center.
So, for instance, in France (prior to its Revolution), all the power in the kingdom centered in the hands of the king. For 175 years, they didn't even have a meeting of the Estates General which was their version of a representative body. And the power of nobles on their lands was reduced while the king's power grew.
Meanwhile, in the German territories, there was a loose confederation called the Holy Roman Empire. One of the kings or princes held the title of "emperor," but he really had no imperial power. The confederated German states retained control over their own kingdoms or territories.
The American experiment mixed something of the best of both approaches. There would be strong central power in the federal government, but putting checks and balances on that power by retaining certain aspects of control in the hands of the states within the union.
Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address promised a vast national future only a month before his assassination and the end of the American Civil War. The following is a transcription of his original draft of his remarks--the edits reflect the changes made by Secretary of State William Seward. After the brief but remarkable speech, scroll down to learn more about what Lincoln's vision meant for the war, for the republic, and for emancipation.
