In my opening sentence for my essay "Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation" should I write "The Articles of Confederation were the first governing document of the United States of America." or should I write "The Articles of Confederation was the first governing document of the United States of America."
I'm not sure because the phrase "Articles of Confederation" makes me want to say "were", but the fact that it was one document makes me want to say "was".
Please help! My essay is due tomorrow and I have another essay to write that's also due tomorrow!
I would say "were" since Articles is plural.
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Write a report of 150-200 words on some of the specific problems that developed because of the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first governing document of the United States of America. It was written in summer 1776 and approved by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, after a year of debate. But the Articles had many weaknesses. Still at war with England, the colonists were reluctant to establish another powerful national government. Carefully guarding their new independence, the Continental Congress created a loosely structured constitution designed to manage the emergency of the Revolutionary War. But when the war ended and new priorities set in, its many problems and weaknesses became increasingly obvious. One major weakness was that the national government had no control over taxes. As a result, it couldn’t get its finances in order. Another weakness was that every state got one vote, but the larger states were expected to contribute more money and men than the small states. Benjamin Franklin said "Let the smaller Colonies give equal money and men, and then have an equal vote. But if they have an equal vote without bearing equal burthens, a confederation upon such iniquitous principles will never last long.” The Articles were soon replaced by the much stronger U.S. Constitution on June 21, 1788.
Oops, I meant to say "The Articles of Confederation were the first governing document of the United States of America."
Comma after "Benjamin Franklin said."
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Ok thanks, is that all?
The only other thing I would suggest is NOT starting any sentence with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet). Either connect those sentences to the one before and keep the conjunction, or find another transitional word or phrase to get the job done. (I see "But" as the first word in two sentences above.)
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Ok, thank you!! =)