Final answer:
Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had one vote in Congress, reflecting a fear of central authority and preserving state sovereignty. This led to a weak national government with no executive or judiciary, necessitating the Constitutional Convention where the present-day bicameral Congress was conceptualized.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Articles of Confederation established a national legislature that allowed each state, regardless of size or population, an equal vote. This structure was a direct response to fears rooted in the experiences with British rule, where a distrust of central authority was prevalent. The system ensured that no state could dominate because of its size, preserving the autonomy and sovereignty of each state within the union. However, this arrangement led to significant issues due to the required unanimous consent for amending the Articles, a threshold that proved to be nearly insurmountable, and the need for a supermajority to pass legislation. The lack of a strong national government meant that central powers were considerably weak, with little ability to enforce laws or coordinate between states.
The government under the Articles had no executive branch or national judiciary, further emphasizing the decentralized nature of the initial government formed after independence. Each state had substantial independence, including the power to levy taxes and appoint its own representatives to the unicameral national Congress. This configuration was deliberate to avoid the concentration of power and preservation of state rights but was at the expense of national cohesion and effectiveness.
The inherent weaknesses of the Articles and the desire for a more balanced representation led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where delegates debated and ultimately moved away from the model of the Articles toward a new constitution. The discussions included proposals for bicameralism as well as disagreements between large and small states concerning fair representation. This dispute was a driving factor behind the creation of the two-chamber Congress we know today, which balances the Senate's equal representation for states with the House of Representative's population-based representation.