The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

The Constitution of the United States of America was framed in part by The Articles of

The Articles of Confederation served as the written article that established the parts of the nationwide government of the United States after it acknowledged freedom from Great Britain. It made a weak government that frequently, but not completely, avoided each individual state from leading their own foreign diplomacy.

From 1781 to 1789, the newly created United States of America put its trust in the Articles of Confederation to adequately govern itself in times of war and distress. The Articles of Confederation was the United States’ first attempt at a guideline for creating an effective federal government. It was efficient in holding the new country together during the Revolutionary War and managed to help the country attend to pressing foreign and economic problems right after the war. Although the Articles helped bring about momentous and significant change in one decade, it was not the suitable framework for the federal government to effectively govern the new country over a long period of time.

The Articles of Confederation, although a big first step, had more weaknesses than strengths. In fact, the major downfall of the Articles of Confederation was its weakness. Under the Articles, the federal government had little power and was too weak to enforce any laws. The Articles gave Congress the power to pass new laws but they did not have any power to enforce them. If a state decided that they did not want to follow a law then they could just ignore it. Congress also had no power to regulate trade or levy taxes and without an executive leader or federal court system there was no way to enforce anything. Another large downfall of the Articles of Confederation is that to Amend it required a unanimous decision which in most cases is extremely difficult. Because the Articles of Confederation are often considered a failure, it’s easy to look past the achievements of the American government under those Articles. The most important piece of legislation passed under the Articles of Confederation is the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This Ordinance provided the guidelines by which new states would use to be admitted into the Union. Judges and Governors appointed by Congress would oversee a territory until there was five-thousand free male citizens of voting age. The citizens would then elect a territorial legislature, which sent a non-voting delegate to Congress. When the population hit sixty-thousand, the territorial legislature would be eligible to submit a state constitution,

The Articles of Confederation was an agreement under which the 13 original states established a federal government in 1781. The states called their confederation the United States of America, continuing the name used in the Declaration of Independence. The Articles of Confederation served as the new nation's basic map of government until the first government under the Constitution of the United States was formed in 1789. The Congress of the Confederation operated the government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles attempted to balance the need for an effective national government with the traditional

By the year of 1787 it was evident that the union between the thirteen states was unraveling and a change was needed to save the country. The Articles of Confederation were weak and the need for a new governing document was evident.

The Articles of Confederation was the United State’s first constitution, it was written in an effort to unite the states after the American Revolution and served as a blueprint for the modern constitution. In order for the Articles to become official, they had to be approved by all thirteen colonies. Although Congress sent the Articles of Confederation to the states around the end of 1777 to become ratified, they were not officially adopted until March 1, 1781. Under these Articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. The American people feared a strong national government and as a result of this, the Articles of Confederation were specifically designed to be weak in the sense that each state maintains its own sovereignty and all rights to govern themselves, with the except of the rights exclusively granted to Congress. Since the Articles lacked many necessary components to keep a nation properly structured, they were eventually revised into the constitution we recognize today. Although, the Articles of Confederation seemed as though it only contained weaknesses, within the document, many strengths and accomplishments were made. Overall, the Articles of Confederation were proven to be both efficient and non-efficient during the time period they were in effect.

The Articles of Confederations first weakness was that it did not give the federal government enough power to enforce laws. No matter the size of a state they were allowed one government a vote. There was no power to regulate trade and commerce between states, meaning that each state was allowed to regulate and determine taxes on their own trade. The national government had to rely on the states money because it had no power to tax. Each state had their own money and regulated it themselves. The Articles did not establish a strong and solid leader, which meant no president. There was also a fault in which it could take a long time to change the Articles themselves. In order to make any changes to them it required a unanimous vote.

After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States had a major task ahead of them. While satisfying the people and insure success of economic demands and their nation as a whole, It is clear that The Articles of Confederation had many more weaknesses than strengths. This is mostly because the Articles of Confederation gave a lot of power to the states and not enough to the central government. Basically, they created a system which the nations could not work well together as one. The Articles of Confederation were indeed the first system of government that was proposed and put into effect. This attempt at creating a system that protected the people from a strong centralized government ultimately failed, yet set a precedent for the next trial, to create a stronger, more effective, government plan. After realizing this was a failure, the country had to regroup and create a stronger government.

The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781 proved to be a disaster from the start. As war erupted throughout the colonies the Continental Congress looked to create a permanent and productive central government. The first Continental Congress met for seven weeks to protest English policies. The second Continental Congress met later in May 1775 to exercise their role as the central government. The Articles were formed a year later and an inescapable disaster loomed over. The Articles did not solve America’s need for a national government, failed in regards to foreign relations, and failed in economic stability.

The Articles of Confederation paved the way to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the present form of the United States government. The Articles of Confederation gave Congress many powers such as the right to declare war and make peace, to detail with foreign countries and sign treaties, regulate Native American activity in the territories, coin money and borrow money, appoint military officers and operate post offices. Although the Articles of Confederation had strengths it also had its weaknesses such as: national government could not push the nations to obey its laws, did not possess the ability to tax, enforce laws, Congress lacked strong and firm leadership,

The Articles of Confederation was the first drafted and documented constitution of the United States. Under these laws and articles, the states remained dominant and independent with Congress serving as the last resort to make variations. This document also gave Congress the right to create treaties and allies, maintain armed forces and coined money. Although Congress had much authority to make vital decisions, the central government lacked the ability to standardize commerce and levy taxes. These inabilities to maintain a constant flow of power and dominance ultimately led to the 1787 Constitutional Convention to draft a new set of federal laws and provisions.

A federal constitution was first proposed on June 12, 1176, when the Second Continental Congress called for a thirteen man committee to draw it. It became known as the articles of confederation the following November, and was turned in to the states for its approval. John Dickinson was the main contributor to the Articles of confederation. He called it a “League of Friendship”.The Articles took 5 years to get approved by all 13 states, and were ratified until March 1, 1781. The length taken to ratify the Articles was seen as a lack in common unity. There was complaint that states with land could use their tracts to pay money for common cause. It seemed logical that the western area be given to the central government to get rid of land for “common benefit”. There was a problem with landed estates, which had land west of the Appalachians, and the landless states, which boundaries were defined. It became an even bigger problem with the proclamation line of 1763. The landless states said that land that was debated about should be shared by all

Declaring its independence from Great Britain, to form the beginning of a government. The Articles of Confederation, that did not good for its economy. It to be a failure, we did not have common currency, nor the right to collect tax, and lacked the military power. Besides, the government only have one branch, Congress. Causing a lack of national court system and presidency. The Virginal and New Jersey Plan called for a strong national government with three branches . Delegate consider to revise the Articles of Confederation and call it the Constitution. The outcome, Great Compromise, provided a bicameral congress and a House of Representative. George Washington elected chairman and Benjamin Franklin as a calm and unifying influence. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wanted a new document. Hence, people were frighten that the officials will seize and abuse their power. James Madison wanted the Constitution to be base on a system of checks and balances. Delegates believe in a system with checks and more critics. The Constitution change slavery, trading, and representation. Constitution enabled a state to shut-off slave importation if it wanted, after 1807. Delegate have to ratify the Constitution with a favorable vote of 9/13 states.

Firstly, on July 4th, 1776, Americans officially declare independence from the British by signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, PA. On July 12th, 1776, a committee made up of one representative from each colony. This committee drafted a new system of government, with the smallest amount of national government involvement with the average citizen possible, called the Articles of Confederation. It wasn’t until June of 1778, that the Articles went through the ratification system, where all thirteen colonies must approve the Articles. Finally, in March of 1781, the Articles of Confederation were in effect and the nation was under a new form of government. As stated in the original document, “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation, expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” The main aspect of the Articles of Confederation is the idea of a small national government and leaving most of the power to the state government. The desire for such small central government stemmed from the newly gained independence from the British. Since they had been controlled and taken advantage for so long, they feared that would happen again if they gave the national government too much power. They feared tyranny. There is a reason why the Articles are known as a great failure, it had too many weaknesses, such as each state only gets one vote in Congress