What Are The Challenges After The Articles Of Confederation Dbq

The Articles of Confederation was the first federal foundational laws of the United States. It was composed due to the conflicting views of the politicians at the time and the need to unite the States during the war. Its development and resoluteness had a sluggish inception due to some Americans uncertainties of the government’s substantial central power and property demands by States. The Articles of Confederation was finally sanctioned on March 1, 1781. Under the Articles, each States stayed autonomous, with Congress having the final say over disputes. Congress was also given the ability to make accords and agreements, uphold armies and currencies. The Articles of Confederation did best with territorial expansion in the West, thanks to the Ordinances that were written for the Articles and the benefits they had. However, under the Articles, the central government had no power to impose taxes and manage commerce, because of this the government was consistently short of funds. Despite the lack of funding, money was still required for the war effort, and Congress' meantime solution was to print nearly $250 million paper currency, this led to major inflation in the States. This deficit urged legislators to find a solution; the Constitution of 1787. Both the Articles and the Constitution worked to preserve a free government, different from the tyrannical rule they have experienced from the British Parliament. Also, both documents allowed states the power to manage mercantilism,

Although Congress was granted the right to negotiate with foreign countries they were often ridiculed and not taken seriously. Clearly stated in the Treaty of Paris 1783, Britain was to evacuate all posts in America along with several other penalties. However, in John Jay’s letter to Great Britain, dated two whole years after the treaty had been signed, he was demanding that the British meet these regulations. (Doc. D) The British obviously did not perceive the Americans as a threat. Another example includes that of the negotiations, or lack thereof, with Spain. John Jay had met with a Spanish representative to discuss the territorial lines between the Spanish and Americans along with the use of the Mississippi. Spain refused to compromise stating that the Mississippi had been and would continue to be under their possession. (Doc. F) Both of these situations also highlight the confederations need for an army. With an army poised for battle, the Americans might have been seen as a small threat.

The Articles of Confederation, Adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777, for all practical purposes was the United States’ first Constitution. Created to establish a bond between the newly formed states, “...the Articles purposely established a "constitution" that vested the largest share of power to the individual states” (Early America). This ensured that the government did not have the majority of power. “...the Articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws...allowing the states retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence” (Early

The Articles of Confederation established the first national government of the United States after it declared independence from England. The American Revolution heavily influenced this document, as the American people refused to have another tyrant rule their country. From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government because of its lack of power to tax, raise an army, or regulate trade; however, it redeemed itself with the creation of the land ordinances of 1785 and 1787, and keeping the states united after the American Revolution.

The Articles of Confederation were developed after the Revolutionary War, and were a good idea to help set standards for America. However, they had some major problems that needed to be solved in order for America to become a strong nation. After these problems were addressed the Constitution was developed.

During the eight years under the Articles of Confederation, the national debt continued to grow. The country came up with solutions, but the states ignored them. A correspondent in the Independent Chronicle in 1787 plead, “How long are we to continue on our present in-glorious acquiescence in the shameful resistance that some of the states persist in, against federal and national measures?” (Humphrey 2003, 113). Printer Nathaniel Willis called the young country a “union in crisis” (Humprey 2003, 106). Lack of revenue and no way of forcing states to contribute was one of the major and most noted flaws in the Articles of Confederation (Henretta et al. 2010).

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. They were written during the revolutionary war to create a more unified government, and to establish what the national government could and could not do. The Articles let each state keep “sovereignty, freedom, and independence,” and created a very weak central government. For example, Congress could not regulate commerce or impose taxes. The impact that the Articles of Confederation had on federalism for the next few years was: the federal government had very few powers, and most of the authority remained in control of each individual state.

The Article of Confederation was a written document that was put in place in 1777 after the 13 colonies had gained independence from the British. During the time in which the Articles of Confederation were still in place; there were problems arising like: the Continental Army not being paid for their services, the struggling economy, and the people wanting to overthrow the government. But events that had taken place had brought the elite for a Constitutional Convention. In the Convention; the elite had discussed the problem that the Articles had caused for them and for the people. The elites during the convention had scrapped the Articles and wrote a new document; which was the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation had a lot of weakness, and this pushed the leaders to hold the Constitutional Convention, also the leaders had to make sure that the people didn't as much power over the government as they did.

Congress agreed with the finding presented by the Board of Treasury and prepared to address the states concerning this matter. William Samuel Johnson of Connecticut was put in charge of drafting the address to states. However, friends of Johnson warned him that the address would do little to encourage the people to contribute to the nation crisis, so the address was never delivered ("The Library of Congress," n.d.). Finally, the ability of Congress to control commerce between America and foreign nations was addressed ("The Library of Congress", n.d.). Because the Articles of Confederation gave Congress little control over the trades between foreign nations and various states, it was important for Congress to gain some order over the matter. According to "The Library of Congress" (n.d.), "In 1784, Congress requested that the states grant it limited power over commerce for fifteen years, but many of the states did not comply” (Congress is Unable to Control Commerce Between American and Foreign Nations). In 1785, James Monroe, a delegate, once more addressed the need for more control over commerce, which led the creation of a committee lead by Monroe. The new committee recommended amending the Articles of Confederation, on February 16, 1785, so that Congress could get the power needed for commerce ("The Library of Congress," n.d.). However, as before, few

In 1786, John Jay, an American Statesman from New York and one of the founding fathers, gave a speech to Congress on Negotiations with Spain’s Minister Diego de Gardoqui. He addressed the fact that there were no rules or regulations on what would happen to Spanish territory in the United States. Any kind of arguing or planning was done between Spain and the United States. According to the United States, there were more people that needed the Mississippi River, which was considered Spanish territory, than Spain. Spain disagreed with the belief that all other men, that were not Spaniards, should stay off Spanish land even if it was in America (Doc F). The Articles did not cover what needed to be covered, and significant deals were missing. Land Ordinances were indeed established, but they did not thoroughly explain everything the way it was needed. The Land Ordinance of 1785 created a system for surveying and selling land to the public by dividing areas into rectangular townships called sections. The problem with this was that people needed money to buy land, and many people did not have money. Once again, issues were taken into the states hands, and even more problems surfaced in relation. The Articles of Confederation were once again ineffective in completely covering all of the needed issues. Due to the fact that there was no centralized

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.

Since the Articles forbade Congress to tax, they were almost bankrupt. They were not even able to pay the national debt. Amendments to the Articles were introduced again in 1786, needed to happen, but it kept being stopped by the rule of the “unanimous consent of the states”. Soon, the federal government had no money to pay for the army.

During the first decade of independence, it became acutely obvious that the Second Continental Congress and then the Congress, under these Articles could not control the new nation adequately. The government was dependent on the states for revenue and army as they were perpetually short on money and had an undermanned and underequipped army. Even after the war the states failed to provide Congress with the revenues they requested. This failure left Congress in a constant state of bankruptcy. The states refusal to defer to Congress on foreign policy was equally serious. This made it impossible for the nation to speak with one voice overseas. Due to the governments bankruptcy, the lack of respect from overseas, and their inability to gather

The administration of President George Washington faced a wealth of difficulties at the outset of the 1790’s—many stemming from a not-altogether inaccurate perception the United States federal government lacked the cohesion and capital to ward off threats both abroad (Britain’s rapacity being most worrisome) and on the continent, as hostile Indian tribes continually menaced frontier settlers—particularly in the area of Western Pennsylvania. The national debt rose to fifty-four million dollars by 1791—in part because the federal government assumed the debts of the states incurred during the Revolutionary War—seriously impinging upon the administration’s ability to address domestic concerns as well as establish credible foreign policy and relations. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, being an ardent admirer of the British public

The national government of the United States had many challenges under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles caused money problems and the most essential detail, a weak government. This also caused America conflicts among each of the 13 states. These problems greatly impacted the United States and it’s government as well.