The Articles of Confederation gave the US government very little power over very essential things, such as taxation and raising an army. Without the power to impose taxes, the central government had a hard time paying off its debts to other countries and paying its soldiers that fought in the war. It also severely limited the effectiveness of the central government by requiring 9 out of 13 votes for a law to pass while 13 out of 13 had to agree for amending a law. The central government only had one branch, the legislature, that was a unicameral Congress. States were each given one vote, therefore, giving a disproportionate amount of power to smaller states. The central government also could not regulate commerce, resulting in conflicts between the states. The weakness in the central government showed up in other areas as well, for example, in foreign policy. Individual states were given too much power under the Articles, and this led to many problems domestically and internationally for the newly formed United States.
According to Document C, soldiers were complaining about how they have not yet received pay from the government for fighting in the Revolution. Jones goes on to say that those who do understand the process of political decision-making will allow a little more patience for Congress. But, Congress did not have the means to pay back these soldiers. Jones then mentions that if Congress had the abilities of the States, referencing the States' power to levy taxes, it could then have the means to accumulate some money to pay off the soldiers. The unrest and discontent among the soldiers resulted in the Newburgh Conspiracy. It involved high-ranking officers from the Continental Army that were angry at not having received pay from Congress. They were planning to march into the capital and demand pay from Congress. Washington successfully cooled off the conspiracy by appealing to the officers successfully. This conspiracy is an example of how weak the central government of the United States was. Not only could it control its own army, but it could not raise money in any way, shape, or form because it did not have the power to tax. Congress depended on the states for money, and the states never gave Congress the amount they promised them. With reference to Document B, trade with Britain had also decreased significantly after the Revolution. The US lost many benefits of being a colony because now, it had to act as an independent nation when trading with Britain, meaning, it could no longer use British ports in the West Indies for example. This placed additional burden on a government that could not even tax its people. In addition, the Articles gave Congress no power to regulate commerce. This is evidenced in Document A, where Rhode Island rejects a tax by Congress on imports, saying that it would negatively affect Rhode Island's commerce. Congress could not do much about it, since it was not within its power.
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress also showed weakness in foreign policy. It failed to successfully negotiate a treaty with Spain for the use of the Mississippi River, as evidenced in Document F. Under the Jay-Gardoqui Treaty, the US was to give up use of the Mississippi River for 30 years. Spain was not compromising in its negotiations with the United States, preferring to shut out the US for use of the Mississippi permanently. Document D also demonstrates the weakness of the US government in foreign policy. After the Revolutionary War, Britain, still had many posts and forts within the US that they did not want or plan to give up. Document D states how these British outposts restrict the US's trading capacity. A primary argument by the United States was that there will be many financial "...losses which many of our and also [British] merchants will sustain if the former be unseasonably and immoderately pressed for the payment of debts contracted before the war." Even so, the US had a hard time
To Amend or Not to Amend The Articles of Confederation is the first governing mechanism devised for the United States. As the precedent, many Americans, especially the Foundering Fathers, knew that it had many weaknesses, but that’s precisely what they intended: a Confederacy. Out of fear of replicating another British monarchy, the colonists attempted to construct an extremely weak government and avoid concentrating powers in the hands of a few individuals. However to assess the effectiveness…
Marianna Lucich Mr. Verde SUPA US History 27 October 2014 The Articles of Confederation is an agreement between the thirteen original states; it provided a slacking federal government before the current Constitution went into effect. The Articles of Confederation was created to find a solution to common problem. It was the first official government of the United States, it had many weaknesses . One of the main weaknesses was the failure to regulate trade (Class Notes). The states would…
Articles of Confederation A. National government weak with little real authoriity. 1. Executive selected by members of Congress, one year term, only a figurehead with no real power. 2. No judiciary. 3. Congress given broad powers; set quotas for men and money which could be asked for from the states; make commercial and other Treaties; conduct war and foreign affairs, including negotiation with Indians; manage public lands in the west, limit state boundaries, and admit new states; borrow money…
Articles of Confederation Well with these things about between Hamilton and Jefferson took off as a good competition on the debate between the Federalists and the Antifederalists. When it came to these two people during this time, they were arguing over the laws and rules for the health benefits of each state. First for Hamilton, he had really thought that the central government acting’s would be interested in the commerce and the industries. The only thing is that Hamilton had really brought the…
Although the Articles of Confederation were the building blocks of America, it had many downfalls such as the failure to impose taxes, having the control over the interstate commerce, and amending documents. These faults needed to be changed as soon as possible to make create a better government, also giving some rights to the people and being able to control the trade between states. The Articles of Confederation had many faults and one of the main ones was levying taxes. The congress could request…
The Articles of Confederation was a work of art for that time period, a genius idea. It was a great starting point for the United States history. It helped shape this country to what it is now. Without it, the American government today would not be the same. Without it, the Constitution would not have been created in its perfect entirety. Life without either of these documents would be dramatically different for every single American citizen. Heck, there probably would not even be a United States…
There are nine major factors that Articles of Confederation changed to the U.S. Constitution. Although the change created a weak central government, a unicameral, no executive branch and no federal court system it achieved peace treaty with Great Britain, develop territories for statehood and made department that became president’s cabinet. There were two major groups at that time: federalists and antifederalists. Federalists were loose constructionists and wealthy merchants who supported the constitution…
Washington (Links to an external site.), and Letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison (Links to an external site.), all from the Harcourt Web site. You are a resident of the new country who is interested in the debate about the future of the Articles of Confederation. Write a letter to George Washington (you do consider him the father of the nation, after all) that explains your position on the matter. Make sure your letter discusses recent positive and negative events before moving on to a clear statement…
Andrew Marich Dr. Hosmer/Mika AP US History 10 August 2014 Articles of Confederation – Essay From 1777 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government – though it was essential to the creation of the Constitution – that simply did not resolve the economic issues being faced post-Revolution. Two challenges the nations faced under the Articles were the inability of Congress to levy taxes as well as the lack of power to regulate commerce. These two…
Laura Noble U.S. History Essay A Stronger Government for a New Country The Articles of Confederation were successful in unifying the independent colonies during the American Revolution but did not adequately provide a strong central government, so were therefore nearly completely replaced by the Constitution, which more specifically outlined powers of the government. The weak and ineffective Articles resulted in the Constitutional Convention meeting in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787 to create a new…