Why Are The Articles Of Confederation Ineffective

311 Words1 Page

Kevin McDonnell Mr. Dickey History HL 1 Period 3 25 October 2015 The Confederation period is often viewed as one of the most pivotal times in American history. Having recently broken off from Great Britain, this young nation needed structure. The Articles of Confederation was the new system of government for the United States and established the nation with a virtually powerless government. The Articles of Confederation was one of the great failures in American political policy during its eight year existence. The Articles left the states loosely connected, and gave the government little to no ability to develop. The Articles constructed a completely ineffective government, and it became apparent fairly quickly that it was simply insufficient.

Show More
Related

  • Unraveling the Failure of the Articles of Confederation

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    The unpredictable failure of the Articles of Confederation to the continental congress was a huge problem. The Articles of Confederation was made so the states would have more power, And limit the powers of the national government. Main contributors for this action was the fear that the national government will gain too much power and overstep its authority.This would have a negative effect on the nation, because tensions will start to rise for the ineffectiveness of this new system of government. A Rebellion best known as Shays rebellion, took place shortly after The adoption of the Articles of Confederation. The states, in which shays rebellion has taken place, were becoming unjust/unfair the way in which the state collected taxes. Since the Articles of Confederation was a complete failure

    Read More

  • Why did the United States dump the Articles of Confederation for the Constitution of 1787?

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Continental Congress, renamed the Confederation Congress after the Articles of Confederation were ratified, was not an ineffectual body. It led the United States through a war against Great Britain, gained independence, negotiated the Treaty of Paris, and set up an unprecedented system of government. Ultimately, however, this government did not solve many of the new nation’s problems. The ruling document of this Congress, the Articles of Confederation, created a government without the power necessary to perform the tasks it was charged with and claimed the states were sovereign nations while depriving them of essential powers.

    Read More

  • Faulty Republicanism of the Articles of Confederation

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Americans after obtaining independence from England needed to establish a form of government. Before the war had ended, the Second Congress of the Confederation called for the drafting of a new government in order to govern this new country, which the Articles of Confederation established. The Articles of Confederation built a government solely based off republican ideals, such as civic virtue, the idea that the states and the people will make sacrifices to the common good in order to benefit everybody. Relying on civic virtue did not pull through as successful for the young country. The Articles of Confederation shone through as successful in organizing and establishing states in the Old Northwest, spreading republican ideals; however, the success of the Articles of Confederation was trumped by its failures. The Articles of Confederation failed to provide a new and young United States with an effective government in its inability to collect tax revenue to pay debts, controlling the mobocratic uprising of upset factions, and dealing with foreign policies; additionally, the failure of the Articles of Confederation revealed the inefficiency and failure of republicanism.

    Read More

  • Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was the nation’s first Constitution. The articles created a loose Confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to the central government. Each state would have one vote in the House of Congress, no matter the size of the population. Members of the one-house Congress, such as Pennsylvania, agreed that the new government should be a unicameral legislature, without an executive branch or a separate judiciary. Under the article, there wasn’t a strong independent executive.

    Read More

  • Articles of Confederation Remedied by The Constitution

    1723 Words  | 4 Pages

    The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.

    Read More

  • Creation of the United States Constitution

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was America’s first constitution. The Articles of Confederation failed to create a strong central government, however. With the demise of the states in sight, the need for a stronger and more structured central government became apparent. An invitation was sent to all thirteen states in February 1787 by the Confederation Congress to resolve the matter. The events that took place over the next several months would create the United States Constitution. Going down in history as a revolutionary form of government, the U.S. Constitution would give life to a country that is still running strong over 200 years later.

    Read More

  • Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution 

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation and its ideas were strong and powerful in bettering the US and its government. However, the realization of its ideas and an improvement of federal government and states representatives were not successful enough. On the other hand, the government under the Constitution was radically different from the one under the Articles of Confederation. United State's economical, political, cultural, and social aspects and statuses changed under the new type of powerful government, with different type of voting, and by the new way of levying taxes. Constitution of the US prevented people from gaining too much power, and it was the greatest success of the US government.

    Read More

  • Comparison Between the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the articles, the national government consisted of a single house of congress. There was no judicial branch of government, only authority to mediate. The government, formed by the articles, was more of a friendship between the states; this government was also very dependent on the states. The Articles of Confederation left great concerns with the people of th...

    Read More

  • Problems with the Articles of Confederation

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was the United States first attempt at creating a democratic government. Instead of giving power to the central government they divided it up among the states (Kelly). This fact left the Articles with many weaknesses that ultimately led it to fail. The lack of a strong central government led to economic disorganization, no central leadership and an ineffective legislative, all which led to its downfall (Brackemyre). Leaving power to the states left the nation in a state of economic disorganization. Without the national government having the power to levy taxes, it was left with the states (Murphy). The legislature only had the right to request taxes, and it was left up to the states how they wanted to raise them, but they oftentimes weren't (Brackemyre). There was also no uniform system of currency which made trade between states difficult. The fact that states instead of Congress regulated trade led to a lack...

    Read More

  • Effectiveness Of The Articles of Confederation

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation were incapable of providing the United States with an effective form of government. The Articles of Confederation presided weakly over the government as it allowed little or no power to tax, control trade, and branches of government were missing. In addition to this, the thirteen states acted as separate nations and the national government had little control over them.

    Read More

  • The Articles Of Confederation And An Effective Government

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    To say that the Articles of Confederation provided the United States of America with an effective government would be quite an over exaggeration. For most people in modern day, an effective government would be one that can govern mass numbers of people and still be politically correct in overruling decisions on matters while keeping the law in mind, yet keeping the benefit of common good front and center. But, the Articles of Confederation were not written in the present day, so these ideals of a competent government were not quite applicable. For most people, an effective government was one that could govern mass numbers of people, still giving the states and the people many rights, while still being able to keep all under control. This would have eliminated any possibility that a federal government could become too strong or resemble a monarchy.

    Read More

  • The Articles of Confederation

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    took place from March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1788. At the time of the American Revolution, the

    Read More

  • Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    rights of the small states against the large states and wished to expand upon the Articles

    Read More

  • Democratic and Undemocratic Aspects of the Constitutional Convention

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. The Articles had created a very weak national government. At the time the Articles were approved, they had served the will of the people. Americans had just fought a war to get freedom from a great national authority--King George III (Patterson 34). But after this government was put to use, it was evident that it was not going to keep peace between the states. The conflicts got so frequent and malicious that George Washington wondered if the “United” States should be called a Union (Patterson 35). Shays’ Rebellion finally made it evident to the public that the government needed a change.

    Read More

More about Why Are The Articles Of Confederation Ineffective

Open Document