Pros And Cons Of The Flawed Articles Of Confederation
636 Words3 Pages
Emily Zavoral
Kimberly Kuriata
National Government
October 7, 2015
The flawed Articles of Confederation In November 1777, Congress proposed the articles to the state legislatures for the creation of a national government for the United States of America. From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective form of government. They were a model of what a loose Confederation was thought to be. Although they did not last long, the Constitution that shapes America today would have never been formed without first evolving from the flawed Articles of Confederation.
There was many serious weaknesses in the beginning. To begin, under the Articles there was only a unicameral legislature, the government was made up of only one branch, which was Congress and thus was unable to control all of the states. The Confederation was to have sovereignty over foreign and Indian affairs, the currency, the waging of war and the making of peace, the settlement of disputes between the various states, the postal system, and a system of standard weights and measures (Kerson). All of this was too much for Congress to regulate.…show more content… The states refused to give the government the money it needed. As a result of the government having no money, it could not pay off its debts from the revolution. The falling value of bonds and notes used to finance the war also led to dismay. In addition the different states engaged in tariff wars, almost stopping interstate trade. This is linked to another important factor, with congress not having power over foreign or interstate trade. Eventually this led to the different states imposing taxes on goods from other states. A significant problem was that there were no federal courts. Disputes between the states could not be settled and they often refused to recognize or enforce the laws of other