Preview

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Articles of Confederation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1149 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Articles of Confederation
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Articles of Confederation From their landing in the New World in the early 1600s, the British subjects, or colonists, were under the rule of the British King. Some colonies had more power with their own legislatures, but the British King and/or Parliament always had the final rule. Some of the British Kings tended to be more lenient than others, but when the Restoration occurred in 1660, Charles II was restored to power in England and he planned on ruling with a complete monarchy. This would cause further conflict between the colonies and England and eventually in the 1700s, a Revolution. Through this revolution, since the colonies weren't going to be ruled by England, a new, central government had to be drawn up. This new government, however, couldn't be too powerful due to the Americans' fear of tyranny. The Articles of Confederation was the perfect government system for the 11 years that it held America together for. It was too weak, however, to last any longer than that. During the time of Revolution, the Articles of Confederation was the right form of central government for America, but its weaknesses in state control led to its rejection and the creation of the U.S. Constitution because they didn't allow the federal government to control taxation and they were too weak. The Articles of Confederation was satisfying in its' role as the central government in America during the Revolution because it held the states together and it signed the Peace Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation was too weak, however, due to the fact that there was no hard currency and unruly state taxation which caused a group of farmers led by Daniel Shay to rebel against it. This rebellion, deemed Shay's Rebellion, led to the passage of the U.S. Constitution. The Articles of Confederation was the government that allowed the states to finally centralize their government. This Confederation was very
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Stregnths and Weaknesses of the Articles of confederation
    • 900 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Stregnths and Weaknesses of the Articles of confederation

    The years 1781 to 1789, the years known as the "Critical period" were the reign of the Articles of Confederation... were those years a highlight in American history, or a Time that is best to be forgotten? The argument can go either way it really depends on how you look at it. The question is; were the Articles an effective system of government? Well, while something might not be effective it can still be very necessary, and important, to the future the way it is ran (government), In this essay both the weaknesses and the strengths of the Articles of Confederation will be given, you can make up your mind about the effectiveness of it. The way I feel is... The Articles of Confederation, while not entirely successful, were indeed a necessary stepping-stone to today's federalist government.…

    • 900 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Critical Period
    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Critical Period

    The Articles of Confederation was the first set of terms that were adopted for the United States in 1781, however, there were many problems that arose with it. Congress had to get approval from 9 of 13 states before laws could be passed and all 13 states had to have a unanimous vote before any changes could be made to the Articles. Obviously, getting either of these two things done would be virtually impossible. In the Articles, the states were said to have entered a firm league of friendship while in actually, each state was thinking of itself as its own separate nation and doing things to only benefit themselves. These thoughts led to what some call a Dis-United States of America. Even though these two factors, along with many others not mentioned, make the Articles seem as if they were a disaster for the country, they did help to bring about a sense of national unity resulting from the separation with Britain.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How the Articles of Confederation Provided the United States with an Effective Government
    • 905 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How the Articles of Confederation Provided the United States with an Effective Government

    The Articles of Confederation were meant to give the United States a loose, weak central government, making the Articles ineffective. With the Articles of Confederation, the United States was unable to support soldiers due to the inabilities of Congress. The United States was also unable to remove British trading posts from their home soil. The weakest states, who were not influential and least populous, had power over those that were strong and heavily populated. Also, the United States did not financially thrive between the years of 1781-1789. By 1789, citizens of the United States started to become weary because of the weak central government. The United States was unable to flourish and to unite under the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 905 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    "From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement."
    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement."

    The people of early America had many faults and strengths after becoming free from England. They wanted to create a government different from England’s so the Americans could have more rights. To do this, the articles of confederation had no executive branch, congress didn’t have the power to tax directly which made it hard to support their own country, to change a law, it had to be unanimous and to pass a law 2/3 of the colonies had to agree which made it practically impossible to change or make laws and overall the country was just unbalanced. The first official form of government of America, The Articles of Confederation, was one of the disputable topics whether or not it was a good form of government. Evidence that proved the articles was an effective form of government was the spreading of land westward. On the other hand, there were many more ineffective ways the articles didn’t work, like Americas affairs with foreign countries like England and Spain and its economy.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation
    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation

    Throughout these few years, the lack of a central government seemed to be an overwhelming factor when it comes to the effectiveness of this document. A large fault in the Articles is the inability of Congress to create taxes and regulate trade. There is simply no way that a central government can survive without taxes. Also, since the government had no authority over the colonies, they could not force anyone to contribute to the overwhelming war debt caused by the American Revolution. And without their ability to control the colonies, there is no central government. Also, the difficulty to make amendments to the Articles made it almost impossible for anything new to be put into action. With so many different ideals coming from the different parts of the nation, the Articles lacked in that it called for a nine-state majority to make amendments. It seems nearly impractical to try and acquire nine completely different states to agree on one topic, seeing they came from different parts of the country, and thus, making Congress close to nothing. And finally, if the U.S. were to be attacked by Britain again at this time, there would be no way for them to defend themselves, seeing that Congress could only ask states for troops, but could not raise an army. This would have been catastrophic if another country had decided to attack the U.S. for any reason. To sum that up, the inability to create taxes and trade regulations, the difficulty to make amendments, and the inability to rise up an army contributed to the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    DBQ #3: The Articles of Confederation
    • 2437 Words
    • 6 Pages

    DBQ #3: The Articles of Confederation

    Regarding structure, the Articles of Confederation, or simply Articles, were relatively ‘bare-bones’ when compared to the complex constitutions and declarations of government other countries had. It laid out a simple and ultimately primitive government: the power of the government was to lie solely in Congress, a group of delegates from all states. It was to be Congress and only Congress to create laws and run most of the government. This concept did not work well in practice: Congress, the only branch of the government, was weak and unable to bring about policy change for the country. First, all amendments to the Articles required a unanimous vote of all thirteen states - something that was quite rare - and even the simplest of national laws required a two-thirds majority to be established. This became a major issue. As a new country, a lot of issues were going to come forth to Congress, and due to the bureaucratic rules that were in place, it was difficult for a treaty or policy to be approved. Furthermore, the Articles did…

    • 2437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of The Articles Of Confederation
    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of The Articles Of Confederation

    The government was set up under the Articles of Confederation, America’s first constitution. The founders were so afraid of a strong central government that they gave all power to the states, rather than set up an over-seeing national government. The Revolution was fought to get away from an overbearing and unfair ruler, so it is understandable why they wouldn’t want another monarchy to take over. The problem was that the Articles of Confederation gave little to no power at all to their national government, causing distress and non-compliance between the states. The Articles of Confederation denied the government the ability to take care of the states and the union. An influential philosopher at the time, Hobbes, believes that it is the sole purpose of the national government to enforce peace and laws; thus making life, liberty, and the pursuit of property possible. Another influential philosopher at the time, Locke, also believes that a central government is necessary to promote public good, to protect property and promote…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare And Contrast The Connection Between The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution
    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast The Connection Between The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution

    The Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, and the American Constitution all played a major role in American history and shared a connection. The Articles of Confederation were a limited government, established in 1782, that governed the United States and were later replaced by the US Constitution after Shay's Rebellion. The occurrence of the rebellion exposed many of the Articles of Confederations' weaknesses that included its lack of an army, the inability to tax, and the lack of authority. The US Constitution, which was supported by people known as federalists, was considered…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution - Answer to a former DBQ (Document Based Question)for an AP US History class
    • 927 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution - Answer to a former DBQ (Document Based Question)for an AP US History class

    Although the Articles of Confederation provided a working government for the United States, it was not necessarily an effectively working government; an effective government would be one that not only establishes control and authority, but one under which the nation flourishes. Certainly the Articles set down a basic government with the idea of a democratic republic. However, the Articles of Confederation didn't impose an effective government as much as it set the basis for one. It was unable to enforce many laws and many of those set were also unequal in operation, as unfair to some states as fair to others. Thus, from 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation established a working, yet ineffective government, with very little control or authority over foreign relations, the economy, and western lands.…

    • 927 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Critical Period Dbq
    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Critical Period Dbq

    In the United States from 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation was the main form of government. Although the document established a national government, a legislative branch, and land expansion to the west, it still had major weaknesses. There were weaknesses in the social, political, and economical forms of the government. The articles failed to efficiently regulate trade, levy taxes, and predominantly enforce the laws that were written.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation – an Effective Government?
    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Articles of Confederation – an Effective Government?

    The Articles of Confederation were a primitive version of the current Constitution of the United States. Back in the 1700's all thirteen states approved the Articles of Confederation. The Articles served as the only way to keep the states unified. Though they were weak (most people were afraid of having a strong central government) they still helped in modeling the United States Constitution and helped in stabilizing the government. Although this is true, it would be ridiculous to try to prove that the Articles of the Confederation were an effective government, because the Confederation failed to act as an effective government in about every way possible. Most people look for the following characteristics to comprise an efficient government: the power to tax and use taxes, the ability to regulate trade, and the ability to unite its sections under one power. Although there were some strong steps taken in the articles to try and make the United States a better country, The Articles of Confederation lacked most if not all of the characteristics necessary to be an effective government.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation
    • 802 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation

    The Articles of Confederation established exactly that, a confederation - a group of empowered states or communities - and in doing so the federal government lost any semblance of real control over the states. The sovereignty given to each individual state led the rise of local and regional allegiance rather than a national identity, when asked what they were for example Americans would respond: "a Virginian" or "a New Yorker", and the concept of being American was unknown (Johnson). This autonomy was quickly taken advantage of by states large and small especially from an economic standpoint, and not long after the war had ended the states began printing their own currency and setting up walls of tariffs up against each other (Articles). These steps drastically reduced the states' ability to trade amongst themselves and hurt an already economically damaged America, yet the central government…

    • 802 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Explain How Effective Was The National Congress Under The Articles Of Confederation
    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Explain How Effective Was The National Congress Under The Articles Of Confederation

    After the Revolutionary War, originators of the Articles of Confederation had checked that the federal government could never do rob power from the each individual state. The outcome was that the national Congress was very weak and even politically weak which make them not to keep national unity and went almost bankrupt. The specter of rebellion and collapse forced American elites to make a stronger and more centralized government under the Constitution.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The United States: The Articles Of Confederation
    • 237 Words
    • 1 Page

    The United States: The Articles Of Confederation

    The colonists created the Articles of Confederation, which was a plan of government. After it was approved, the new government was into effect, and when the Revolutionary war ended, the 13 colonies were now known as the United States of America. Equal powers were to go to every state, and to be independent of the other states in most ways. Regardless of the amount of people living in each state, every state had one vote in Congress. During the Revolutionary war, the new states struggled to work together, and after the war, most Americans experienced very difficult times. Trade with other countries slowed rapidly, properties have been destroyed, businesses suffered, and that left the country in extreme debt. The residents of the new country…

    • 237 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation
    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page

    Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

    The articles of confederation is just not good for our states. It has so many weaknesses that affect the people living in the states. Examples the government can not force the states to obey its laws so the states can do things the government says is not ok, the states can make its own paper currency in other words they can have there own money, also there is no army or navy so we can not protect ourselves as a country we just regular people have to stand up and fight for ourselves. The articles could be a really good system but the weaknesses overrun the strengths by about 3 to 1. A revise would be really good for our states because things are not looking to well for farmers and people like me.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More