To What Extent Were the Articles of Confederation Effective
Coming out of the war the new nation had a number of issues to attend to. While under the Articles of Confederation the government addressed these issues the best it could. Unfortunately some issues were not addressed as well as others. Although the Articles of Confederation were able to sign a treaty with England through the Treaty of Paris, ending the war, and was able to settle disputes for the settlement of western lands between the states, the Articles of Confederation failed to create an efficient way to settle the national debt, and were unable to effectively solve the problem of piracy. Thus, to a lesser extent, the government, under the Articles of Confederation, were effective in solving the problems that confronted the new nation. When the Treaty of Paris was signed America gained a lot of land up to the Mississippi River. In return America had to refrain from harming the loyalists that were still present in the new nation. In addition any land confiscated from the loyalists had to be given back. Some Americans were not ready to pardon the fact that some people favored the king and most land was not given back. Shockingly enough, Britain didn’t speak up when America wasn’t holding up to its conditions. This is what made the Treaty of Paris seem like a big win for America. Before the Treaty of Paris states were already setting their sights on western land so now that America was in possession of it everyone wanted a piece. Some states made claim to the same land claiming it was a part of their charters. States that were not bound by other states wanted to send their borders straight to the Mississippi River, so states that were landlocked made claims that they purchased the land from the Indians. The government was able to have the states with territorial claims surrender them to the government, with a promise that the lands would be settled and formed into distinct republican states. By 1785 the Land Ordinance of 1785 was passed and it established a