Articles of Confederation Essay

Steven Arose
U.S History Honors I
Articles of Confederation Essay

From the years 1781 to 1789, the United States of America were governed under a document known as the Articles of Confederation. Prior to the ratification of today’s United States Constitution, this paper was the layout for the federal government that united the separate thirteen colonies in their movement for independence from Britain. It was put to the test as an effective form of command by a number of problems and events that arose shortly after America gained independence from its mother country. The signing of the Treaty of Paris granted the states new land and a new position in the world as a nation. Various ordinances came about in the mid 1780s to address westward expansion. A group of people known as Nationalists saw the need for a stronger central government, but the separate states and higher classes of American society resented this idea, for fear that their natural rights would be denied. Yeomen farmers were seen as the ideal citizens in the new republic nation that America was trying to forge, however they found themselves facing severe economic pressure. States were raising taxes, their paper money was becoming worthless, and Congress had yet to repay the common people for their service in the Continental Army. Tensions between these lower classed citizens and the gentry erupted in Shays’s Rebellion, which can be seen as the ultimate factor for inspiring change in the American government. Previously, the tedious amending process had made alterations much too difficult to create. In the time that the Articles of Confederation were active, they proved to be an effective form of government in handling western lands, but were substantially less ideal in managing America’s foreign relations.

The Articles of Confederation were most successful in dealing with westward expansion due to the effectiveness of the Ordinances that were drafted under it and the benefits it brought to the struggling American nation. Prior to this point in time, Americans on the western frontier were not properly represented in government. State officials saw them as little more than savages, and violent disputes broke out, such as the ones in Carolinas in the late 1760s. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was able to convince the states to give up their new western land during a time period in which land was invaluable. Thomas Jefferson drafted an Ordinance in 1784 that inspired the Land Ordinance of 1785. The edicts defined in this writing gave order and regulation to the settling of the western lands, which was a direct improvement to the chaotic and frantic claiming of property that predated the ordinance. Additionally, it prevented a handful of speculators from acquiring unfair amounts of land. The uncooperative nature of western settlers risked undermining this well though-out plan, but another ordinance, The Northwest Ordinance, was also created under the Articles of Confederation and it solved this crisis by promising settlers of new territories a bill of rights. This bill prevented new states from ever having to endure slavery. Moreover, the manner in which Westward expansion was handled can also be attributed to improving America’s struggling economy at the time. The revenue created by the lands sold went directly to congress, who could not earn money through taxes. In one case, Congress was able to pay back a large number of loan tickets that they had issued to revolutionary war soldiers through a land-selling transaction. Overall, it seems that the Articles of Confederation were more than sufficient in dealing with westward settling. On the other end of the spectrum, the Articles can be described as very weak in the field of foreign relations due to their various failures in conducting relationships between America and the other countries of the world. Flaws in the Articles caused America to have a very weak economy; Congress had to request that states give them money, and could not impose taxes. As such, America had no way to pay off the debts that it had incurred fighting the war. Part of the Treaty of Paris had America agreeing to repay their deficit to British Merchants, but without the ability to generate revenue through taxes the Articles of Confederation inadvertently forced America to break the terms of the treaty. In retaliation to this, Britain refused to remove some of its troops from their western forts. The Articles of Confederation led to both diplomatic and military failure when it came to solving this new predicament. The states under the Articles seemed so loosely connected that Britain did not even acknowledge them as a nation; when a representative went to England to resolve the problem, he was asked whether he represented a single country or thirteen separate ones. Congress could not draft soldiers under the Articles, so they had no standing armed force to drive the Redcoats out. Further embarrassment ensued when Spain disagreed with America’s southern border and closed the lower Mississippi River to Americans. Negotiations initially failed, and when a compromise was struck, it proved to be such an offense to southern states that it ultimately had to be canceled. Evidence, such as this, shows that the Articles of Confederation were not sufficient for handling foreign relations. While historians generally agree that the Articles were only successful regarding western lands, and that they were unfit for foreign relations, neither case is entirely true. A number of problems arose in the western lands that the Articles of Confederation did not address, and foreign relations did have a small number of triumphs. Despite regulating the land north of the Ohio River, congress paid almost no attention to the land south of it. There was no control over the settlers flooding through the Cumberland Gap into the part of Virginia known as Kentucky. Speculators apparently purchased large amounts of land from the Native Americans residing there, and were planning on selling it to make money for themselves rather than the nation. One group of speculators tried to form the state of Transylvania, and failed. Another group tried to carve the state of Franklin out of present day Tennessee, which was actually owned by North Carolina. Rival companies prevented them reaching statehood, and a whole number of legal battles ensued for years to come. Foreign relations went very poorly after the end of the revolutionary war, but during the war they proved very effective. Benjamin Franklin was able to convince France to form an alliance with the United States while it was under the Articles of Confederation. This was a notable success, as the French proved vital in America’s final victory at Yorktown. Furthermore, the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris also took place during the time of the Articles. This Treaty was ultimately beneficial for Americans, as it gave them the entire western frontier to settle. This being said, it is clear that no aspect of the Articles of Confederation is either a unanimous success or a complete and utter failure.

In their entirety, the Articles of Confederation met varying levels of success in governing the fledgling America. The conditions that they created, such as Congress being unable to tax the states or draft soldiers, gave the Articles weak foundations to successfully rule America, especially in a time of so many problems. The government needed to coincide with the ideals of Republicanism but still maintain control. It was a tough balance between liberty and order, one that proved troublesome in some cases. With these circumstances in mind, America was quite successful in dealing with its western lands under the Articles of Confederation; congress not only convinced the states to give them land, but they generated revenue off of it and bought order to a majority of it in addition to providing the settlers with liberty. The Articles’ ineptitudes did prove to be too much when it came to foreign relations, since America was unable to hold up its own end of a treaty that essentially catered to American desires, and the country could not negotiate with Spain. The Articles of Confederation showed their capability in the Western Lands, and made readily apparent their weaknesses in foreign relationships.