Pros And Cons Of The Articles Of Confederation
Although it provided an outline to how future government should be formed, The Articles of Confederation did not provide America with an effective government from 1781 to 1789. Nicknamed “The Articles of Confusion”, The Articles of Confederation lacked stability and the power to truly govern the states. Under the articles there was no executive branch and no way for the federal government to raise money.
In some ways The Articles of Confederation was a dream come true for the states. Small states such as Rhodes Island benefited from the equal number of votes in congress. Also it allowed the states to run themselves with little interference from the central government. In other ways the articles became a nightmare. The Articles of Confederation
lacked an executive branch because of the fear that if this branch became too strong the states would end up with a monarchy.
The Articles of Confederation a weak government for the fast growing American population (Documents D and F) regarding land, tariffs, and navigation laws. Constant land battles between stated over unclaimed western territory showed other land hungry countries how feeble the states really could be. Also the each state had its own laws concerning tariffs and navigation which often clashed with the other state’s laws. AS shown in document A, under the articles the government had no way to raise revenue for such operations as military because it didn’t have the right to tax each state. The government was left to ask each state to give it money raised through individual state taxes in order to raise revenue.
As shown in document E, under this loose government other nations had power of curtail trading posts and territories. The British controlled crucial trading posts along the Mississippi River, which posed as a problem to American merchants. Also each state’s land claims limited the areas that government could sale to raise money to pay troops and debts to other countries (Document C).
The Articles of Confederation laid out a framework to show what exactly what type of government would work best for The United States, but it did not provide for an effective form of government for the states. The loose confederacy gave the states too much leeway and not enough structure. The Articles of Confederation, although unorganized and ineffective, became a stepping stone to the modern day American Constitution.
In some ways The Articles of Confederation was a dream come true for the states. Small states such as Rhodes Island benefited from the equal number of votes in congress. Also it allowed the states to run themselves with little interference from the central government. In other ways the articles became a nightmare. The Articles of Confederation
lacked an executive branch because of the fear that if this branch became too strong the states would end up with a monarchy.
The Articles of Confederation a weak government for the fast growing American population (Documents D and F) regarding land, tariffs, and navigation laws. Constant land battles between stated over unclaimed western territory showed other land hungry countries how feeble the states really could be. Also the each state had its own laws concerning tariffs and navigation which often clashed with the other state’s laws. AS shown in document A, under the articles the government had no way to raise revenue for such operations as military because it didn’t have the right to tax each state. The government was left to ask each state to give it money raised through individual state taxes in order to raise revenue.
As shown in document E, under this loose government other nations had power of curtail trading posts and territories. The British controlled crucial trading posts along the Mississippi River, which posed as a problem to American merchants. Also each state’s land claims limited the areas that government could sale to raise money to pay troops and debts to other countries (Document C).
The Articles of Confederation laid out a framework to show what exactly what type of government would work best for The United States, but it did not provide for an effective form of government for the states. The loose confederacy gave the states too much leeway and not enough structure. The Articles of Confederation, although unorganized and ineffective, became a stepping stone to the modern day American Constitution.