Preview

What Is The Purpose Of The Articles Of Confederation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
761 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is The Purpose Of The Articles Of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, a document ratified in 1781, established the functions of a nation government for the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. The document was based on the principles fought for in the American Revolutionary War. It was signed between the thirteen original colonies and established them all as an alliance of sovereign states. The document served as the first constitution of the United States. A committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress in 1776 drafted the Articles, and an improved version of the documents was sent to all states for approval in the later months of 1777. All states had formally ratified the document in early 1781. The Articles of Confederation met an important …show more content…
The Treaty of Paris formally accepted independence among the thirteen American colonies and set the borders of the new nation at the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Mississippi River in the west, and Florida in the south, and Canada in the north. The treaty, negotiated between Great Britain and the United States, ended the revolutionary war and was finally ratified in 1784. The Articles had helped to negotiate this the Treaty of Paris, as well as it did for the Northwest Ordinance. Along with negotiation, the Articles had produced two monumental pieces of legislature for the Northwest Ordinance. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was seen as a revision of the Land Ordinance of 1784. The Land Ordinance enforced the process by which all new lands were to be divided into states and the qualifications of new states to enter into Congress. Three years later, with the Northwest Ordinance, some of the qualifications were altered and it was specifically states that a certain amount of land were to be reserved for public education, and that territory north of the Ohio River prohibited …show more content…
The document was faced with many issues, most of them relating to Congress. Among these issues was the lack of Congress to tax or create laws without the agreement of most to all states. There was no execute branch to enforce any of the laws that had been passed by Congress, and Congress could regulate neither foreign nor interstate trade. Nine of the thirteen states must have had to agree to the passing of a new law, and thirteen of the thirteen states must have agreed to the making of an amendment. One of the more concerning issues was that the states had so much power yet only a league of friendship, with no leader in charge and no state superior to another. The Articles began to be viewed as weak and although a weak government was requested to avoid tyranny, this governmental structure would not last forever due to all the complications that came along with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    At Philadelphia in 1778, John Dickinson drafted the first constitution for the United States as a nation. The Articles of Confederation was adopted by Congress in 1777 and submitted to the states for ratification. When Virginia and New York agreed to give up their claims to western lands, the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified in March 1781. The Articles established a central government that consisted of just one body, a congress. In this unicameral nation, the power given to states had greater power than the Federal power. Under the Articles of Confederation America was a weak nation without unity, which caused many problems to arise.…

    • 799 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    constitution. They were an intermediary between initial government with the Continental Congress of the Revolutionary period and the federal government under the U.S. Constitution of 1787. The Articles were written in 1776–77 but were not fully ratified by the states until March 1, 1781. The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to “regulate foreign affairs, war, and the postal service and to appoint military officers, control Indian affairs, borrow money, determine the value of coin, and issue bills of credit” (Britannica School). However, they did not give Congress any power to request and enforce its requests for money or troops from the states, and thus the Articles became ineffective by the end of 1786 (Britannica…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1781, the newly independent states in America developed the first written constitution in the United States, known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation served as the written law in the United States. The Articles of Confederation grouped the individual states with a weak central government to be sure the government of the United States would not be similar to that of Britain. This document took Americans through the American Revolution successfully, but…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation was the first American constitution completed by the Continental Congress in 1777. The Articles of Confederation created a “firm league of friendship” between all 13 states. Each state agreed to send delegates to the Confederation Congress where each state will cast one vote in Congress. Under the Articles Congress had no possession over trade or passing laws regarding taxes. However, Congress can declare war, appoint military officers, coin money, and foreign affairs. Unfortunately, there were some downsides to the Articles of Confederation that people from all 13 states did not agree with or argued about it such things as alliance, passing laws, courts, money, and trade. (Davidson, 189)…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederations were one of the first founded documents of the 1780’s. It had some very important weaknesses when wanted to start a new government. There are three main weaknesses that were apart of the national government. Which is the new government they are trying to create. The three are one, had no power to tax two, could not force laws three, could not maintain a standing army.…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Articles of Confederation was approved in 1781. At that time was a loose confederation of states. The nation was less together each state was running like independent countries instead of being one whole nation. In that time the national government was small, it was only comprised of one single legislature. In the Congress of Confederation, there was no president, and there was no judicial branch. The Articles of Confederation gave power to the Congress to conduct war, regulate currency, and govern foreign affairs. However, in reality these power…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    By late 1786, it was clear to the states that the Articles of Confederation could no longer provide for an adequate government, an essential function to promote the prosperity of the fledgling country. To fix this problem, delegates from all states except Rhode Island congregated in Philadelphia in an attempt to revise the Articles of Confederation. During the convention, the delegates had a variety of views on how the government should function, which led to lengthy and, at times, acrimonious debates. In the end, however, some kind of compromise would always be reached; then another issue would be brought about and the whole cycle repeats over and over again. Sleepless nights and smoke filled rooms followed one after another. Little did the…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Articles of Confederation were developed in 1781 and were established as a first constitution of United States of America. Under these articles, the states remained self-governed and independent. Congress only stepped in as the last resort on appeal…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    After the Declaration of Independence was adopted, the government began creating and approving a written plan of government for the new confederation. It took five years, as delegates and states sought agreement on fundamental principles, but the Articles of Confederation were created. The Articles of Confederation are a written document defining the structure of the government from 1781 to 1788 under which the union was a confederation of equal states, with no executive and limited powers, existing mainly to foster a common defense. Much like the existing Continental Congress, there was no national executive and no judiciary. To approve or amend the Articles, the vote had to be a unanimous consent from both of the thirteen state delegates and the thirteen state legislatures.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution cost us a lot of money and since Congress couldn’t impose taxes on the states they didn’t have the means to pay back the loans they accumulated during the war. Another weakness in the Articles of Confederation was Congress did not have the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. Due to this states became divided from one another. This lead to competition for trade between the states. Despite its limited power, the Articles of Confederation have recorded some major achievements. Maybe the most important success was the formation of policies that helped develop the western land. This was possible thanks to the Treaty of Paris, Northwest Ordinance, and the Land Ordinance of 1785. For the Treaty of Paris, Britain had to surrender control of the region known as the Northwest Territory. No other government has ever been able to take this large territory that stretched from the Appalachian Mountains west to the Ohio and Mississippi River. In order to regulate these new western lands the Northwest Ordinance was formed. This declared that the region would be divided into three to five territories. Lastly the Land Ordinance of 1785 was created to setup a system of surveying and dividing land into new territories. After surveying, the land would be divided into 36 square mile townships.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After many long and hard years of constant fighting, turmoil, and endless bloodshed, the thirteen colonies finally separated itself from England. The country of America now had a new problem at hand, setting up an effective government that would be much better than the oppressive rule of the British. The first step, of course, is setting up a constitution. The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781, was the first constitution of America. The Articles of Confederation was strong in that it gave the central government the powers to conduct foreign affairs, regulate western lands, and set up departments. This constitution was weak in that the central government was unable to impose taxes, control international trade, or enforce laws, and it was difficult to pass any law. Even though the Articles of Confederation had its strengths and weaknesses, its weaknesses outweighed its strengths rendering the document useless in governing the new country.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This led to arguments between the states and government, which led to their refusal of financial support from the government. Each state printed its own money, therefore the economy was unstable. When rebellions broke out, the national government was unable to combine forces to put down the rebellion. The government also could not regulate trade between the states and other countries, leading to issues with foreign policy. Because of all these issues, a stronger set of laws was needed.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    government. The Articles were created to ensure “ a firm league of friendship in which each…

    • 1152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays