The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States that served as the first constitution. The Articles had first been introduced by Richard Henry Lee in the Second Continental Congress. Although the Articles of Confederation has made its contributions throughout history, the Articles, however, did not last very long and had been proven inadequate from the very start. I agree with this statement based on the examples and analysis of the Constitution I will soon provide. The Articles of Confederation were written during a time when the American people feared a strong national government. Since the United States was relatively a new nation, it needed some form of organization to hold the states together and keep its government and society stable to build a stronger economy (Knoedl, 2003). The first and foremost inherited weakness of the Articles came from the fact that it replaced sovereign power in the hands of the states. This started after the American Revolution, when the American people feared that the colonists would form a new government that could function similarly to King George III’s monarchy after having dealt with the British Crown for years. Since then these states would start creating their own set of rules and laws and because of some states, creating their own constitutions and each state can rule itself, it gave more power to them than the actual Federal Government. For example, states began printing their
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which are commonly known simply as the Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the United States. Created in 1777 and ratified in 1781, it was an agreement between the thirteen original states that created a structure on how the new country would be governed and gave it a chance to achieve full-fledged independence. The Articles of Confederation definitely wasn’t perfect — in fact,
it had a lot of flaws — but it established guidelines that helped the nation rise up on its feet. A lot of people don’t really think highly of the Articles of Confederation because they were wrought with flaws. But it’s important to point out that the agreement had noble goals (although it didn’t achieve all of them). Here are some of the strengths of the Articles of Confederation:Articles of Confederation Strengths
1. It allowed the country to have some form of
government.
When the American colonies became free from the British Empire, the people didn’t have anyone to govern them and ensure the country stays on a smooth and stable course. The Articles of Confederation solved this for them by putting the Congress in power and giving it the authority to make the best possible decisions for the new nation.
2. It promoted trade and travel.
Freedom of movement wasn’t always possible when America was under the control
of the British. This changed, though, when the Articles of Confederation was put into place. People (except for criminals) were allowed to travel throughout the 13 states to travel and/or trade with other people, giving them the chance to seek a better life for themselves.
3. It gave the U.S. a place in the world.
The Articles of Confederation was a formal declaration of independence that other countries couldn’t possibly ignore. It forced other nations to see the
U.S. as a country that could stand on its own and even as a reliable trading partner.
Articles of Confederation Weaknesses
As mentioned above, many historians and scholars look down on the Articles of Confederation because it came with several weaknesses. For them, the fact that the Articles was replaced with another constitution was enough proof that it was not as strong and useful as it should have been. Some of its flaws include the following:
1. It didn’t have a tax base.
The Articles of Confederation didn’t give the Congress the power to collect taxes. The government had to request individual states to submit taxes, but the citizens ignored the requests mainly because they were not strictly enforced. As a result, the country had no money to repay its debts (both on a state and national level) and no
funds to support the growth of the nation.
2. It didn’t promote a good military program.
Instead of unifying the country’s military forces, the Articles of Confederation allowed each state to have its own militia. As a result, soldiers didn’t receive enough training and weren’t given the supplies and equipment they needed to do a good job.
The Articles of Confederation had a few strengths. Unfortunately, its weakness left it unable to achieve its goals and protect the newly formed United States, which was why it had to be replaced with a stronger and more dependable constitution.
May 6, 2016