Weakness in the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, active from March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1788 was the first constitution established in the New World. The articles were drafted by the British colonists in order to help unify the 13 colonies under a common government. This document expressed the form of government the early Americans used until June 21, 1788 when the present constitution was drafted. The articles came out of a need for the colonies to unite after being freed from British rule, and in this need, the articles were effective in putting into words the colonists' desire to establish a centralized government. Unfortunately, through the colonists' desires to establish a centralized government that was nothing like that of the government imposed on them in England by the King, a central government without sufficient power to govern effectively was created. Along with this major weakness, many other weaknesses followed. The government's lack of power rendered it unable to regulate trade and levy taxes to the colonies. Finally, a unanimous approval was required to pass laws, leaving the ability to change or to pass laws at the mercy of one state when all twelve other states agreed.First of all, the governments inability to
Because of this, each state had to defend itself. Finally, the requirements of a unanimous vote to change or pass laws, and a majority to make decisions that have to do with the welfare of all 13 colonies, collectively, was a major weakness of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation had many flaws that kept this constitution from unifying a large amount of people under certain ideals and tenets. ElmoreOctober 11, 1999AP Paper #1 . However, the number "9" ran into some problems. As a result, interstate commerce almost completely diminished as tax inflation became too high for trade to flourish. Tariff wars resulted when one state would raise its taxes after getting mad at other states for having high taxes on goods. Consequently, several attempts to change the Articles prior to the adoption of the Constitution had been hampered by one state's refusal to ratify. Each time a new state was admitted into the union, approval of decisions would require the approval of more than just nine states. There was not a set tax on certain goods; taxes on the same goods were different in every state. Trade became very tough and risky because the value of dollars fluctuated exponentially with the increase in tax. The colonists, anxious to form a new government but wanting to get away from the kind of government that favored a strong centralization of power, created such as weak central government that it created more problems than it solved. Government- 4th period Submitted to Mr. The Spanish similarly encroached unobstructed on the southern borders of the United States because there was not a single, unified effort brought together by the centralized government.
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