Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were drafted by John Dickerson in 1776 and were submitted to the states for ratification in November 1777. The Articles were not ratified until March of 1781, since it was required that all states ratify the document. Many states had problems with the Articles and through several compromises, the document was made to suit all the states. Although the Articles provided the United States with an adequate form of government, there were many weaknesses in the document that needed to be fixed.In many ways, the Articles of Confederation were an effective form of government for the United States. The Articles set up a legislature where every state was equally represented. This pleased all the states, because the bigger states didn't have the power to outvote the demands of smaller states. In addition, there was no President or King, so no one person had too much power. Due to the strong dislike of a single, power leader from the US's experiences with England, it was in the best interests of the people to not appoint one powerful leader. Furthermore, the Articles did not give the government the power to individually tax the states, so each state would not be taxed without representation. If the stat
This unfavorable balance of trade pushed the US further into debt and worsened the economy. In addition, inflation hit the country and the economy and entire nation fell toward bankruptcy. The United States were importing a large amount of goods from Britain, but were not exporting as much as they used to. The land held by the British was very important to the US merchants, and it was vital that the land be obtained. This was a terrible blow to US merchants, because it was vital for them to transport goods along the Mississippi river. Due to the lack of taxation and governmental funding, the country fell deep into debt and US currency became practically worthless. The Articles didn't solve this problem however and once the Articles were written, the territories were still under British control. es decided to tax, the people from the state would pay taxes that would go toward the national government and help pay off national debt. In addition, the government placed no regulations on interstate commerce. A strong central government with a President was ultimately necessary to unite the country and bring the US out of debt. In addition, it was a weakness that the Articles didn't call for a President to be elected. Each state had its own set of laws, currency, and court system. Throughout the US, a great deal of people were happy with the Articles of Confederation and the way in which the country was run under the articles (doc H). Another important strength of the Articles of Confederation was that Americans could now trade directly with the Continental powers and didn't have to worry about what was in the best interest of Great Britain. Although the Articles of Confederation made a lot of people happy and had several strengths, there were also an immense amount of weaknesses in the document.
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