Articles of Confederation- DBQ
Between 1781 and 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective government. When drafting the document, the thirteen states were cautious about creating an overly powerful central government because they feared the denial of their individual and state rights. The document was purposely established to bestow greater power in the hands of the states rather than centralization. They formed a committee of delegates compiled of representatives from each of the states. This committee established the national legislature and was referred to as Congress. Under the Articles, Congress was responsible for negotiating foreign policy, declaring war and sustaining an army and navy. Reasons for the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation were Congress' inability to collect taxes, regulate international commerce and negotiation
Congress was unable to control domestic affairs under the Articles of Confederation for the mere reason of the states wanting to uphold their autonomy. The combination of these affected the amount and the market value of the goods being exported (Document B). Other internal affairs, concerning war, treaties and currency called for the consent of nine states for anything to be passed (Document C). Any amendment made to the Articles of Confederation must be ratified by the states. Without Britain's trading capabilities, the United States was unable to make money through exports and foreign trade. This is the first example of the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation as system of government. This is another reason for the Articles of Confederation's inefficiency. It would be almost completely impossible to have agreement between all thirteen states, thus, never creating any room for change. The government held a dependency for state donations in place of taxes. The inability of Congress to collect taxes caused inflation as well as an equal government. During this time, the United States lacked an adequate taxation system. This is the last reason for the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation. This caused little to no fluctuation of commercial growth and much confusion of land ownership. Congress was not granted the power, under the Articles of Confederation, to tax each of the thirteen states.
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