Articles+of+Confederation


 * INTRODUCTION**

After the Revolutionary War, independence was near for the colonies of America, but they had many problems. Establishing a new government was the biggest of these problems. Representatives met at the state house in Philadelphia knowing that they needed a stable form of government that satisfied all of the states, and didn't give too much power too the Federal government. To attempt to fulfill these needs, and satisfy the states, they wrote the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation were made to be our country's written constitution, which would be the first written constitution in the history of the world. You may be wondering "Why don't we have the Articles of Confederation today?" Today we have the Constitution because the Articles failed to set up a central government that was strong enough to support the United States.

You can view the Articles of Confederation [|here.]

For more information you can click [|here], for a great link on the Articles of Confederation.


 * PROBLEMS WITH THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION**

1) The federal government couldn't coin money or regulate its value. 2) This form of government was good during times of war but ineffective during times of peace. 3) The federal government couldn't control trade between states. 4) The federal government didn't have the right to settle arguments between states. 5) The federal government couldn't directly tax the states.


 * POWERS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION**

The federal government had the power to: 1) Ask states for money to support the central government. 2) Declare war, make peace, and raise an army and navy. 3) Establish relationships with foreign countries. 4) Arrange for mail service. 5) Manage relationships with Indians. 6) Borrow money to pay government expenses. 7) Help states settle disputes.


 * CONCLUSION**

The Articles of Confederation were, overall, a very unstable form of government. They were good guidelines during times of war, but after America became a free nation, they needed a more stable form of government. The government couldn't have any common money system, making it hard to control trade and stop quarrels between the states. They also could not tax the states, so the government didn't have very much money. For all these reasons the U.S. leaders met together to amend, or change, the Articles of Confederation. They ended up deciding the Articles needed to be completely discarded and ended up working on the Constitution. The meeting became known as the Constitutional Convention.