The articles of confederation was a document created in 1777 and approved by the Second continental congress due to the war of indepence. (The causes of the American Resolution resulted from the American’s refusing to be governed by the Crown after a century without it’s power.) The purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to join the newly created 13 states of America as a “firm league of friendship,” and went into effect a few years later on March 31, 1781, after the states had ratified them.
Under this document every state was granted freedoms, established the role and function of a new national government, and declared their independence from great britain. It’s strengths included the formation of a unicameral legislative body, known as congress, which had the authority to make peace regarding war, foreign relations, treaties, territorial issues among states, as well as simple matters such as coining money and the control of post offices.
Although the government under the articles brought temporary mediation, the ideal of the United States are based on the rights of the individual and the majority rule, rather than divine power-hence the term confederation. This action meant that the states are considered sovereign and were reluctant to give up their newly found freedom to a large government. The states power included the rights to their own militia, printing its own money, a unanimous approval for any editation to the articles, and a nine to thirteen voting ratio for any major laws. These powers allowed the states to feel protected during a time where security was needed, however these specific rights lead to the downfall of the Articles of Confederation.
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A large government, in the eyes of the colonist, alluded to the tyrannical powers of the monarchy, which branched back to Great Britain’s previous role in the United States. To avoid such rule, the lack of a national government seemed to be the main idea. Due to the weakness of the national government, it could not enforce any acts passed by congress. Actually, the government lacked enforcement of any kind, instead leaving the powers to the state and a few rights to Congress. This mistake meant that there was no separation of powers and in the act of liberty, Congress was reduced to lacking powers regarding taxation and regulating foreign and interstate commerce.
Unlike the United States Constitution, The articles of confederation did not provide for the separation of powers, lacking three large branches of government: Judicial, Executive, and Legislative. Without rules coming from these branches it lead to the economic downfall of the united states. As previously stated, congress had no powers to tax which meant that the government could not provide for itself nor could they fund a military, or pay back bondholders. The state’s own need to be independent from each other also created difficult when it came to trade as no one state had similar currency, causing confusion. Trade among other countries also wasn’t possible, as without a central power of government negotiating between the states, it created uncertainty for foreign countries. These legislative and administrative issues stopped the United States from any economic growth in the long run.
