Cause And Effect Of The Article Of Confederation

The continental congress adopted the article of confederation, the first constitution of the United States, whose purpose was to create a confederation of states. To this effect, the Articles were purposely written to keep the national government as weak as possible. However, there were many problems that soon became apparent as the Articles took effect. A pivotal event in American history, the article of confederation was a cause for the creation of the constitution of America. A document signed amongst the thirteen original colonies that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. Drafted by a committee by the second continental congress on July 22, 1776 then ratified by all 13 states in early 1777. The article went into effect on March 1, 1781 and lasted until March 4, 1789 when they were replaced by the US Constitution. During the time the article created a weak central government that somewhat prevented the individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy. For one the national government could not force the states to obey the laws, since it took the consent of nine of the thirteen states to approve legislation. This meant that blocking a bill took only five of the thirteen states. The five leased Delaware,

Only the states had the authority to impose taxes and raise revenue. Accordingly, Congress had to request for funds from the states. Eventually the states couldn’t raise enough money or given to the national government long after it was due. Without payment from the states, Congress struggled to pay off America’s foreign debts and was incapable of fulfilling its other tasks, such as managing foreign affairs. Not knowing how much and when states were going to pay their share severely handicapped an already-limited national government. The result was a disorganized economy that lacked the ability to pay for