Problems With Articles Of Confederation Essay

Problems with the Articles of Confederation

Essay Option #1

Jeffrey Song

POL 1101 ATRA

Professor Wilby

10/16/17

Only by fighting a revolution could the colonists solve the problem of the tyrannical British. However, after winning the war, the colonists found ruling themselves much more difficult than what they had initially expected. Ratified in 1781, the Articles of Confederation was the first type of governmental structure that unified the colonies. This document was short-lived, only lasting about eight years, because of a multitude of problems. The Articles of Confederation’s primary flaw was the lack of governmental authority. From this, other problems branch out such as economic disorganization and the lack

First, the economy was disheveled; Congress had the power to make and issue currency, but did not prevent the states from distributing their own currencies. The states’ currencies were not backed by the government, which resulted in heavy inflation. These factors made trade difficult between both states and with other countries. Many states chose to tax goods from other states, furthering the lack of economic unity. The problem with this is that each state had its own tax that was not level to that of the other states’ taxes. Currency between each state was not uniform, resulting in unequal amounts of money being exchanged. In addition, Congress did not have the power to tax—British taxes in the past on goods like tea left the colonists with a fear of tariffs. Because the government could not tax, the United States did not have a way to pay off all of its debt, both national, from the war, and foreign. The United States owed a significant amount of money to Europe. Furthermore, lack of funds prevented the government from maintaining a competent military. This was apparent during Shay’s rebellion, protests in 1786 and 1787 by farmers who were enraged about the law

Without the constant fear of reelection that members of other branches, Legislative and Executive, face, supreme court justices are expected to fulfill their duty and minimized corruption. The judicial body was put in place to interpret laws that were not specific. The Articles of Confederation was superficial, and gave all rights to states that were not already specifically given to Congress. Also, the Articles of Confederation did not include an executive branch. At the time, the President was appointed by Congress, and was not given much power. With Article II, Section 2, Clause