Articles of Confederation: Strengths and Weaknesses

After the American Revolution ended with the treaty of Paris in 1783, the thirteen colonies, previously under control of the crown had won the right to independence and self-government. The Articles of confederation created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states. It sought to address the problems confronting the nation at that time. Due to its lack of existent power, it could not ultimately handle the difficulties. The Articles created a type of government called confederation. Unlike Great Britain’s unitary system of government, wherein all of the powers of the government reside in the national government, the national government in a confederation derives all of its powers directly from the states. Once the British government surrendered in 1781, the new nation fell into chaos soon afterwards due to the failure of the Articles of Confederation. Even though, the Articles of Confederation was relatively successful in dealing with issues relating to expansion, it failed to effectively address the economic and social troubles of the time.

The Articles of Confederation created a very effective way to organize the vast amount of land that now belonged to the new nation. Under the Article of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance of 1789 was made.  The Ordinance established policies for governing the territory and included laws eventually adopted in the Constitution. It outlined the process of gaining statehood in the northwest territories of the United States and the rights that these territories would have when they become states. Further, it also outlawed slavery in the territories.

While the Articles of Confederation found success with the Northwest Ordinance it was too weak too effectively handle many of the economic problems confronting the nation. After the war, the United States found itself in a period of economic stagnation. The crumbling economy was made worse by a series of bad harvests that failed to produce cash crops, thus making it difficult for farmers to get out of debt quickly. A large debt had been incurred but it couldn’t be paid off, because the Articles of Confederation did not have the power to tax the states or resident of those states. Since it could not establish a uniform national currency or regulate interstate commerce, each state had its own currency and disputes between states occurred often. The paper money that had been printed during the war was nearly valueless, so the government had virtually no spending powers. In addition, with British manufactures flooding the market with British goods, the American manufactures were unable to flourish. Also, the government was unable to force the states to abide by the provisions of the second Treaty of Paris. The states repeatedly violated the treaty through their actions with the central government incapable of doing anything about it. Due to these complications, there was mass discontent, which also posed an obstacle that the Article of Confederation could not handle effectively.

The widespread discontent culminated in Shays rebellion. Massachusetts adopted a constitution that appeared to favor the interests of the wealthy. As the economy worsened, the banks foreclosed on the farms of many Massachusetts continental army veterans who were waiting for promised bonuses. Frustration and outrage eventually led Daniel Shay to march to Springfield with 1500 famers and restrain the state court from foreclosing on mortgages. The Articles of Government did not have a chief execute, not did it have the power to call on state militias. Failure of the congress to muster an army to put down the rebellion illustrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. This finally prompted the states to join together to call for a convention in Philadelphia in 1787 for the “sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.”