What did the government look like under articles of confederation?

Answer 1

The national government created under the Articles of Confederation was very weak. in fact, it seemed to resemble a treaty or an organization similar to today's United Nations more than a country.

The individual states retained their sovereignty completely. It was as if they were all their own separate countries. They sent representatives to decide matters of national importance, but there were no elections. These representatives were chosen by the states, usually the legislatures. There was no judicial or executive branch.

The only thing that the national government had the power to do was go to war and conduct foreign affairs, such as entering into treaties. The national government did not have the power to tax-- this was left up to the states, and as a result the government suffered a severe lack of funding.

The articles were written in 1777, but not ratified until 1781, principally because their ratification required the approval of every state. In order to change the articles, every state had to approve of the changes.

Furthermore, individual rights were virtually nonexistent in the Articles of Confederation. The only individual rights that were granted in any way were the freedom to move between the states and the freedom to conduct commerce between the states.

This led to a national government that was weak, inefficient, and nearly impossible to change. Delegates meeting to alter the articles decided ultimately that they were impossible to fix. instead, they scrapped the whole thing and started out anew on a project that would become the Constitution, which was ratified in 1788. The Articles of Confederation had only taken seven years to fail.

Answer 2

Under the Articles of Confederation, America was somewhat like Europe in the early days of the common market. It was basically 13 separate nations, with a way for them to cooperate. Each one had its own taxes. They had tariffs between them. Laws required 12 out of 13 states approval and were very difficult to pass. Finally, the only two men able to change the situation got together and decided to do something about it. They were George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. They convinced the states to have a Constitutional Convention.

Answer 3

The Articles of Confederation emphasized state's rights and created a very weak central government. This government could not tax its people, so it couldn't get the funding to do anything. As a result, the Articles of Confederation were trashed and the Constitution was written.

Answer 4

Congress could not pass laws to collect taxes.