What were the Articles of Confederation and when were they in existence?

Answer 1

The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the united states. There was very little national government, it was mostly the states that controlled themselves. The articles failed because they made it too weak of a government. The government had no power to tax the people or to make new laws. Also each state got one vote in congress, which was not fair to the states with larger populations. Out of the 13 states it took 9 to pass something making it virtually impossible to change anything. Also, they could not make a new government either, they could only change the articles. It was not a very good choice because the government had no money, they still owed (revolutionary) war debts. The only way they profited was selling land out west, or taking voluntary donations from citizens. The articles of confederation was made shortly after the signing of The Treaty of Paris which officially ended the revolutionary war. Later leaders from states came together once they realized the articles were not working.