What weaknesses did delegates at the constitutional convention see in the articles of confederation?

Answer 1

As the original governing document of the United States of America, the Articles of Confederation had a number of strengths yet, perhaps, an even greater number of weaknesses. Foremost among these weaknesses were the following: Congress had no power of taxation, no executive branch of government existed, and no judicial system was formally established by it.

Answer 2

the Articles of Confederation was the United States' first constitution. its weaknesses included: having one legislature, not having the ability to tax, having a weak central government, needing a unanimous approval from the states for amendments to occur, not having the ability to enforce laws, not having the ability to create laws unless 9/13 states approved them, not having the ability to regulate commerce, not having a national court system, only having 1 vote per state regardless of its size, not being able to raise a National army or navy, lacking a strong a steady leader in congress, not having an executive or Judicial branch, letting states issue their own money, allowing the states to put tariffs on each other, and not being able to place tariffs on other countries.

Answer 3

The articles gave the government no separation of powers.

The government was too weak, as the Articles left much of the power to the states.

Congress didn't have the power to tax.

Congress couldn't regulate commerce between the states.

To change the Articles, it had to be decided unanimously by all states.

Also, 9 out of the 13 states had to approve any major law before it was passed, so that even the normal business of running a government was difficult.

There was no president to lead, no established court system, and every state had only one vote in congress.

Attempting to limit the power of the central government, the Second Continental Congress created one without sufficient power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. The greatest weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation was its inability to regulate trade and levy taxes.

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Paper money is what brought down the Confederation. Congress printed money to the point of completely destroying the currency. From this act came the phrase "not worth a continental".

The truth is that because fiat currencies were allowed to exist, eventually the currency was ruined. There were many Federalists who were dissatisfied with the Articles of Confederation, as they did not result in a strong centralized government. Alexander Hamilton was chief among them.

The collapsing currency created a chance for the Federalists to create a style of government that they supported much more. The debates between the Anti-federalists and the Federalists were still continuing. Thomas Jefferson even went as far as to remove himself from the signing of the Constitution.

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The Articles of Confederation, the first official government of the United States had many serious weaknesses.

1) Under the Articles there was only a unicameral legislature (meaning only one legislative branch) so that there was no separation of powers.

2) The central government under the Articles was too weak since the majority of the power rested with the states.

3) Congress, under the Articles, did not have the power to tax which meant that they could never put their finances in order.

4) In order to change or amend the Articles, unanimous approval of the states was required which essentially meant that changes to the Articles were impossible.

5) For any major laws to pass they had to be approved by 9 or the 13 states which proved difficult to do so that even the normal business of running a government was difficult.

6) Under the Articles, Congress did not have the power to regulate commerce which will cause competition between states as well as diplomatic issues.

7)Judicial proceedings in one state must be honored by other states and only Congress can mediate disputes between states.

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The Weakness in the Articles of Confederation:

The Articles of Confederation gave too much power to the states and not enough to the central government. The central government wasn't able to pass laws or taxes if all the states did not approve. There was no president or federal judiciary. Essentially, the colonies could not operate effectively as a nation.

The Articles gave most of the power to the individual states. Most feared that their authority would be taken away by a strong federal government. The "anti-Federalists" (led by Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and James Monroe) believed that a central government should be strictly limited in its role.

One of the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was that it lacked a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was one thing that most delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 could agree on. We needed to have rights and freedoms and liberty because those were the principles that this country was founded on. We were being treated unfairly and unjustly by the British and when we became independent from them we needed a Bill of Rights to make sure that nobody could rule us like the British did ever again. Also, the Articles of Confederation did not have a strong central government that could make decisions on behalf of all of the states. That is why the states were treating each other like foreign countries. These two examples are just a couple of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
goverment has no power to tax, goverment has no power to regulate trade, and they cant give states too much power

Answer 4

The government had only one branch