What problems were there under the articles of confederation?

Answer 1

The Articles of Confederation gave all the power to the individual states, and none to the Congress. The Congress could not collect taxes, settle arguments among the states, collect national debts, or even enforce any of its own laws. However, the Thirteen State Governments could print their own money (which caused a lot of confusion because of the unknown values of each state's currency), choose whether or not to collect taxes, and form its own individual militia.

Colonial leaders such as Ben Franklin and George Washington believed that the Articles seperated the country. Ben Franklin created his famous "Join or Die" cartoon for this reason.

Answer 2

Drafted during the years 1776 and 1777, while the colonists were still fighting for independence, the Articles of Confederation created a weak national government with most of the governmental powers retained by the states. The Articles provided no separation of branches. There was no president or any other independent executive, nor was there a federal judicial branch. Congress, the legislature, was the only branch of government. Laws required unanimous votes. Members elected to congress did not vote as individuals, but as states. While congress did have some powers, it could not enforce its laws on the states or the people. States were permitted to coin their own money. There was no regulation of commerce between the states and states could even enter into treaties with foreign nations and declare war, "with the consent of Congress." Congress could not tax the states or the people, it could only request funds to run the government.

Answer 3

The Articles had problems with Currency, Interstate Commerce, Foreign Trade, and Foreign Affairs. The problem with the Currency was that many states printed their own money so the national currency became almost worthless. The problem with Interstate Commerce was states placed tariffs on each others goods which combined with currency problems led to a decline of interstate commerce. The problem with Foreign Trade was that other countries placed tariffs and trade restrictions on United States goods, and the United States were not able to respond. The absence of a strong navy also left United States merchant ships vulnerable to pirates. There were many problems with Foreign Affairs, such as the inability of the national government to raise an army left the US vulnerable. For example, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, was not enforced. As a result, the British continued to occupy forts in the Northwest Territory which were parts of the US. Some weaknesses were that the government was unicameral. There was no executive branch in the government and there was no court system. The national government could not collect taxes, could not raise an army, and could not regulate trade. Other weaknesses were that each state only had one vote no matter how big the state was. The government would need a 2/3 majority to pass legislation and the only way to amend the articles was to have a unanimous vote. Those are the four major problems with the articles of Confederation.

Answer 4

The citizens feared of a strong Centeral Gvoernment. They also feared it might be no better than if they were to have a king or Queen.congress lacked the power to tax directly.

Answer 5

They had problems already on the article itself!

Answer 6

In Massachusetts, many farmers did not have any money. They could not trade their products in other states or countries.

Answer 7

fear of civil war