The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and was an agreement among the 13 states of the United States, formerly the Thirteen Colonies, that served as the nation’s first frame of government. This document served as the United States’ first constitution. The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation became apparent to all as a result of an uprising of Massachusetts farmers known as Shays’ Rebellion. The articles were in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789 when the present-day Constitution went into effect.
The US Government under the Articles of Confederation
The American states evolved from separate colonies, with unique histories and societies. In the years before and during the Revolution, they learned to find common cause with each other, but they hardly saw themselves as a unified nation.
The Articles of Confederation exemplified this mindset. The document created a confederacy, in which states considered themselves independent entities linked together for limited purposes, such as national defense. State governments had the sovereignty to rule within their own territories. The national government had few powers. It could coin money, direct the post office, and negotiate with foreign powers, including Native American tribes. To raise money or soldiers, it could only request that the states provide what was needed.
The national government had only one branch, the Congress of the Confederation, in which each state had one vote. Populous Virginia had no more political power than tiny Delaware. The requirements for passing measures were quite high: nine of the thirteen states had to approve a measure for it to pass. Amending the Articles themselves was even harder: all thirteen had to vote in favor of a change.
Economic problems under the Articles
One of the biggest problems was that the national government had no power to impose taxes. To avoid any perception of “taxation without representation,” the Articles of Confederation allowed only state governments to levy taxes. To pay for its expenses, the national government had to request money from the states. The states, however, were often negligent in this duty, and so the national government was underfunded.
Without money, the US government could not pay debts owed from the Revolution or easily secure new funds. Foreign governments were reluctant to loan money to a nation that might never repay it. The fiscal problems of the central government meant that the currency it issued, called the Continental, was largely worthless.
The country’s economic woes were made worse by the fact that the central government also lacked the power to impose tariffs on foreign imports or regulate interstate commerce. Thus, it couldn’t protect American producers from foreign competitors. Compounding the problem, states often imposed tariffs on items produced by other states and otherwise interfered with their