The Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation is the first serious document of the U.S., as it is the first U.S. Constitution. This document was first drafted and adopted in 1777 and then it was ratified in 1781. The Articles of Confederation set the rules for proper operations of the U.S. Confederation, which was capable of negotiating diplomatic agreements, making war, resolving administrative issues concerning the Western territories of the U.S., and many other important issues. Yet, the Articles of Confederation were weak, because to a certain extent they expressed the new nation's fear of the authority and centralized power.

According to the Articles of Confederation there was no separation of powers, because under the Articles of Confederation was a unicameral legislature alone. According to the Articles, there was no executive or judicial branch, and, therefore, there was no coordinating authority and all the disputes were to be settled in the individual state courts. It was also difficult to pass the laws, as, under the Articles of Confederation, 2/3ds supermajority were required to pass a specific law, and unanimous consent of all states was required to make amendments. In addition, there was only one vote per state, irrespectively of the size of the state.

Under the Articles of Confederation the central national government was too weak, because the major part of the power rested with the states. The Congress, therefore, was unable to tax or regulate and control commerce among the states. There was also no power over foreign and interstate commerce. There was no independent source of revenue, because there was no direct authority responsible for taxation. The government of states faced problems of coordination and free-riding. In addition, competition among the American states and almost no control and coordination over trade and commerce put obstacles on the way of the U.S. economy to prosperity.

Finally, there was no common currency, and states were capable of coining their own money and regulating their supply. Due to this fact, the values of national currency could vary from state to state. Under the Articles of Confederation, these weaknesses could have been corrected by amendments, but, as it was already mentioned, it was quite difficult because the unanimous consent of all states was required to make these amendments.

However, soon it was found out that the Articles of Confederation were not very effective, due to the subordinate position of the central national government. The weaknesses of the Articles could lead to further weakening of the central national government, and could pose a threat to the country (both internal and external threats). The Congress, which was fully dependent upon the states because of its execution of decrees and funds, became a legislative-executive body that tried to reconcile the policies of the states. The government commanded almost no respect because it was too weak and it was unable to control and cope with such internal uprisings like Shays' Rebellion in 1786-87 and some other incidents in the 1780s that proved that the Articles of Confederation is unable to serve as efficient Constitution. As it was claimed by G. Washington, the central government was "little more than the shadow without the substance", and the country understood the importance of creating a strong federal government. In result of this, the Annapolis Convention of 1786 was further framed and adopted. Then, when the Federal Constitutional Convention was assembled in 1787, there was decided to abandon the Articles of Confederation and to draft new, more effective constitution. By June 21, 1788 the U.S. Constitution was ratified by nine states and became effective.