Copy of Articles of Confederati

The Articles of Confederation formed the first governing system of the United States of America, which linked the states during the turbulent years of the American Revolution. Under the Articles of Confederation, which linked the states in a ‘loose league of friendship,’ the central government had no power to tax or to compel individual states to abide by its decisions.

Image of the title page of the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation. Image credit: Library of Congress

After the Revolutionary War, a series of problems, including economic problems, disputes between states, and an armed rebellion, made it clear that the United States needed a stronger central government to address its challenges.

Key terms Term Definition The first government system of the United States, which lasted from 1776 until 1789. The Articles placed most power in the hands of state governments. Articles of Government under the Articles lacked an executive or Confederation a judicial branch. The central government under the Articles of Confederation, composed of delegates chosen by state governments. Each state had one vote in the Congress, regardless of its population. The Congress had difficulty legislating as the Articles required nine of the thirteen states to vote to approve any measure, and a Confederation unanimous vote in order to amend the Articles Congress themselves. An uprising of Revolutionary War veterans in Massachusetts, who had not been paid for their military service as the federal government lacked the power to raise funds through taxation. Led by veteran Daniel Shays, the rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the federal government under the Articles, as it could Shays’s neither raise the money to pay the veterans nor raise an Rebellion army to put down the uprising.

Problems of the Articles of Confederation Problem Consequence The states rarely contributed money, The national government could meaning the national government not tax citizens directly, only could not pay its debts or fund request money from the states. initiatives. The national government could not The national government could stop states from undermining it by not regulate international or making their own trade agreements interstate trade. with foreign nations. The national government could States could refuse to send soldiers, not raise an army, only request making it difficult to defend the that the states send soldiers. nation. Each state only had one vote in The citizens of small states had Congress, regardless of its proportionally more political power population. than the citizens of large states. The national government had no The national government had no way of implementing or enforcing executive branch. its legislative decisions. There was no effective way to resolve disputes between states, The national government had no such as competing claims to the judicial branch. same territory. Passing laws required the It was difficult to get enough approval of nine states, and consensus to make laws and nearly amending the Articles required impossible to fix the Articles the approval of all thirteen states. themselves. Key takeaways from this lesson

The first draft of a constitutional government: The Articles of Confederation were the first national constitution, which outlined the structure, functions, and limitations of the US government. This “first draft” of a constitution demonstrated that the new United States government would be both a republic (a government of elected representatives) and a limited government (restricted by laws).

The weak central government established in the Articles made a lot of sense during the American Revolution, when it brought together a group of former colonies to coordinate a war against the government of Great Britain, which the American patriots perceived as far too powerful. Although the Articles ultimately proved unequal to the task of governing the country after the Revolution, they were an important first step toward the current US Constitution.

Balancing state and national power: The Articles of Confederation created a national governing system that placed most power in the hands of the states. The Founders feared giving too much power to a central government, which might become tyrannical. But they overdid it, leaving a central government that could not fund itself, resolve disputes between its component states, or defend the country.

In the Constitutional Convention, delegates from the states would attempt to address these weaknesses while still limiting the power of government.

Review questions Name three major problems of the Articles of Confederation, and explain the implications of those problems.

In what ways was the governmental system established in the Articles of Confederation similar to US government today? In what ways was it different?