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new national government that reserved freedom, sovereignty, and independence for the states. The Articles of confederation provided an effective form of government for western lands, on the contrary, foreign relations were not were not as well benefited from it. The Confederation's major contributions were Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to the American life. The Ordinance of 1785 established the law for the lands north of the Ohio River. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided three stages for the creation and admittance of new states, as well as served as a pre

Measures passed by Congress, however, required the approval of 9 of the 13 states. The Congress was severely limited in its powers.

* It could not raise money by collecting taxes;

* it had no control over foreign commerce;

* it could pass laws but could not force the states to comply with them. Thus, the government was dependent on the willingness of the various states to carry out its measures, and often the states refused to cooperate.

* In addition, the articles were virtually impossible to amend, so problems could not be corrected.

These defects provided an insurmountable barrier to effective constitutional government. Several failures illustrated the new governments weakness. These failures included:

* The inability to pay off the debt from the war collectively thus appearing less like a nation in they eyes of the world. It also hurt our ability to borrow money.

* Discord among states who began taxing each other. This led to an overall slump in the national economy and, eventually, a depression.

* The government was powerless to put down Shay's Rebellion, a farmers revolt.

Confederation, Articles of, in U.S. history, ratified in 1781 and superseded by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The imperative need for unity among the new states created by the American Revolution and the necessity of defining the relative powers of the Continental Congress and the individual states led Congress to entrust the drafting of a federal constitution to a committee headed by John Dickinson. In the Articles of Confederation submitted by the committee to the Second Continental Congress on July 12, 1776, three points provoked much argument--the apportionment of taxes according to population, the granting of one vote to each state, and the right of the federal government to dispose of public lands in the West. After several revisions were made, however, this constitution, comprising a preamble and 13 articles, was adopted by Congress on Nov. 15, 1777. In their final form, the Articles retained the vote by states, but based the apportionment of taxes on the value of buildings and land, and specified that no state should be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States.

While this constitution was a contribution to the techniques of government and a step toward national unity, most American historians hold that the Articles of Confederation proved wholly unsatisfactory because of the subordinate position occupied by the central government. Congress, dependent upon the states for its funds and for the execution of its decrees, became a legislative-executive body attempting to reconcile the policies of the various states. It could not extend its jurisdiction to individuals, command respect abroad by stabilizing credit, unify foreign and domestic policies, pass navigation regulations, or enforce treaty obligations.

Because of its inherent weaknesses, the government commanded little respect, and its prestige was further diminished by its inability to cope with internal uprisings such as Shays's Rebellion. Many capable statesmen who held key posts--e.g., Robert Morris, John Jay, and Benjamin Lincoln--were thwarted by this organization of government, while others, equally able, shunned service in Congress in favor of state politics. The unanimity rule enabled one state to prevent the passage of a measure desired by all the others. Thus, New York alone blocked the establishment of a vitally important tariff.

When it became apparent that government under the Articles of Confederation was, in the words of George Washington, "little more than the shadow without the substance," agitation for a stronger federal government began. This agitation resulted in the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787, which drafted the Constitution of the United States. Perhaps the most significant event of the Confederation period was the adoption of the Ordinance of 1787 concerning the Northwest Territory.

The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Second Co ntinental Congress on November 15, 1777, but did not become effective until March 1, 1781, when they were finally approved