Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was the system by which America was run from 1777-1788. When it was run by the Articles, America was weak and it was mocked by the countries of the world. While the Articles of Confederation had some strengths, the number of weaknesses greatly outweighed them. The ratification of the Constitution in 1788 helped to alleviate most of these problems. Even though there weren't many strengths, the Articles solved some major problems, including the distribution of western lands. There were many weaknesses that the government tried to solve, such as repayment of debt, but the Articles couldn't enforce tax collection. The Constitution, written because of weak central power, helped solve many of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The government under the Articles had so few strengths because the people were afraid of a strong central government.

The Articles of Confederation didn't have many strengths, but it still had some. They got the United States through the Revolutionary War and made peace with Britain. They also provided land ordinances, which set standards for the purchase of western lands, among other things. Jefferson's Land Ordinance of 1784 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 stated the rules for a territory to become a state, and the Land Ordinance of 1785 helped repay some national debt by selling western lands. However, the Congress felt that the Articles had too many weaknesses that needed to be fixed.

The central government of America was weak. They couldn't enforce laws, taxes, or treaties, they couldn't levy duties or afford an army, and they couldn't repay their enormous debt to the countries of Europe. America got no respect from Europe. It was ridiculed in Britain. The economy was where most of the problems lied. America was in an economic depression. It was critical to repay the debts to Europe, but the government didn't have the power to collect taxes. However, the states did. When Massachusetts levied higher taxes in 1787, Shay's Rebellion broke out. A group of disgruntled farmers led by Daniel Shay attacked a federal arsenal. The states were horrified that the national government had so little power that it couldn't stop the rebellion, so political leaders called for a revision of the Articles of Confederation.

This revision of the Articles eventually became the Constitution. This document got rid of many of the problems