Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
US Government AP DE
September 9, 2011
The Three Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation During the revolution the Articles of Confederation was drafted by the Continental Congress in 1777 as the first national constitution. There was no army because the articles did not allow the federal government to apply taxes to raise an army. There was no national executive which meant there was no executive power. There was also no federal court system. An agreed vote of the states, acting through their legislatures, was vital to amend the Articles which essentially meant that changes in the articles were possible. As shown, there are many weaknesses in the articles of confederation but only three will be discussed throughout this paper. Not having separation of powers with a unicameral legislature under the articles is the first weakness I will examine. The second weakness in the articles of confederation discussed will be the fact that congress did not have the power to tax which meant that they could never put their finances in order. Lastly, for any laws to pass they had to be approved by nine or the thirteen states which was very difficult. (ranford.edu)
Congress had no separation of powers with a unicameral legislature which meant it did not have a judicial branch and an executive branch. The people wanted a central government that did not have any unfair laws. Being afraid of someone gaining too much power within the central government people limited its power. Each state wanted its own government therefore each state had its own governor, assembly and courts. There was no coordinating authority which made it difficult to pass laws and all conflict were to be resolved in the individual courts. To make and amendment it was required that all the states agreed to a majority of a 2/3rds consent. Consequently, there was one vote per state, without regard of the size of the specific state. (associated
September 9, 2011
The Three Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation During the revolution the Articles of Confederation was drafted by the Continental Congress in 1777 as the first national constitution. There was no army because the articles did not allow the federal government to apply taxes to raise an army. There was no national executive which meant there was no executive power. There was also no federal court system. An agreed vote of the states, acting through their legislatures, was vital to amend the Articles which essentially meant that changes in the articles were possible. As shown, there are many weaknesses in the articles of confederation but only three will be discussed throughout this paper. Not having separation of powers with a unicameral legislature under the articles is the first weakness I will examine. The second weakness in the articles of confederation discussed will be the fact that congress did not have the power to tax which meant that they could never put their finances in order. Lastly, for any laws to pass they had to be approved by nine or the thirteen states which was very difficult. (ranford.edu)
Congress had no separation of powers with a unicameral legislature which meant it did not have a judicial branch and an executive branch. The people wanted a central government that did not have any unfair laws. Being afraid of someone gaining too much power within the central government people limited its power. Each state wanted its own government therefore each state had its own governor, assembly and courts. There was no coordinating authority which made it difficult to pass laws and all conflict were to be resolved in the individual courts. To make and amendment it was required that all the states agreed to a majority of a 2/3rds consent. Consequently, there was one vote per state, without regard of the size of the specific state. (associated