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Why the Articles of Confederation failed

The first constitution in our nation's history was the U.S. Articles of Confederation. While the
U.S. Articles of Confederation was a plan of government based upon the principles fought for in the
American Revolutionary War, it contained crucial flaws. It was written during a time when the American
people feared strong national governments. The new nation needed some kind of organization to hold
states together, which would help them fend off future attacks and would hopefully make a stronger
economy, and the Articles of Confederation seemed like the best answer to build unity at the time. The
English government had been especially abusive to the Colonists, who were very reluctant to install a new
government that could potentially function similar to the monarchy.
The Articles of Confederation only set up the Continental Congress at the federal level. There
were no executive or judicial branches except within the states. The states were allowed to keep every
right that was not specifically given to Congress. The bonding of the states was through best served as a
defense agreement against invasion. States were not allowed to use taxes as a way to discourage treaties,
and states were extremely limited in their dealings with foreign nations. It had no power of national
taxation, no power to control trade, and it provided for a comparatively weak executive. Therefore, it
could not enforce legislation. It was a "league of friendship" which was opposed to any type of national
authority.
The Articles of Confederation's greatest weakness, however, was that it had no direct origin in the
people. It knew only state sovereignty. Each state, therefore, had the power to collect its own taxes, issue
currency, and provide for its own militia. The government could not govern efficiently because of a
general lack of power to compel states to honor national obligations. The government's main activity was
to control foreign policy and conclude treaties. This distribution of power was chosen by the Founding

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Fathers because American colonists were wary of strong national governments. Having dealt with the
British Crown for so many years, the American colonies did not want to create yet another out-of-touch,
national government. Moreover, Americans identified most strongly with their individual colony, so it
seemed natural to construct an American government based on powerful state governments.
The first flaw of the Articles of Confederation was its economic disorganization which led to
financial hardship for the emerging nation. By the late 1780s, America was struggling to compete
economically and pay off the debts it accumulated in its fight for independence. These problems were
made worse by a series of economic limitations present in the Articles of Confederation. America was
plagued by economic chaos that originated from the national governments inability to manage trade.
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had limited power to regulate trade. Congress was only
able to regulate trade and commerce with Native American tribes and, even then, only if it did not impair
an individual states ability to monitor its own trade. Congress had no ability to negotiate trade
agreements with foreign countries.
One of the glaring differences between the Articles of Confederation and its successor was its
lack of a chief executive. Most notably, the lack of a presidential figure or body left America without a
representative to conduct foreign affairs. Britain actually complained of such difficulties, protesting that
they did not know who to contact in order to initiate diplomacy. Without a single executive to act as the
head of foreign affairs, America was at a serious diplomatic disadvantage.
It seems counterintuitive that a body of government would be tasked with declaring war, but not
be allowed to commission an armed force. According to the Articles of Confederation, Congress had the
sole power to make peace and war, but did not have the authority to raise an army of its own: The United
States in Congress assembled, the national government had to rely on state militia. Since it was dependent
on state troops, Congress was severely limited in its capabilities to quickly and effectively responding to
internal and external threats. Abroad, Congress failed to defend American from the continuing threat of

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Britain following the Revolutionary War. Shortly after signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Britain
began to break the agreement.

The Articles of Confederation failed because they left too much power with the states. The federal
government had no power to levy or collect taxes, no power to regulate trade, and no power to enforce
laws. There was also no executive branch under the Articles of Confederation, and no national court
system. Also, all states had to give consent in order for amendments to be passed and 9 out of 13 states
had to give consent in order for laws to be passed. This rarely happened, because there were hardly ever
enough delegates to pass a law and 5 small states could completely block what larger states wanted. The
only power the federal government had was to make war and peace, send and receive ambassadors, enter
into treaties, raise and equip a navy, maintain an army by requesting troops from the states, appoint senior
military officers, fix standards of weights and measures, regulate Indian affairs, establish post offices, and
decide certain disputes among states.