There was no executive and no judiciary, two of the three branches of government we have today to act as a system of checks and balances. The weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress was not strong enough to enforce laws or raise taxes, making it difficult for the new nation to repay their debts from the Revolutionary War. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Virginia’s action persuaded Maryland to ratify the Articles, which went into effect on March 1, 1781. Maryland also supported the demands because nearby Virginia would clearly dominate its neighbor should its claims be accepted.Įventually Thomas Jefferson persuaded his state to yield its claims to the West, provided that the speculators’ demands were rejected and the West was divided into new states, which would be admitted into the Union on the basis of equality with the old. Land speculators in Maryland and these other “landless states” insisted that the West belonged to the United States, and they urged Congress to honor their claims to western lands. The charters of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island confined those states to a few hundred miles of the Atlantic. However, the central government lacked the ability to levy taxes and regulate commerce, issues that led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 for the creation of new federal laws under The United States Constitution. Significantly, The Articles of Confederation named the new nation “The United States of America.” Congress was given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money. Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes.

Written in 1777 and stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first written constitution of the United States. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.Ratification of the Articles of Confederation.Who Wrote the Articles of Confederation?.

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