The Articles of Confederation formed the first governing system of the
United States of America, which linked the states during the turbulent years
of the American Revolution. Under the Articles of Confederation, which
linked the states in a ‘loose league of friendship,’ the central government had
no power to tax or to compel individual states to abide by its decisions.
Image of the title page of the Articles of Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation. Image credit: Library of Congress
After the Revolutionary War, a series of problems, including economic
problems, disputes between states, and an armed rebellion, made it clear that
the United States needed a stronger central government to address its
challenges.
Key terms
Term
Definition
Articles of
Confederation
The first government system of the United States,
which lasted from 1776 until 1789. The Articles placed
most power in the hands of state governments.
Government under the Articles lacked an executive or
a judicial branch.
Confederation
Congress
The central government under the Articles of
Confederation, composed of delegates chosen by state
governments. Each state had one vote in the Congress,
regardless of its population. The Congress had
difficulty legislating as the Articles required nine of the
thirteen states to vote to approve any measure, and a
unanimous vote in order to amend the Articles
themselves.
Shays’s
Rebellion
An uprising of Revolutionary War veterans in
Massachusetts, who had not been paid for their military
service as the federal government lacked the power to
raise funds through taxation. Led by veteran Daniel
Shays, the rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of
the federal government under the Articles, as it could
neither raise the money to pay the veterans nor raise an
army to put down the uprising.
Problems of the Articles of Confederation
Problem
Consequence
The national government could
not tax citizens directly, only
request money from the states.
The states rarely contributed money,
meaning the national government
could not pay its debts or fund
initiatives.
The national government could
not regulate international or
interstate trade.
The national government could not
stop states from undermining it by
making their own trade agreements
with foreign nations.
The national government could
not raise an army, only request
that the states send soldiers.
States could refuse to send soldiers,
making it difficult to defend the
nation.
Each state only had one vote in
Congress, regardless of its
population.
The citizens of small states had
proportionally more political power
than the citizens of large states.
The national government had no
executive branch.
The national government had no
way of implementing or enforcing
its legislative decisions.
The national government had no
judicial branch.
There was no effective way to
resolve disputes between states,
such as competing claims to the
same territory.
Passing laws required the
approval of nine states, and
amending the Articles required
the approval of all thirteen states.
It was difficult to get enough
consensus to make laws and nearly
impossible to fix the Articles
themselves.
Key takeaways from this lesson
The first draft of a constitutional government: The Articles of
Confederation were the first national constitution, which outlined the
structure, functions, and limitations of the US government. This “first draft”
of a constitution demonstrated that the new United States government would
be both a republic (a government of elected representatives) and a limited
government (restricted by laws).
The weak central government established in the Articles made a lot of sense
during the American Revolution, when it brought together a group of former
colonies to coordinate a war against the government of Great Britain, which
the American patriots perceived as far too powerful. Although the Articles
ultimately proved unequal to the task of governing the country after the
Revolution, they were an important first step toward the current US
Constitution.
Balancing state and national power: The Articles of Confederation created
a national governing system that placed most power in the hands of the states.
The Founders feared giving too much power to a central government, which
might become tyrannical. But they overdid it, leaving a central government
that could not fund itself, resolve disputes between its component states, or
defend the country.
In the Constitutional Convention, delegates from the states would attempt to
address these weaknesses while still limiting the power of government.
Review questions
Name three major problems of the Articles of Confederation, and explain the
implications of those problems.
In what ways was the governmental system established in the Articles of
Confederation similar to US government today? In what ways was it
different?
