Essay #4: The Articles of Confederation

Even after separating, America was still far from being a stable nation. In June of 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a government made up of confederated states. About a month later, a committee established by the Congress and led by John Dickinson had created the Articles of Confederation. It was adopted a year later by the Congress and was translated into French after the Battle of Saratoga to persuade France to ally with them by showing that they had an actual government in the making. However, approval of the Articles of Confederation was required by all thirteen states and many refused because of complaints about land. States such as New York and Virginia had large holdings beyond the Allegheny Mountains, mainly because of earlier charter grants. States such as Pennsylvania and Maryland had none and claimed that the states that did would not have retained possession of this land without their help. This land could be sold to pay off debts, while the states without it would have to impose large taxes on their residents. Therefore, they wanted all of the trans-Allegheny land to be turned to the central government. Eventually however, New York gave up its Western claims and Congress announced a plan to dispose of these areas for “common benefit.” Finally persuaded, the states all agreed, with Maryland being the last on March 1, 1781, less than eight months before America’s victory at Yorktown. Eventually, however, the Articles of Confederation were deemed insufficient and were replaced by the Constitution, which formed a completely new government. The Articles of Confederation were profoundly inadequate in their shaping of government as well as the domestic affairs and foreign affairs problems that they caused. The centralized government that it formed was very weak because almost all power was given to the states. The government was unable to help the felling economy because it did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, or establish a uniform currency. Lastly, The government was forced to request troops from the states and there was no chief executive or state department to conduct foreign affairs, making the government unable to do anything about the problems that America was facing with European nations.

The central government established by the Articles of Confederation was very weak. Most of the power was instead given to the states. The government was formed this way because many people feared that a strong central government would lead to tyranny and abuse. They were particularly wary of giving too much power to one person because they had just finished a war caused by exactly that. Any centralized authority, they felt, could lead to another King. However, others felt that not having strong centralized authority made the overall government weak. These people were eventually proven right. One example of the crippling inadequacy of the government was the Articles of Confederation’s tax-collection program. Each state had a tax quota and was asked to please contribute that amount on a voluntary basis. The government rarely made a fourth of the amount requested for a year. A stronger central government would simply have taxed the people normally, but this was seen as too similar to the British crown. The result was a feeble and defective system. Another problem with the Articles of Confederation was that each state was given one vote in congress. This meant that the 68,000 people in Rhode Island had the same total influence as the 680,000 Virginians. This allowed some people much more power than others and was contrary to the Declaration of Independence’s message of equality. Congress was also flawed because ratification of the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote, which was basically impossible. This meant that the problems in the Articles of Confederation could not be fixed.

The lack of authority held by the central government caused many domestic problems. After the Revolution, America faced a depression caused by war debts. The government could do nothing about this because it did not have the power to tax, establish a uniform currency, or regulate trade. Because of the lack of uniform currency, notes were often given arbitrary values by different banks and inflation became a serious problem. The different currencies, in combination with trade barriers, made trade between states very difficult. Because the Articles of Confederation did not allow the central government to do anything to fix the economic problems plaguing the country, the states were forced to find their own solutions. Many resorted to taxing. Massachusetts imposed a 30% tax on farmers, which forced most of them into foreclosure or debtor’s prison. Many of these farmers had fought in the war and were angered by this enormous and unfair tax. A man named Daniel Shays led a violent protest demanding an end of foreclosures and a reduction of taxes. The revolt caused little change and the depression raged on, with the government still unable to do anything.

The Articles of Confederation did not only cause problems with domestic affairs, however. Foreign affairs were also seriously impacted. After the war, relationships with European nations were hurt when America did not fully abide by the Treaty of Paris. They did not pay off debts or compensate loyalists whose property had been taken, as they had said that they would. Britain also broke the treaty by not removing their forts from the West. Many European countries doubted the power of America because of the disunity of the states. Many sought ways to exploit America, including Spain, a former ally. Spain and America engaged in heated disputes about the northern boundary of Florida and the navigation rights of the Mississippi River. America was unable to do anything about any of these problems because of the lack of central authority concerning foreign affairs. In order to send an army to deal with a conflict, the government had to request troops from the states. Again, the government could not make decisions of its own for the welfare of the country. There was also no chief executive or state department to conduct foreign affairs, which kept the government from being able to make any real decisions about foreign policy. The central government created by the Articles of Confederation was essentially powerless in this aspect, as well as all others.

The Articles of Confederation were inadequate because they created a very weak central government and caused domestic and foreign affairs problems. The basis of the Congress was flawed and the format of the government gave almost all power to the states, making the central government unable to do anything substantial. The central government could not help the falling economy because it could not impose taxes or regulate trade. It was also unable to develop a uniform currency, which made things even worse. The government was also completely unable to regulate foreign affairs, which was particularly significant because America was facing many problems with European nations after the war. The government could not send troops without requesting them from the Senate, however, and did not have a department to deal with foreign affairs issues. All of these things together caused problems and put America in a very precarious position. It made perfect sense, therefore, when delegates met in May of 1787 to revise America’s government.