Articles Of Confederation Essay, Research Paper
Soon after the Revolutionary War in America, a new authorities was started when the Articles of Confederation ( Articles ) were adopted by the Continental Congress. The Articles set up a democratic authorities that gave the States the power to do their ain Torahs and to implement them. However, the Articles were uneffective and failed to supply a strong authorities. During this Critical Time period in the history of the United States, regionalism and lawlessness were turning because of the undermentioned grounds. 1 ) The Continental Congress controlled public personal businesss but there was nil in the Articles that gave Congress the power to implement Torahs or unite the States. 2 ) There was no solid pecuniary system to guarantee that revenue enhancements would be paid or to protect commercialism, both nationally and foreign trade. 3 ) The state lacked integrity and strength because there was no leadership.The Articles were uneffective because Congress merely had the power to urge actions to the States. It could non implement its recommendations or Torahs. Each State had its ain fundamental law, pecuniary system, and means to implement the jurisprudence. Each State had a stronger committedness to the State Torahs and to the State’s ain ego involvements than to the recommendations of Congress. Regionalism pitted one State against another, which decreased the sense of integrity in the state. For illustration, when Congress recommended an customs, or responsibility, on imported goods, the State of Rhode Island voted to reject the thought because they felt it was unjust and was against the fundamental law of the State ( Document A ) .The Articles failed to supply a solid pecuniary system to guarantee that revenue enhancements would be paid or to protect commercialism. Congress had no manner to roll up revenue enhancements to pay off pre-war debts. This led to chaos and anarchy when soldiers that hadn’t been paid marched on Philadelphia, and Congress had to fly to Princeton New Jersey ( Document C ) . Each State had it’s ain money, but there was no national money system. Since the money had no value from province to province, the people began to utilize the swap system of trade. This reduced the sum of trade and importing of sludge
ds. There was very little economic progress and growth during this period even though the population was increasing. (Document B). Self interest of the States and of individuals added to the cause of the problems. For example, John Jay tried to create a treaty with Great Britain that would have been bad for the merchants of the United States but it would have paid off the war debt. His loyalty was not to the people of his state. (Document D). Instead of keeping the United States unified, the Articles were causing it to fall apart. There was no unity because there was no leadership and no court system. Each State attempted to cede land for it own from other States. The boundaries were constantly changing. This had a negative effect on the loyalty of the people, and on the economics of each area (Document E). Without a national court system, laws that kept the nation secure could not be made or enforced. Since there was no president, there was no one to take a stand against the enemies of the United States. The government could have easily been overthrown by foreign powers. For example, the British still held posts within the boundaries of the States and the Spanish had control of the lower half of the Mississippi River (Document F). Without leadership, Congress could not act to gain control of the use of the River. The best Congress could do was to try to negotiate a treaty with the Spanish, but this was not effective. From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an ineffective form of government. After the Revolutionary war the unity of the people began to disappear. The States were separated with slow means of transportation and communication, and each State had its own monetary system and its own interests. No economic progress was possible without a unified monetary system. Congress had no power to unify the States to collect taxes, or to enforce laws and recommendations. Without strong leadership or a national court system, there was no way to make changes that were necessary to improve the country. The Articles of Confederation needed to be changed or replaced if the country was to survive.
