The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation brought forth a whole new kind of government that most of the Patriots had not ever experienced before. This document was their first constitution, and it was right after the war so that in itself is an achievement. But, the Articles of Confederation did have achievements but it also had flaws.

The Patriots had been envisioning a central government with limited powers as they moved toward independence in 1776. This meant that more of the power was going to the individual state governments rather than the country as a whole. The Articles of Confederation were passed by Congress in November 1777. This document assured that states would retain their sovereignty, freedom, and independence. It also said that the states had all powers and rights that were not “expressly delegated” to the United States. The Articles really only called for a loose confederation between the states, and more independence within each state. Although it gave the states much power, it also gave much authority to the confederation government. This government could declare peace and war, make treaties with foreign nations, borrow and print money, and requisition funds from the states for only common defense or just general welfare. At this point there were no breakdowns or separations in the branches of the new national government such as executive or judiciary. They Articles may have been passed by Congress in 1777 but some states didn’t ratify the Articles until 1781. These states were trying to claim boundaries that stretched all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This made states like Maryland and Pennsylvania refuse to accept until those other land rich states took back their claims on western land.

The Articles of Confederation clearly had its own achievements and flaws. The formal approval of the Articles was anticlimactic because Congress had actually been exercising de facto constitutional authority for four years now. They had been raising the Continental army and negotiating with foreign nations. These were considered successes because they were correctly reverting to the document realizing their authority then using it in a productive way. Although it seemed great at first, Congress still could not have the authority to impose taxes and therefore they had to requisition funds from the state legislatures, who usually