Articles of Confederation
During the Revolutionary War the colonial leaders needed a government to hold them together, while fighting the English king. In 1781 the Articles of Confederation were ratified, effectively tying knots around the new government. The Articles were written to not create a strong government but they did create, however, a basic constitution, and provided a start for the constitution to come later.
Reflecting the fear by the colonies of a British-like government, there was no judiciary or executive branch and congress was weak. Amendments could only be made by unanimous consent of all thirteen states, and national laws required a two-thirRAB majority. Other inadequacies include areas such as foreign affairs, taxation, and politics itself. There was some unity, however, in the government.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a successful piece of legislation where the states and government cooperated. Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts all ceded land to the government, where the government was then allowed to decide how the land would be divided up. It also created laws outlawing slavery in these states and providing public education.
One major problem with the Confederacy was its inability to create a national tariff. A tariff required a two-thirRAB majority to be enacted, and there was very little chance of ever getting a two-thirRAB vote. A letter from Rhode Island rejecting a tariff in 1782 indicates that states did not want to give up any powers to Congress.
While Congress could not get the states to agree upon a tariff, they did not even have the power to tax the states. Joseph Jones' letter to George Washington points out that Congress did not have power to demand a tax, only suggest one. Jones indicates that if the Confederation cannot collect taxes, it cannot pay its creditors, and it cannot pay its army, reducing the strength of the government and the country.
The weakness the Articles fostered allowed foreign nations to dismiss the idea of a unified country in the United States of America. There was no army to defend it, not even a show of unified support to stand behind the Articles. In 1785, John Jay's instructions to the United States Minister to Great Britain are weak and powerless. He asks that United States land be returned to the United States, and that it be pointed out that the trade restrictions hurt the states merchants, a very passive demand. With Spain, John Jay tried to acquire navigation rights of the Mississippi, and set firm territorial limits between them. He explains in a speech to Congress that he was unable to obtain the rights to the Mississippi, and in fact the Confederation never was able to procure those rights.
John Jay's letter to George Washington speaks of crisis and revolution, probably referring to Shay's Rebellion, the first major uprising against the Confederation. The rebellion was crushed, but it showed the discontentment of the popular masses. The letter also speaks of
the "better kind of people" who might be caused by the rebellion to look to "any change that may promise them quiet and security" (Document G). Discontent in the upper and lower classes showed how poor the Articles were at maintaining order.
The Articles of Confederation were not competent in raising money, maintaining and army, or enforcing United States rights abroad. Finally, in 1789, the Articles were scrapped and the Constitutional Conventions were held in Philadelphia to create a new government. The experiences from the Articles led this convention to look to a more stronger, centralized government, that could raise taxes and maintain order. The Confederation provided a conversion period from the unorganized colonies to the current United States.
During the Revolutionary War the colonial leaders needed a government to hold them together, while fighting the English king. In 1781 the Articles of Confederation were ratified, effectively tying knots around the new government. The Articles were written to not create a strong government but they did create, however, a basic constitution, and provided a start for the constitution to come later.
Reflecting the fear by the colonies of a British-like government, there was no judiciary or executive branch and congress was weak. Amendments could only be made by unanimous consent of all thirteen states, and national laws required a two-thirRAB majority. Other inadequacies include areas such as foreign affairs, taxation, and politics itself. There was some unity, however, in the government.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a successful piece of legislation where the states and government cooperated. Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts all ceded land to the government, where the government was then allowed to decide how the land would be divided up. It also created laws outlawing slavery in these states and providing public education.
One major problem with the Confederacy was its inability to create a national tariff. A tariff required a two-thirRAB majority to be enacted, and there was very little chance of ever getting a two-thirRAB vote. A letter from Rhode Island rejecting a tariff in 1782 indicates that states did not want to give up any powers to Congress.
While Congress could not get the states to agree upon a tariff, they did not even have the power to tax the states. Joseph Jones' letter to George Washington points out that Congress did not have power to demand a tax, only suggest one. Jones indicates that if the Confederation cannot collect taxes, it cannot pay its creditors, and it cannot pay its army, reducing the strength of the government and the country.
The weakness the Articles fostered allowed foreign nations to dismiss the idea of a unified country in the United States of America. There was no army to defend it, not even a show of unified support to stand behind the Articles. In 1785, John Jay's instructions to the United States Minister to Great Britain are weak and powerless. He asks that United States land be returned to the United States, and that it be pointed out that the trade restrictions hurt the states merchants, a very passive demand. With Spain, John Jay tried to acquire navigation rights of the Mississippi, and set firm territorial limits between them. He explains in a speech to Congress that he was unable to obtain the rights to the Mississippi, and in fact the Confederation never was able to procure those rights.
John Jay's letter to George Washington speaks of crisis and revolution, probably referring to Shay's Rebellion, the first major uprising against the Confederation. The rebellion was crushed, but it showed the discontentment of the popular masses. The letter also speaks of
the "better kind of people" who might be caused by the rebellion to look to "any change that may promise them quiet and security" (Document G). Discontent in the upper and lower classes showed how poor the Articles were at maintaining order.
The Articles of Confederation were not competent in raising money, maintaining and army, or enforcing United States rights abroad. Finally, in 1789, the Articles were scrapped and the Constitutional Conventions were held in Philadelphia to create a new government. The experiences from the Articles led this convention to look to a more stronger, centralized government, that could raise taxes and maintain order. The Confederation provided a conversion period from the unorganized colonies to the current United States.