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Ineffective Aspects of the Articles of Confederation

 

            The Articles of Confederation did not provide the US with a government able to solve national and international problems due to its inability to collect money, weak government with no executive branch, and conflicts with its foreign policy. The Articles proved to be financially ineffective because it was not able to impose taxes or tariffs to pay off debts and help the country. To be able to impose a national tax, the government had to have unanimous agreement. One tax attempt by Robert Morris of 5% of national input was rejected because one state out of thirteen, Rhode Island, refused it. The US also had bountiful debt to the people with bonds or IOU's, to the French, and to the British in the US for their loss in the revolution. The Land Ordinance of 1785 that surveyed western land and sold it to Americans was passed to gain some money, but although it provided the government with money, it didn't account for the greater financial loss. All of this ultimately led to great inflation, which highlighted the government's weakness, for it had no executive branch. .
             There was no strong central power with an executive branch in the Articles of Confederation either, which led to state disputes and difficulty in passing laws. The approval of seven states was required to pass minor legislation; nine states had to approve declarations of war, treaties, and the coining and borrowing of money, and unanimity was needed to pass taxes. Although the people made the Articles this way because they didn't want to return to a strong central government like the one they had just escaped from in Britain, they didn't realize the conflicts it would cause. This led to no way of passing laws, no practical way to change government, no effective way to coordinate work of the government, and no way to settle disputes among the several states. The US finally showed its discontent of its weak government with Shays's Rebellion from 1786 to 1787.


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