The Articles of Confederation was an attempt to prevent a central government from wielding too much power. When ratified in 1781, there was as central government and 13 states. But despite noble intentions, the attempt to create a limited government in the Articles of Confederation failed because the central government could not raise funds from the states, could not effectively keep the peace and could not pass amendments unless all of the states agreed.
Schmidt, Shelley, Bardes and Ford (2014) say in their book that the Articles did not give Congress the power to levy taxes in order to properly finance the military. Since the states dug in their heels, Congress responded by divesting western properties and issuing bonds. The authors explain that the inability to force the states to pay taxes may have Articles’ most fatal flaw.
As well, the Articles failed to give the central government power to keep the peace whenever the states got into disagreements with each other, according to Schmidt, Shelley, Bardes and Ford (2014). Because the central government was unable to resolve quarrels, the states argued amongst themselves and taxed one another's products vindictively. This shortcoming in the Articles was a key reason it failed.
Brackemyre (n.d.) points out that there were legislative inefficiencies that led to the failure of the Articles of Confederation. For instance, amendments to laws were particularly hard to accomplish since the national Congress as well as all 13 states had to vote in favor in order for an amendment to be approved. This sort of problem contributed to the demise of the Articles.
The Articles of Confederation was bound to fail due to numerous severe flaws. As it turned out, issues pertaining to raising funds, keeping the peace and amending of laws were incredibly difficult – if not impossible – and this led to the end of this system of government.
Reference List
Brackemyre, T. (n.d.). America’s First Failure at Government: The Articles of Confederation. Retrieved from ushistoryscene.com/article/articles-of-confederation/
Steffen, W. S., Shelley, M. C., Bardes, A. B., & Ford, L. E. (2014). American Government and Politics Today, 2013-2014 Edition. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
