To what extent were the articles of confederation and inadequate form of goverment?

The Articles of Confederation were an inadequate form of government to the extent that the very nature of the AOC was weak.This is due to domestic affair problems,foreign affair problems, and features of the government under the AOC.



After the revolutionary war the new country was immediately faced with economical problems.The main reason for this is because since the Federal government could not tax the states they had no money.One example of this is great Britain's practice of over crowding the American markets with goods which resulted in an unstable balance of trade and had a bad effect on the nations economy.Another thing was that roads and all other transportation routes had been put aside because the federal government had no money to construct them.This made the structure of transportation insufficient for trade.Further more the new country didn't have a uniform currency which made it also hard for trade. Another thing is that the states had the power to taxes their citizens.This was bad because the sates could tax what ever they wanted, which might lead to one being richer then the other.The most recognized rebellion of this time is Shays rebellion.Shay and fellow farmers thought to shut down courts to prevent their farms from being foreclosed.In the end Shay and his fellow farmers were pardoned and the sate law was modified.



Problems for the new form of government were not just about domestic issues. There was also a problem with foreign affairs. The relationship between the Americans and British quickly started to decline. The United States started to fail to obey the treaty of Paris. They did this by not compensating the loyalists and paying foreign debts. An addition to that, the Spaniards decided to take advantage over the United States by quarreling over the undefined northern boundary of Florida, which also resulted in disputes over Mississippi navigation rights. On account of these events the nations foremost political leaders wanted to revise the AOC.



The Articles of Confederation was the first governing document for the original thirteen colonies. It was adopted as the basic law of the country in 1781.This form of government was weak because of the desire of democracy. One fault in the government was that it had no uniform national currency. This was a major reason why trade was inefficient and the united states economy was declining. Another point is that nine out of the thirteen states had to approve a law before it was passed. This can be considered a weakness because bigger states would have a major affect in decisions. And lastly congress had no authority to impose taxes. This is bad because federal government had no way to raise money for infrastructures.





Overall the aritcles of confederation were extremely ineffective and feeble. Because of its weaknesses it resulted in the economy's decline, disputes against other countries, and inadequate features of the AOC. On the other hand because of the United States being a new country, the AOC was a good starting round. It also paved the way to what we call today the Constitution of America.