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What Are The Limitations Of The Articles Of Confederation

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On March 1st, 1781, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in Independence Hall. They served as the basis of the national government of the U.S. during the American Revolutionary War. It was the first written constitution of the United States and unified the thirteen colonies. Its purpose was to keep every new formed state as independent as possible leaving the United States only responsible for common defense, security of liberties, and the general welfare of the new nation. It was meant to keep the national government as weak as possible, but in turn had many problems as it became active and was only in effect until March 4th, 1789. Because the Articles of Confederation’s main purpose to keep the individual states as independent as possible, it led to three wide-ranging limitations being economic disorganization, lack of central leadership and legislative inefficiencies. There was little respect and support given to Congress from the states. By the end of the war, the nation had accrued a large debt and the states were refusing to financially support the national government. Congress was not allowed to impose taxes or raise revenue. Each state had printed its own currency. Congress could not regulate trade. Each state had its own trading agenda and …show more content…
Rising debt and economic chaos led to protests and rebellion. Each state had its own military leaving the national government unable to form a combined military to help combat the rebellion. It had offered no national jurisdiction of courts and the entire judiciary branch depended on the states. This meant the states could simply ignore national laws without justice. This also meant there was no way for the states to file complaints against the national government. When it came to foreign affairs, there was no representative for the nation leaving America at a serious diplomatic

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