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Articles Of Confederation Dbq

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Aware of this risk, the delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in 1787 allowed Congress to raise an independent national army with tax power, and only Congress consent is able to draw any single penny in national treasury. Besides, Congress was granted a coercive power upon the states. For example, if there was any threat or opposition toward the federal authority, the power of the federal army might seem helpful. There would not be any actual battle, but the fear of national power by states would keep them accountable.
Unlike the wide power of modern Congress, the law enforcement ability of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was so tenuous that it had no chance to act directly upon people, only states did. Moreover, its influence upon the states was not significant either. There was no respect but contempt for the national government. For financial, logistic, recruiting issues, Congress could pass laws, but implementing them was the decision of the states, which either accepted or rejected the national government’s recommendations and requisitions. The Congressmen did not even trust the others; …show more content…
Because of the independent authorities, states violated and turned against each other, indicating the uncertainty of the Confederation. Each state always saw its own welfare as paramount, so none of them would yield its benefit. This interstate conflict might have ended up in a civil war right after the nation had just formed. For instance, Virginia created blockades in order to prevent foreign vessels from entering into Maryland, dominating the commercial trade. In addition, while the whole country was suffering national debts, each state issued its own worthless and unstable paper money, making the economic tension between states even

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