Which of the following could the central government do under the articles of confederation?

On this date, the Continental Congress adopted a plan for the inaugural national government under the Articles of Confederation. Two days later, the Continental Congress sent the Articles to the states, which approved the new government in March 1781. Created to unify the 13 colonies, the Articles nevertheless established a largely decentralized government that vested most power in the states and in the national legislature. Concerned with the accumulation of power in too few hands, the Articles did not establish an executive branch and they greatly circumscribed the role of courts. Even Congress had only those powers “expressly delegated” to it by the states. Delegates gave the Continental Congress the power to request money from the states and make appropriations, regulating the armed forces, appointing civil servants, and declaring war. But the legislature was largely ineffectual because the Articles required more than a simple majority to pass legislation that related to such fundamental issues such as finance, taxation, treaty ratification, and war-making powers. Moreover, attempts to strengthen the Articles required unanimous support of the states. In 1787, the Federal Convention approved the U.S. Constitution which, when ratified by the states, superseded the Articles of Confederation.

After the Lee Resolution proposed independence for the American colonies, the Second Continental Congress appointed three committees on June 11, 1776. One of the committees was tasked with determining what form the confederation of the colonies should take. This committee was composed of one representative from each colony. John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, was the principal writer.

The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation named the confederation "the United States of America." After considerable debate and revision, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777.

The document seen here is the engrossed and corrected version that was adopted on November 15. It consists of six sheets of parchment stitched together. The last sheet bears the signatures of delegates from all 13 states.

This "first constitution of the United States" established a "league of friendship" for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power...which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States. The Articles of Confederation also outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote in Congress.

Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion. Because of disputes over representation, voting, and the western lands claimed by some states, ratification was delayed. When Maryland ratified it on March 1, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation came into being.

Just a few years after the Revolutionary War, however, James Madison and George Washington were among those who feared their young country was on the brink of collapse. With the states retaining considerable power, the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce. It could not tax and was generally impotent in setting commercial policy. Nor could it effectively support a war effort. Congress was attempting to function with a depleted treasury; and paper money was flooding the country, creating extraordinary inflation.

The states were on the brink of economic disaster; and the central government had little power to settle quarrels between states. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart.

In May of 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. They shuttered the windows of the State House (Independence Hall) and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. By mid-June the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government. After three hot, summer months of highly charged debate, the new Constitution was signed, which remains in effect today.

The Articles of Confederation created a Nation that was "a league of friendship and perpetual union,” but it was the state governments that had most of the power under the Articles, with little power given to the central government. Congress, for example, had to rely on the states for its funds and to carry out its official orders. Because of this, the central government could not accomplish much because it had limited authority over states or individuals in America.

Because of the fear that resulted from the colonial experience under the centralized government of Great Britain, the committee had been careful to give the states as much independence as possible, while also clearly stating the limited functions of the Federal Government. Several years would pass and many revisions would occur before the Articles were finally adopted. The delay was caused by concerns with the Revolutionary War and disagreements among the 13 states over such things as boundary lines and the conflicting decisions reached by the courts of the different states. The smaller states wanted equal representation in Congress with the larger states, while states with larger populations did not want to pay an extensive amount of money to the Federal Government if taxation was based upon population. There was also wide disagreement over who would control the western territories of North America. The states that did not have frontier borders wanted the government to control the sale of these lands so that all states could benefit. States with frontier borders, on the other hand, wanted to control as much of the territory land as they could in the hopes of expanding their borders.

After much discussion and compromise, the Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. The Articles were composed of a preamble and 13 articles. The document maintained the aspect of voting done by states and taxes were based upon the value of buildings and land and not by a state’s population. The Articles also specified that no state could be deprived of territory for the benefit of the country and that all 13 states had to agree to any amendment of the Federal Government’s power.

The Articles of Confederation became the ruling document in the new Nation after they were ratified by the last of the 13 American states, Maryland, in 1781. The Articles created a nation that was "a league of friendship and perpetual union." The state governments retained most of the power under this framework, with a subordinate position given to the central government. The central government commanded little respect and was not able to accomplish much because it had little jurisdiction over states or individuals.

The following were challenges in governing the new Nation under the Articles of Confederation:

• Congress, or the central government, was made up of delegates chosen by the states and could conduct foreign affairs, make treaties, declare war, maintain an army and a navy, coin money, and establish post offices. However, measures passed by Congress had to be approved by nine of the 13 states.
• Congress was limited in its powers. It could not raise money by collecting taxes and had no control over foreign commerce; it could pass laws but could not force the states to comply with them. The Government was dependent on the cooperation of the various states to carry out its measures.
• The articles were nearly impossible to change, so problems could not be corrected.

In the words of George Washington, the government created by the Articles of the Confederation was "little more than a shadow without the substance." There was clearly a need for a stronger central government, so leaders from throughout the newly formed states met at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to address that issue, and the Constitution of the United States of America was drafted to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Which of the following could the government do under the Articles of Confederation?

What was the role of the central government in the Articles of Confederation?

What could the central government not do under the Articles of Confederation?

Which of the following was a central idea of the Articles of Confederation?