Midterm: United States and Weak National Government Essays

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Midterm: Question #2 The Articles of confederation was a document of the United States and served as the supreme law of the land from March 1781- June 1788. Under the Article of Confederation the government was organized as a weak national government with most of the power in the hands of the states, which in other hands was functioned as a single nation. The Articles of Confederation had no separate branches nor was there a president or a judicial branch. The only branch they did provide was the Congress, who some power but none to enforce laws on states and people. The Congress was not able to tax the states or people; they were only allowed to demand funds to run the government. The Articles of Confederation also had some weaknesses because it gave much power to the state and not enough to the government. A major problem that the Articles faced was that there was no separation of powers. There was no executive branch to enforce acts of Congress and no court system to create laws. In order for a law to be passes 9 out of 13 states had to approve before the law could be settled. The government was very weak because most of the power belonged to the states. There was no army to protect the nation. Although the Articles of Confederation had some weaknesses they also did have some power. They had the power to declare war, maintain an army, enter treaties, and also make peace. They were able to borrow and coin money, but this didn’t do any good because in the long run