Pros And Cons Of The Articles Of Confederation

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Over time, the United States of America has become more distinctive among the other nations in the world. Many issues dealing with political, economic, and social inequalities identified the need for a new and equal government. Throughout the 18th century, the inequalities helped shaped the federal union to include the achievements and shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, reason for a new constitution, significance of slavery, and issues in the debate over ratification of the constitution. With limited power, the Confederate government was able to obtain notable achievements. One of its most significant successes was the creation of policies for the settlement of western lands. This included the Northwest Ordinance that established a procedure for transforming territories into states. It caused the United States to expand westward across North America by the admission of …show more content…
The Articles of Confederation lacked the overlook of a president or executive branch to enforce the laws of Congress. Consequently, states often acted for themselves and did what they thought would benefit their state as a whole. This further hampered the process of uniting the states, because the Articles of Confederation did not possess national unity between the states. Congress also lacked taxing authority, which limited their power to regulate trade. One of the founding fathers, Robert Morris, believed that they should permit Congress to veto power over state laws, direct election of the president based on taxation. Shay’s Rebellion, an uprising of farmers in western Massachusetts who opposed high taxes, was a result of how weak the national government really was. The Articles of Confederation didn’t have a strong national army or a judicial branch to interpret laws or settle disputes. The rebellion played a major role in the formation of legislation in the United