What was the main failure of the Articles of Confederation that eventually led to the US Constitution?

Background of the Articles of Confederation 📃

  • Within the new nation there was a need for organization.
  • The American people feared a national government due to troubles with the British Monarchy, so there was a struggle to determine how much power should be given away. 
  • The 13 colonies needed to find common ground in order to be prosperous. 
  • The Continental Congress had incurred debts to fight the Revolutionary War.
  • Ultimately, the Articles of Confederation failed. Learn why they failed and how it relates to Shay's Rebellion.

Resources:

Reasons Why the Articles of Confederation Failed đŸš«  

Ultimately, the Articles of Confederation failed because they were crafted to keep the national government as weak as possible:

  • There was no power to enforce laws
  • No judicial branch or national courts
  • Amendments needed to have a unanimous vote 

The combination of these factors made it impossible to be able to run a successful new nation. Each colony viewed their needs to be more important than the common good of the nation, and people were much more loyal to their individual states. The Continental Congress had borrowed money to fight the Revolutionary War and could not repay their debts, nor could they enforce a tax, as illustrated by Shay's Rebellion.

Downfall of the Articles of Confederation: Shays' Rebellion

  • A group of Massachusetts farmers  were outraged by the increased efforts by the state government to collect taxes. 
  • They performed a series of violent attacks on government properties. 
  • The national government was unable to extinguish the rebellion. 
  • This proved that the Articles did not have the power needed to run the country successfully. 

Resources:

Concern about the Articles of Confederation

Just a few years after the Revolutionary War, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared their young country was on the brink of collapse. America’s first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn’t regulate commerce, or print money. The states’ disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation.

The Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May of 1787. The delegates shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. Although they had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, by mid-June they had decided to completely redesign the government. There was little agreement about what form it would take.

One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—should it be based on population or divided equally among the states? The framers compromised by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person. Slavery itself was a thorny question that threatened to derail the Union. It was temporarily resolved when the delegates agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808.

Writing the Constitution

After three hot summer months of equally heated debate, the delegates appointed a Committee of Detail to put its decisions in writing. Near the end of the convention, a Committee of Style and Arrangement kneaded it into its final form, condensing 23 articles into seven in less than four days.

On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution. George Reed signed for John Dickinson of Delware, who was absent, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. It was an extraordinary achievement. Tasked with revising the existing government, the delegates came up with a completely new one. Wary about centralized power and loyal to their states, they created a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. It stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.

Ratification

The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government. Instead, they called for special ratifying conventions in each state. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government. But at the time, only 6 of 13 states reported a pro-Constitution majority.

The Federalists, who believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation’s challenges, needed to convert at least three states. The Anti-Federalists fought hard against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government that reminded them of the one they had just overthrown, and it lacked a bill of rights.

The ratification campaign was a nail-biter. The tide turned in Massachusetts, where the “vote now, amend later” compromise helped secure victory in that state and eventually in the final holdouts.

What Does it Say? How Was it Made?

What was the main failure of the Articles of Confederation?

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation Congress did not have the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. There was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by Congress. There was no national court system. Amendments to the Articles of Confederation required a unanimous vote.

What problem led to the development of the Articles of Confederation?

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first written constitution of the United States. Written in 1777 and stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states. It was not ratified until March 1, 1781.

What was the main reason for the failure of the Articles of Confederation quizlet?

The Articles of Confederation failed because they left too much power with the states. The federal government had no power to levy or collect taxes, no power to regulate trade, and no power to enforce laws. There was also no executive branch under the Articles of Confederation, and no national court system.

What are 5 reasons that the Articles of Confederation failed?

These included:.
Each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of size..
Congress did not have the power to tax..
Congress did not have the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce..
There was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by Congress..
There was no national court system or judicial branch..