articles of confederation Flashcards
when was the AOC passed
- Passed by Congress in 1777 but not fully agreed by the states until 1781
- They were in use during the last 2 years of the War for Independence
problem 1- taxation
The national government could not tax citizens directly, only request money from the states and because The states rarely contributed money, the national government could not pay its debts or fund initiatives
problem 2- trade
The national government could not regulate international or interstate trade. The national government could not stop states from undermining it by making their own trade agreements with foreign nations.
problem 3- army
The national government could not raise an army, only request that the states send soldiers States could refuse to send soldiers, making it difficult to defend the nation.
problem 4- votes
Each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of its population. This meant that The citizens of small states had proportionally more political power than the citizens of large states.
problem 5- the judicial branch
The national government had no executive or judicial branch. So The national government had no way of implementing or enforcing its legislative decisions. There was also no effective way to resolve disputes between states, such as competing claims to the same territory.
problem 6- approval of the law
Passing laws required the approval of nine states, and amending the Articles required the approval of all thirteen states. So It was difficult to get enough consensus to make laws and nearly impossible to fix the Articles themselves.
were they supported
when did they come into effect
The Articles were not well supported at first and while Congress passed them, it took years before the other states had agreed to them. They finally came into effect in 1781, two years before the end of the war of independence
