2.2 The Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation?
Formed the basis of the new nation’s government, was accepted by Congress in November 1777 and
submitted to the states for ratification. It would not become the law of the land until all thirteen states
had approved it. Within two years, all except Maryland had done so. Maryland argued that all territory
west of the Appalachians, to which some states had laid claim, should instead be held by the national
government as public land for the benefit of all the states. When the last of these states, Virginia,
relinquished its land claims in early 1781, Maryland approved the Articles. A few months later, the
British surrendered.
Republic and Confederation?
Republic, a regime in which the people, not a monarch, held power and elected representatives to
govern according to the rule of law. Many, however, feared that a nation as large as the United States
could not be ruled effectively as a republic. Many also worried that even a government of
representatives elected by the people might become too powerful and overbearing. Thus, a
confederation was created—an entity in which independent, self-governing states form a union for the
purpose of acting together in areas such as defense. Fearful of replacing one oppressive national
government with another, however, the framers of the Articles of Confederation created an alliance of
sovereign states held together by a weak central government.
What was the AOC issue?
The Articles of Confederation satisfied the desire of those in the new nation who wanted a weak central
government with limited power. Ironically, however, their very success led to their undoing. It soon
became apparent that, while they protected the sovereignty of the states, the Articles had created a
central government too weak to function effectively.
One of the biggest problems was that the national government had no power to impose taxes. To avoid
any perception of “taxation without representation,” the Articles of Confederation allowed only state
governments to levy taxes. To pay for its expenses, the national government had to request money from
the states, which were required to provide funds in proportion to the value of the land within their
borders.
Without money, it could not pay debts owed from the Revolution and had trouble conducting foreign
affairs. Currency it issued, called the Continental, was largely worthless and people were reluctant to
use it. Furthermore, while the Articles of Confederation had given the national government the power
to coin money, they had not prohibited the states from doing so as well. The national government could
not raise an army. It had to request the states to send men. Each state had only one vote in Congress
regardless of its size. The Articles could not be changed without a unanimous vote to do so.
The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, already recognized by many, became apparent to all as
a result of an uprising of Massachusetts farmers, led by Daniel Shays. Known as Shays’ Rebellion, the
incident panicked the governor of Massachusetts, who called upon the national government for
assistance.