What Are The Shortcomings Of The Articles Of Confederation

The Shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation.

The United States of America was formed under one banner by the Articles of confederation and was guided by it through the war and its aftermath. This document was the governance behind the unified states and the ordinances that quelled the states’ disputes over the Ohio River Valley. However, despite these great accomplishments the fledgling government under the Articles encountered problems that would bring its demise. The Articles of Confederation that governed the new nation after the revolution were notable for their unifying ability and land ordinances; however, they ultimately created more problems through inadequate taxation, their inability to pass laws, and an incapacitated central government.

The central government was completely stripped of the ability to impose taxes because of the constant fear of taxation without representation. While noble in principle, the government’s inability to impose taxes created major problems for the nation’s economy. Lacking the authority to levy federal taxes, the nation accumulated crippling debt. This problem, however, did not get better, it only tumbled further out of the control of the powerless government. Without taxes the government was left with a miniscule income that could not cover all of the expenses of the nation. These expenses included the wages of the numerous veterans that fought for the nation’s independence. These veterans did not receive their money from the debt plagued government and in response to this rose up in Shay’s rebellion in an act that proved the Articles of Confederation’s deficiency. These major flaws in the government were intended to protect the citizens from a tyrannical government when in reality they created a debt that was not repairable through the