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What Are The Strengths Of The Articles Of Confederation

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The Articles of Confederation did not provide the new nation with an effective government from 1781-1789. The Articles of Confederation was created by Benjamin Franklin and was approved by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. The purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to create a central government. The central government under the Articles consisted of the Confederation Congress, which was the only branch of government, and their job was to pass laws. Although it was a national government, it had little power over the people since it was created to be weaker than the state governments because people feared an overpowering national government. The structure soon became a problem because one branch(Continental Congress) had no way …show more content…

The Confederation Congress was the central government, but due to the Articles this restricted what the government was able to control.This caused them to lack power. Congress had no ability to tax the states, force states to honor agreements with foreign nations, create laws regulating trade within the states, and laws regulating citizens behaviors. This led to many problems within the country and with international nations (“We The …show more content…

One event that was seen as a strength was the Northwest Ordinance. The Northwest Ordinance took place in 1787, and created a new plan for government. This land was between the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi, and was taken by the national government to create the states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota. By creating these states, the national government created states where people could move to and be guaranteed to be treated just as equally as existing states. Another benefit of the Northwest Ordinance was that Slavery was not allowed in this territory, education was required, and Congress could regulate these states because they had full control (We The People). Some people also known as anti-federalists were against changing the form of government because they thought that allowing the states to have more power would be more likely to protect the rights of the people, but by adding the Bill of Rights this would ensure protection of people's basic rights. The Articles of Confederation, also contributed to the idea of the “cabinet departments of treasury, state, and war”(We The

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