Articles of Confederation

In the years following the separation from Great Britain, the 13 states were in desperate need of a unifying government. At the time, each state had its own government, as was requested by the Continental Congress. The Continental Congress then decided to create a system of government that would leave the power in the hands of the people, and the states they reside in. This plan of government would be called the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation expressed some good proposals and principles, however the cons of the Articles, outweighed the pros by a stretch that would send the states into mass confusion.

The reasons behind creating the Articles of Confederation were in the best interest of the people, in the minds of the Continental Congress. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, gave the states a huge track of land in the Old Northwest. This land needed to be divided up evenly and in an organized manner. The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 divided the land into sections which were then sold to help pay for the war. In 1787, the Ordinance stated that if a territory could boast 60,000 inhabitants, that territory would become a state. These territories were also given federal aid for education. This showed how important education was to the Continental Congress and how they wanted to unify the states. The Articles of Confederation managed to keep the thirteen very differing states unified, instead of the states wanting to separate from one another.

Aside from the positive aspects to the Articles of Confederation, there were many economic, political and foreign conflicts that arose. One of the major issues of the Articles of Confederation was that the government had no power to tax. Without taxes a government cannot support itself or support the people. The government also did not have a national currency. Without a national currency, each state had a different currency. The government did not regulate interstate commerce either, which led to states taxing each other's goods. If a state taxes another states goods, then the citizens will not buy the products. These taxes led to minimal trade amongst the states and confusion took place due to varying currencies. In addition to these economic problems were many political