Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
The Articles of Confederation were adopted in the year 1781. However by 1787, only six years later, they were revised. The reason for such a short period between its adoption and its revision was due to the many problems that occurred. Firstly, one of the most important problems was that congress had no control over taxes. The states refused to give the government the money it needed. This led to many other problems. As a result of the government having no money, it could not pay off its debts of about $70 million from the revolution. This included paying soldiers and also citizens who had provided supplies. It was also unable to defend its borders from the British and Spanish because it could not pay for an army when the states would not. Congress was unable to maintain an army or navy because it could not pay for them. The falling value of bonds and notes used to finance the war also led to widespread unhappiness. In addition the different states engaged in tariff wars, almost stoppi
The Articles of Confederation failed because they left too much power with the states. The federal government had no power to levy or collect taxes, no power to regulate trade, and no power to enforce laws. There was also no executive branch under the Articles of Confederation, and no national court system. Also, all states had to give consent in order for amendments to be passed and 9 out of 13 states had to give consent in order for laws to be passed. This rarely happened, because there were hardly ever enough delegates to pass a law and 5 small states could completely block what larger states wanted. The only power the federal government had was to make war and peace, send and receive ambassadors, enter into treaties, raise and equip a navy, maintain an army by requesting troops from the states, appoint senior military officers, fix standards of weights and measures, regulate Indian affairs, establish post offices, and decide certain disputes among states.
