Articles of Confederation PDF

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Problems with the Article of Confederation
On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted The Articles of Confederation
(Rodell). It was United State’s first constitution that had undergone several ratifications in the
later years. By March 1, 1781, the remaining thirteen states ratified the Articles of
Confederation. However, it was found that the article had many loopholes as it had made the
central government weak. A convention was held in Philadelphia from May 1787 to September
1787, which was attended by 55 delegates from 13 states. The most prominent personalities that
attended the convention included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton amongst others. Then, on March 4, 1789, it was replaced by the United
States constitution.
As described in the writings of James Madison, during the 1787 convention, the deputies
from the different states were assigned the task to revise the federal system. After selecting
George Washington as the president of the convention, the committee then decided to appoint a
secretary. On May 28, 1787, Mr. King, one of the deputies objected that any member must not be
authorized to object or refute any declaration and enter them into the minutes (Rodell).
According to Mr. King, the minutes would be filled with contradictions since opinions would
vary frequently. Many other weaknesses came out to the fore that had not been addressed by the
Article.

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The Articles of Confederation came into being after a growing necessity felt by the
citizens for some sort of organization. During the Revolution, several states created their own
constitutions, which had ideas of equality and freedom. The first constitution made the nation a
confederation wherein each state possessed sovereign powers. Nonetheless, it was quickly
understood that the Article had more weaknesses than strengths. As stated by Fred Rodell, “the
Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government”. These
led to the Constitutional Convention that took place in 1787 and the subsequent formation of the
first constitution of the United States.
As highlighted by James Madison, the states had failed to fulfill the Constitutional
demands. Further, the Article had unduly bestowed more powers to the state that led to many
wars and treaties. These included the war by Georgia against the Indians, Virginia and Maryland
involving in unlicensed compacts and so on. In addition, within a year after the Article was
formed, there were violations by the states of the law of nations and the treaties. The Congress,
which was formed because of the Article, was given very limited or no powers at all. It had the
power to make the laws but not to implement these laws. The states had the power to ignore the
laws if they did not support it.
In the above section, it has been mentioned that the Article had given undue powers to
the thirteen states that came into existence after the Revolution. Due to the absence of a powerful
central government, a series of restrictions emerged that further made the Article futile. Apart
from that, the Article made the central government depend heavily on the states for financial
assistance funding. The states were given the sole power to impose taxes and earn revenues.
Another important reason for which the Article was considered a failure was that it proposed for

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each state to have their own currency. With no fixed currency, trading between states and foreign
nations became extremely difficult.
The preparation for drafting the first Constitution of the free nation had begun in 1777
but it came into its actual being during the 1787-1789 periods. On 29 May 1787, the first article
of the Articles of Confederation was formed. The first statement of the article declared that the
government should comprise the “supreme legislative, executive and judicial powers” (Rodell).
The article then went on to assign powers and authorities to the center and the states and describe
the nature of power. One of the statutes in the first article states that each state must be fully
trusted in terms of legislature and judicial proceedings. The article also mentioned that if
amendments to the constitution were to be made, the agreement of two-thirds of the State
Legislature should be enough and the Congress must abide by it. However, on May 30 1787, Mr.
Randolph came up with the proposition that the Articles of confederation be corrected and
enlarged (Rodell). He suggested that it was necessary to achieve the objectives for which the
Articles were formed in the first place. These objects included security of liberty, common
defense and general welfare.
As per the suggestions of Mr. Randolph, the union of states alone would not achieve the
objects given by the Articles. He further suggested that it would not be sufficient in case of
treaties that only the States act as sovereigns (Rodell). The most important suggestion presented
by Mr. Randolph was the establishment of a national Government that would consist of the
Legislative, Judiciary and executive. However, there was no clear mention for having a powerful
national government. Many other who doubted whether Mr. Randolph wanted to reduce the
power of the states completely contested his suggestions. After much debate and discussion, the
deputies agreed that the Article had deficiencies that needed to be addressed. Mr. Mason was of