The Articles of Confederation were the first attempt at self-government in the United States of America.

The people believed that in order to protect their rights the government needed to have limited power. However, in doing so they created a weak government that did not protect the rights of the people. The Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses. The two most significant weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were that the states had more power than the government, and that the federal government had very little control over the economy. One of the most significant weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was that the states had more power than the federal government. For example, when the Continental Congress requested for solider from the states, they could refuse. This caused a horrific problem for the United States because they could not create an army to protect themselves against attack. According to the article, entitled Articles of Confederation, Britain and Spain threatened its security. So did many Indian nations, especially those who had fought on the side of the British during the Revolution. This quote shows that there were many threats to the United States of America that needed to be addressed. If the government could not create an army, then the United States would vulnerable. Therefore if the government had control over building and army and did not have to ask the states for soldiers then United States would not have be in danger. Another example that the states had more power than the federal government, under the Articles of Confederation, was that the states had the power to make their own trade laws. not the federal government. This resulted in each state having different trade laws. These trade laws made it harder for merchants to trade between states, which was called interstate commerce. According to the textbook, United States History: And New York History, Beginnings to 1877, by Deverell, William,and Deborah G. White, States followed their own trade interests. As a result, trade laws differed from state to state. This situation made trade difficult for merchants

whose business crossed state lines. This quote shows that the states had the power to implement their own laws that were beneficial for their own state, and did not consider the country as a whole. Another significant weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that the federal government had very little control over the economy of the nation. For example, the government could not implement tariffs, which were taxes on imports and exports. In order to sell goods in .Britain, Americans needed to rent a British ship which was highly expensive. This led the cost of American goods to increase drastically. In order to stop the unequal balance of trade between America and Britain the government needed to implement tariffs. According to the textbook, United States History: And New York History, Beginnings to 1877, by Deverell, William, and Deborah G. White, The Confederation Congress could not correct the problem because it did not have the authority either to pass tariffs or order states to pass tariffs. This quote shows that the federal government did not have the power over the economy to implement tariffs. When one state passed a tariff Britain moved on and sold their goods in another state. Therefore, because the federal government had very little control over the economy they were unable to improve the economy of the United States and put an end to the unfair trade market. Another example that the federal government had very little control over the economy, under the Articles of Confederation, was that the states were allowed to print their own money. This lead to inflation, which is when prices for goods go up and the value of money goes decreases as a result. According to Deverell and White, To ease this hardship states started printing paper money. The result was inflation. This money had little or no real value. This quote shows that the United States was in trouble and under the Articles of Confederation the federal government could not stop the states. Therefore, if the government had more power over

the economy under the Articles of Confederation they could order states to stop printing money therefore stopping inflation. The Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses that undermined the development of the United States. The most significant weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation were that the federal government had very little control over the economy and that that the states had more power than the federal government. These weaknesses lead Americans to believe that the Articles of Confederation had be rewritten in order to give the federal government more power. In May 1787 delegates met at the Constitutional Convention to improve the Articles of Confederation. Instead a new constitution was created and is the constitution that Americans have abided by till this day.