Articles Of Confed

The Articles of Confederation was the first document written with the intent of governing the new country. The Articles were written with the intent of uniting the thirteen colonies into a confederation, and the Second Continental Congress adopted the document on November 15, 1777. The Articles were effective in solving some problems that faced the new nation, but were ineffective in solving others.

There were three distinct areas into which most problems could be organized. The most major problems were with foreign countries, especially England, France, and Spain. The question over the colonization of the western lands was persistent in the colonies. The new nation was also plagued by problems economically.

The Articles of Confederation were ineffective in solving the problems caused by foreign affairs. The fledgling nation did not know how to fight in the revolutionary war. They needed to establish ties with Europe, because without their support economically or without peace with them, the country would ultimately fail. The new nation lacked a strong reputation there. The British, who were still stationed in forts along the US-Canadian border, aided the Native Americans. Pirates plundered and ravaged the merchant ships that were supposed to be delivering cargo to and from North America, and Congress, under the articles, did not have the power to raise an army or a navy. This inability was also a problem when Daniel Shay's lead a small, armed, mob of angry farmers rebelled against taxation and the debtors jails. The federal government did not raise an army, so Massachusetts did, and squelched the uprising. If an amendment were to be added to fix this, or other problems, an almost impossible unanimous vote was necessary. The British still enforced the Navigation Acts, so government encouraged the states to follow the Treaty of Paris, which they refused to do. Congress could not force the states to comply with the treaty because they did not have the power to enforce laws or decrees.

The Articles were also ineffective when addressing the economics of the nation. The US had a debt that amounted to about $160