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What was the function of government under the Articles of Confederation?
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The government under the Articles of Confederation was intentionally weak and decentralized, reflecting the American colonists' distrust of strong central authority. Its main functions were domestic, focusing on protecting state sovereignty and republican liberty. Congress could declare war, manage foreign relations, and regulate territorial settlement but lacked the power to tax, regulate commerce, or enforce laws, relying on states for funding. These limitations led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.
The Articles of Confederation were a deliberately loose arrangement, in keeping with the American colonists' distrust of over-mighty central government. The colonists had just successfully fought against a war against what they believed to be a tyrannical British government riding roughshod over their inalienable rights. So it's understandable that, in response, they wanted their new governmental structure would be as loose and decentralized as possible.
Under the Articles, Congress was given the power to declare war, appoint military officers, sign treaties, make alliances, appoint foreign ambassadors, and manage relations with native tribes. Crucially, however, the states, not Congress, would have the sole right to raise taxes. This meant that Congress was dependent on the states for the funds necessary to carry out its important, but limited, functions. It's telling, for example, that the Confederation Congress could not muster a quorum to ratify on time the treaty that guaranteed American independence,...
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nor could it pay the expense of sending the ratified treaty back to Europe. But then, the main function of government under the Articles of Confederation was domestic, rather than foreign: to protect the cherished tradition of republican liberty as enshrined in the principle of state sovereignty.
The function of the national government under the Articles of Confederation was very limited. The Articles were described as a "firm league of friendship" rather than a strong central government, and its framers deliberately reserved most of the powers of government to the states. The national government was empowered to mediate between states, establish a national currency, and carry out diplomatic relations (treaties, declarations of war, and so on) with foreign nations. Beyond this, the government, which consisted entirely of a Congress, claimed the power to regulate the process under which new territories would be settled, governed, and admitted, which it did under the Land Ordinance and the Northwest Ordinance. But the government was far more notable for what it could not do than for what it could. It could not tax, regulate commerce, or coerce the state governments in any way. Most of the powers we associate with the federal government were denied to the government under the Articles. These deficiencies led to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 and the eventual ratification of the Constitution.
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