Discussion Topic
US Constitution's Solutions to Articles of Confederation Weaknesses
Summary:
The US Constitution addressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by establishing a stronger central government. Under the Articles, the federal government lacked the power to levy taxes, regulate interstate commerce, maintain a standing army, and issue a unified currency. The Constitution introduced a federal system with a President, a bicameral Congress, and a Supreme Court to ensure checks and balances. It granted the federal government authority over taxation, currency, and foreign affairs, providing a cohesive structure to manage national issues effectively.
How did the US Constitution address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
Whether the Constitution of the United States represented an improvement upon the earlier Articles of Confederation depended entirely upon one's perspective. As students of American history know, the debate over where to draw the line between centralized and distributed powers was of great significance in the shaping of the country. Ultimately, the issue would be resolved following years of bloody warfare between the Northern and Southern states. The Civil War was fought by the North to prevent the secession of the South, the Confederacy, which wanted far greater powers given to the individual states. At its inception, the United States of America had been unable to definitively resolve the debate. The replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution represented a temporary resolution of the conflict between those wanting a strong centralized federation and those supporting a looser confederation of individual states.
Accepting that the Constitution of the United...
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States was a vast improvement over the Articles of Confederation, which it inarguably was, then the reason that it represented an improvement was obvious in the tenuous nature of the country that would have existed under the Articles of Confederation. Again, under the Articles, political power would have devolved to the individual 13 states at the expense of the unifying influence of a Congress and Chief Executive. Alexander Hamilton wrote regarding the deficiencies of the Articles with respect to the ability of a central or federal government to function in support and defense of the whole:
But the confederation itself is defective and requires to be altered. It is neither fit for war nor peace. The idea of an uncontrollable sovereignty [autonomy] in each state over its internal police [militia] will defeat the other powers given to Congress and make our union feeble and precarious [endangered].
George Washington echoed the theme of the dangers of an anemic Congress should the Articles of Confederation remain the guiding document of the newly-emerging nation:
certain I am that unless adequate Powers are given to Congress for the general purposes of the Federal Union that we shall soon molder [decay] into dust and become contemptible in the Eyes of Europe, if we are not made the sport [joke] of their Politics. To suppose that the general concern of this Country can be directed by thirteen heads, or one head without competent powers, is a solecism [mistake], the bad effects of which every Man who has had the practical knowledge to judge from, that I have, is fully convinced of, tho’ none perhaps has felt them in so forcible and distressing a degree.
The authors of the Constitution understood that for the United States to survive as a political entity capable of governing and defending itself, the federal structure reflected in the Constitution had to become the law of the land. There had to be a certain consistency with regard to the fundamental principles that underlaid the American Revolution across the entirety of the nation and there had to be singular control over the instruments of war and international commerce. To expect that a loose confederation of 13 states would be capable of formulating and implementing national policy would have been foolhardy. The Constitution was a major improvement over the Articles of Confederation because the latter document would have enshrined as the law of the land a governing structure too feeble to survive the challenges that were certain to come.
References
Under the Articles of Confederation, the states were controlled loosely by a national legislature. This national legislature could not tax. There was no chief executive. The national government could only request taxation from the states--each state only wanted to pay its own debt. There was also no national currency.
The Constitution made federal law over state law. In Article I of the Constitution, Congress can regulate interstate commerce. It is also responsible for coinage and only Congress can regulate tariffs; in the early days of the national government, it was largely funded through land sales, excise taxes, and tariffs. Article II gave the national government a chief executive whose job it was to execute the laws. He had veto power over Congress, but Congress could override his veto or even vote to impeach him in extreme cases. To ensure that Congress would not go against the Constitution, the Founders even put in a Supreme Court to ensure that the laws were constitutional. All of this was done in order to have a functional national government which would act as a cohesive financial unit and pay down the national debts as well as safeguard the civil liberties of the people.
There were several weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. One weakness was that the government under the Articles of Confederation couldn’t levy taxes. In the Constitution, the government had the power to levy taxes. There also were financial problems with the Articles of Confederation. Both the state governments and the federal government were able to print money. Under the Constitution, only the federal government could print money.
There were other weaknesses that existed. Under the Articles of Confederation, the government couldn’t control trade. With the Constitution, the government could control interstate trade. With the Articles of Confederation, there was no President. Instead, a weak three-person committee ran the government. This was done because people were afraid one person might abuse his power like the King had done. With the Constitution, there was a person, called the President, who had power and ran the government. However, the President could be impeached if he broke the law or abused his power.
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How does the US Constitution address the Articles of Confederation's weaknesses?
The US Constitution gave the United States a fully-functioning central government, something it had never had under the Articles of Confederation. Having just thrown off the yoke of what they regarded as British tyranny, the American colonists wanted to ensure that government was as decentralized as possible. This meant that, under the Articles of Confederation, ultimate sovereignty lay with the states; there was no central government to speak of.
As time went by, it became patently obvious that the existing system was no longer fit for purpose. The system of government that had stood the United States in good stead during the Revolutionary War proved wholly inadequate to deal with the new nation's many post-War challenges.
For one thing, the lack of a central government meant that the United States was unable to pay off the large debts it had accrued during the War. It was also impossible for the United States to speak with one voice on the international stage as there wasn't one foreign policy, but thirteen different ones, some of them mutually contradictory.
In establishing a central government the US Constitution addressed these concerns and many more, thus laying the foundations for a prosperous modern state ready and able to take its place among the intentional family of nations.
The Article of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. It was established in 1776 and lasted until 1789—taking the early United States through the Revolutionary War. However, once the war was finished, it became apparent that the Articles were not strong enough to keep the country afloat.
The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government and provided the individual states much more power and authority. Among the notable weaknesses were the inability of the federal government to collect taxes, impose tariffs, keep a standing army, and pay its debts. Many of the issues with the federal government under the Articles of Confederation came down to economics. The individual states held nearly all the power under the Articles, and as a result, the federal government was left asking for things like money to pay debts or soldiers to fill an army.
The US Constitution was drafted between 1787 and 1789 to remedy some of the issues in the Articles of Confederation. The breaking point for many of the state governments was the fiasco of Shay’s Rebellion, where Massachusetts couldn’t fight a rebellion, and the federal government couldn’t supply troops to combat the rebels. The Constitution reorganized the federal government entirely. Some of the main changes were:
- The House of Representatives was established with proportionate representation—meaning there were representatives for every thirty thousand citizens. The Articles’ congress was not proportionate, favoring small states.
- The US Senate was established that had equal representation—which meant smaller states were not going to be outvoted.
- Both houses of Congress were required to pass many laws, which is meant as a check and balance of power.
- A president was established who would sign bills once passed. The veto power was established as a check and balance of power.
- Congress was granted the power to impose taxes, tariffs, and other means of making money for the US; further, they were able to take on debts for the country.
- While Congress could raise money for an army, the army was presided over by the president. A standing army was established, as well as a way to fund it.
- States were prohibited from taxing one another, something that frequently happened under the Articles.
- The three branches of the government were established, each with a duty and as a balance of power. The Articles only provided for a weak congress.
- Altering the Constitution could be done by both congress or state convention. The threshold for percentage agreement needed for change was also lowered from 100% to just 66%.
The US Constitution was very different from the Articles of Confederation and established a much stronger central government. The new government also drafted ten initial amendments that granted rights to the people, something that was also not written about under the Articles of Confederation.
What were the key weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and how were they addressed in the new Constitution?
You have asked several questions in the post. I will answer the first one.
There were several problems with the plan of government created by the Articles of Confederation. One problem was that the government didn’t have the power to tax. This made it difficult for the government to get money and pay our debts. In the Constitution, the government was given the power to tax. Additionally, under the Articles of Confederation, both state governments and the federal government could make money. This led to a high rate of inflation. Under the Constitution, only the federal government can make money.
Another problem with this plan of government is that it couldn’t require people to join the military. When other countries, especially Spain and Great Britain, began to push the United States around, there wasn’t much the US government could do, in part because it couldn’t make people join the military. Along with this issue, the government had trouble maintaining order. When Shays’ Rebellion occurred, the state militia ended the rebellion. The federal government had more power regarding US military under the Constitution.
There also was no place where state governments could take their disputes with other states because there was no court system under the Articles of Confederation. This was corrected in the Constitution.
There were many problems with the plan of government created by the Articles of Confederation. These problems led to a meeting that produced a new plan of government known as the Constitution.
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How did the Constitution address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation?
The Constitution set up a much more powerful central government to solve the main shortcoming of the Articles of Confederation.
The main shortcoming of the Articles was that they created a federal government that had very little power. It could not tax. It had no chief executive. It essentially relied on the states for everything.
To solve this, the Constitution set up a stronger central government. The states had little power over this government. The central government had a president with relatively strong powers. Laws it made were to have supremacy over those made by states. The states could not regulate interstate commerce nor could they conduct their own foreign policies. All of these sorts of provisions made the federal government stronger, thus solving the major shortcoming of the Articles of Confederation.