| The Article Of Confederation Essay, Research Paper
Independence from Britain made necessary the establishment of a new
government. Eleven states drew up new constitutions; Connecticut and Rhode
Island revised colonial charters. The Articles of Confederation created a loose
union of near-sovereign states. The Confederation was inadequate and was
failing in the structure of government. They also were in deep trouble, financially
and economically. The Articles of Confederation probably achieved its most
important success in the handling of west diplomatic and financial concerns. In
evaluting post-American Revolutionary War, overall the Articles of
Confederation did not provide the United States with an effective government
due to the lack of central power.
Upon Independence, financial problems troubled the Confederation
government. During the American Revolutionary War for independence,
Congress and the states had printed “good faith” paper currency. It became
virtually worthless and was never redeemed. The structure of the Articles of
Confederation allowed the Congress to request funds and borrow money but not
lay taxes or collect tariffs. Congress had to either borrow funds from private
suppliers or tax the states to finance reconstruction after the war. Unable to tax
without the approval of all 13 states, Congress turned to a wealthy, self-made
Philiadelphia merchant, Robert Morris, who in 1781 became the nation’s
superintendant of finance. Morris proposed that the states authorize the
collection of a nationalimport duty of 5 percent to finance the congression
budget and to guarantee interest payments on the war debt. In (Doc. A) a letter
from the Rhode Island Assembly to Congress on (Nov. 30, 1782), Rhode Island
explains the rejection of Morris’s proposal of the collection for a national import
duty. Rhode Island stated that it was unequal and against the constitution.
Because all 13 states had to agree, the proposal was thrown out and was not
inforced. Morris and Alexander Hamilton devised a dangerous plot called the
Newburgh Conspiracy in order to relieve the panic. In 1783, (Doc C) the two
men secretly persuaded some army officers to threaten a coupd’etat unless the
treasury obtained the taxation authority needed to raise their pay. A letter from
Delegate Joseph Jones to George Washington suggests the immediate pay to
the soilder by enforcing tariffs and taxation. George Washington blocked this
threatened military coup aimed at strengthening the central government and
guaranteeing back pay and pensions to officers as the war came close. These
events proved the Confederation was weak and unable to control financial
problems.
Diplomatic problems multiplied after the war. Congress was unable to
comply states to repay prewar debts to British citizens and allow Loyalists to
recover confiscated property. European governments closed off nearly all
American trade with the colonies. According to statistics of exports and
population(Doc. B), after the Declaration of Independence, the profit of exports
to Britain steadily declined. This shows that the export trade to Britain was
declining. Britain took away the rights of the United States to trade with the
British colonies, yet Britain goods were still flooding in the United States.This, in
return caused an economic depression within the colonies. Secretary of Foreign
Affairs John Jay negotiated many treaties with Spain, Britain, and other
European countries, but it was blocked by Congress. In John Jay’s Instructions
to the United States Minister to Great Britain (Doc. D, March 7, 1785), Jay
insists that the British remove themselves from the United States. The British
still remained in the United States even after the war. Western land claims
were a long source of dispute between the states and european nations. Seven
states had huge western land based on colonial charters(Doc. E), while six other
states had noneThe addition of the western lands would strenghten the
Congress because the sale of lands would provide a source of national revenue.
In (Doc. F, August 6, 1786), the Spanish wants the United States to give up
highway rights of the Mississippi. The Mississippi was generally a money
highway for the United States. The siezing of the Mississippi river was
unnecessary and took away the opportunities of the Americans. However, John
Jay’s negotiation of a trade treaty with Spain was blocked by Congress.
The Shay’s Rebellion showed the inablity of the Articles of Confederation
to keep maintain things in order to satisfy the citizens. In 1786, farmers with
debts demanded more paper currency, postponement of debt and tax payments,
and an end to mortgage foreclosures. In Rhode Island, government issued a
flood of paper money. In western Massachusetts rebel farmers led by Daniel
Shays attempted to interrupt the operations of the courts. The rebellion was
easily crushed, but fears of anarchy grew among the wealthy. In a letter from
John Jay to George Washingon June 27, 1786 (Doc. G), Jay addresses his fear
of the failure of the Confederation and the various uproars. His faith in a new
changed constitution (as well as many other political figures) showed that the
previous Articles of Confederation was a sure failure. Unable to control foreign
affairs, financial problems, and rebellions, the Congress decided to revise the
Confederations. In a speech to the South Carolina House of Representatives
(Doc. H), Rawlin Lowndes explains the failures of the Confederation and the
demanding of a new and revised government with more central powers and more
regulations on the states. These changes were necessary to the Confederation
and the United States to secure justice and organization.
Overall, The Articles of Confederation did not provide an effective
government. It did not satisfy the people,unify the states, nor keep the people
financially and economically happy. The Confederation was too weak, while the
states had strong seperate government. The states had much of freedom and
independece. There were some great achievements which were the Bill of
Rights and the western land claims, but these achievements did not really help
the Congress to make a strong central government. These were good to the
states, gving them more rights and freedom, not the central government. Later
on, these problems would lead to a stronger central government in order to keep
an effective government.
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