| − | Nine (9) out of the 13 states' approval were needed to pass anything. And unanimous approval was required to amend the Articles. Those percentages were simply too high for a collection of states that were very different from each other. Now that the focus was off gaining freedom and onto building a new nation, the states had much less common ground.
| + | The Articles of Confederation created a very weak national government, with the states retaining most of the power for themselves. The Articles required approval by nine (9) out of the 13 states' to pass anything, so not even a simple majority vote (e.g., 7-6) was enough. And unanimous approval was required to amend the Articles. Those percentages were simply too high for a collection of states that were very different from each other. Now that the focus was off gaining freedom and onto building a new nation, the states had much less to agree about and they began to bicker and argue. |
| − | Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was given the power to declare war, raise and army and navy, make commercial treaties, borrow money, control currency, and levy assessments against the states. But Congress lacked the power to impose taxes on the people or enforce its will against states that refused to cooperate. It could ask the states for money, but could not force them to pay. The power to raise an army is almost meaningless without the means to raise money to pay the army. Thus, Congress under the Articles of Confederation was destined to be very weak from the beginning, and demands for a stronger form of national government began to grow. This was due in part to the fear the Founding Fathers had of a strong government, stemming from the power Britan had before the revolution. | + | Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was given the power to declare war, raise and army and navy, make commercial treaties, borrow money, control currency, and levy assessments against the states. But Congress lacked the power to impose taxes on the people to pay for any of that. It could ask the states for money, but could not force them to pay. The power to raise an army is almost meaningless without the means to raise money to pay the army. Thus, Congress under the Articles of Confederation was destined to be very weak from the beginning, and demands for a stronger form of national government began to grow. But others opposed a strong national government, asking why people fought in the American Revolution if they were just going to replace one hated government with another. |