The Problems with the Articles of Confederation

After declaring its independence from England in 1776, the new United States was governed under the Articles of Confederation, written in that same year. The Articles created a very weak form of government, because many Americans feared strong, centralized power--they did not want to escape from the British king only to create a new government that was too strong.

The Articles of Confederation created a United States government with a legislature, but with no executive (such as a president) or court system. The legislature had little power to control the separate states. It could not even raise revenue by compelling states or citizens to pay taxes. Instead, the government could only ask states to contribute their share of the cost of maintaining the government. After the American Revolution ended in 1783, Americans quickly discovered that their government was too weak to control and preserve the new nation.