Articles of Weakness

Articles of Weakness
* The Articles of Confederation (AOC) was too much of a friend to the states. Therefore, the AOC was an inadequate form of government. The problem was that basically it had no power over the states. It had a weak central government therefore most of the power resided in the states. In foreign affairs the AOC government had to request troupes from states, and it had no chief executive or state department to conduct foreign affairs. They also did not have the authority to tax, establish uniform currency, or regulate trade. Since the AOC was so weak Republic changed it with the Constitution.
* The first and manger flaw of the AOC was that the states had too much power. It could not act directly upon the individual citizens of a sovereign state, therefore it could not protect itself against indignities. States also and too much when it came to voting. It was set up so that each state only counted for one vote ( so that it would be fair to smaller states). Any bills dealing with some form of importance had to have the votes of nine states. And any amendment to the AOC required unanimous ratification, which was impossible therefore change would not take place. Which was why the Republic changed it with the Constitution.
*Another problem the AOC government had was that in foreign affairs it had to request troupes from states, and it did have an executive or state department to conduct foreign affairs. The way foreign affairs were resolved, was that, the AOC linked together thirteen independent states so that they could work out their own problems. Congress was the chief agency of government. There was no executive branch, and judicial arm was basically left up to the states. this also left the states with more power than the AOC.
* The AOC did not even have enough authority to tax, establish uniform currency, or regulate trade. The AOC had no power to regulate commerce, which is the buying and selling of goods, which was why they had no control over trading. Since the AOC did not have the power to enforce its tax program, it established a "tax quota". The tax quota was basically a donation. It asked the states for a certain amount yearly, but it usually only received 1/4 of what it asked for. Again this allowed the states to over power the AOC.
* The AOC was too weak, therefore causing it to be an inadequate form of government. It allowed the states to be more powerful because it had a weak central government. It had no power when it came to foreign affairs. And it also did not have any power when it came to taxing and trading. Due to the AOC being so weak, the Republic replaced it with the Constitution.