Articles of Confederation
The Pros, the Cons, and What They Mean for You
The Pros
With the Articles, our states have officially set up a unified army! The federal government has the ability to grow and control this army in a way that bet interests the states. This means we can raise the defense we both need and deserve for this country.
The government has also set up a legislature where each state gets one vote so as to allow fair decision-making in the law making process. If the majority of the states don't approve, then no worries! the law will not be instated into nation law.
Lastly, the federal government is able to handle foreign affairs for the nation on behalf of the states through delegates.
The government has also set up a legislature where each state gets one vote so as to allow fair decision-making in the law making process. If the majority of the states don't approve, then no worries! the law will not be instated into nation law.
Lastly, the federal government is able to handle foreign affairs for the nation on behalf of the states through delegates.
The Cons
Now while the Articles have their pluses there is always a downside to every government system. With the Articles in place, the government cannot enforce the laws it creates and thus the states can easily ignore any laws that are made.
The government also is not able to amend any laws without all of the states agreeing on the change, something that is rather difficult to do. That alone means that a majority agrees to the original law and it doesn't work out well, then they have to find a way to actually get all 13 states to agree on the change being made to the law some didn't even want in the first place.
The federal government also can't pull in its own revenue through taxes as they could not impose taxes on the states under it's control. Without any income to call its own, it is difficult for the government to actually hold up an army on its own.
And finally, the government does not have an executive or judicial branch. Without these two branches set up, the government cannot set up a national court system through a judicial branch nor can it enforce any laws without the executive branch.
The government also is not able to amend any laws without all of the states agreeing on the change, something that is rather difficult to do. That alone means that a majority agrees to the original law and it doesn't work out well, then they have to find a way to actually get all 13 states to agree on the change being made to the law some didn't even want in the first place.
The federal government also can't pull in its own revenue through taxes as they could not impose taxes on the states under it's control. Without any income to call its own, it is difficult for the government to actually hold up an army on its own.
And finally, the government does not have an executive or judicial branch. Without these two branches set up, the government cannot set up a national court system through a judicial branch nor can it enforce any laws without the executive branch.
So why the weak central government?
After the harshly strict rule of the British that our nation has struggled so hard to be free from, the states were not comfortable putting a different strong central government in place in fear that it would just be swapping one harsh ruler for another.