Articles of Confederation
Advantages Vs. Disadvantages
Advantages
The Articles of Confederation was drawn up by the Second Continental Congress. It included a unified army for the states. It set up a legislature where each state had one vote. It was able to build and control an army. The Northwest Ordinance and land ordinance implemented in 1784 lead to the creation of territorial government. Congress could participate in making decisions, but was not given the power to enforce them.
The designers of the Articles of Confederation created a government with a weak central government because they wanted the people to have more power and be able to have a say in what was going on.
Disadvantages
The National government could not enforce laws so even if they were ratified, the states had the power to ignore them. The National government could not tax. 9 out of 13 states needed approval to pass a law. All 13 colonies were needed in order to amend a law. There was no executive or judicial branches. The Articles of Confederation caused the states to suffer economically especially when each state started taxing one another.