Describe the governing arrangements provided by the Articles of Confederation. What were the main weaknesses of the document?


Answer: The Articles of Confederation (AoC) was the first written constitution of the United States. There were various governing arrangements provided by the AoC, but the most important was protecting the power or sovereignty of the states.  The state would not have ratified the AoC if the federal government did not guarantee the powers of the states. The AoC defined a federal government with a unicameral legislature (one vote per state).  This legislation had the following powers: declare war, conduct “foreign or commercial relations with other countries” (i.e. treaties), and executive functions that would be carried out by legislative committees. It also “suggested a federal court system”.  This federal government was to be funded by the states.
Though it provided these powers to the federal government, there were inherent weaknesses built into the federal government. First, there was no way for the legislature to enforce its decisions. Second, a declared war or commercial treaty required the consent of at least 9 states. Even if a war was approved, there was no federal army, only state militias. Third, the federal government relied on the states for funding.  If the states didn’t like legislation passed, they could simply withhold funding. Fourth, amendments to the AoC required the unanimous agreement of all thirteen states.  A realization came that these weaknesses inhibited the governing ability of the federal government.  This set the stage for dropping the AoC, which then lead to the current Constitution of the United States.