The Articles of Confederation were written November 15, 1777 by John Dickinson. The Articles of Confederation were written during the Revolutionary War in order to give the colonies some sense of a unified government. This created a weak central government leaving most of the power with the state governments which caused some issues. National laws and policies were enforced differently (if at all) in each state, the Confederation could not raise funds to pay its debts, and states began to compete for trade advantages.
After the Articles of Confederation were put in motion the Government lost all executive power. The National Government’s powers were limited, they were restricted to directing the post office, coining money, and negotiating with foreign powers. As for raising money and soldiers, it had to send a request to each state and the state would provide what was needed.
Because the Government had no executive power, they had no power to tax. The Confederation could not raise funds to pay its debts or implement national laws. The Articles of Confederation allowed for only state governments impose taxes. To pay for expenses the government had to request money from the states who were often unreliable. The government didn’t have money to pay back its debt and foreign countries were hesitant to loan money to a country who may never pay it back.
In 1786 many farmers were heavily in debt and faced imprisonment and loss of their hands. Many of these farmers were previous soldiers who had fought the British during the Revolutionary War and had gone unpaid. The Continental Congress promised to pay them, but the national government did not have the money to pay them. The farmers were unable to pay the new tax burden imposed by Massachusetts in order to pay its debts from the Revolution.
August 31, 1786 a march led by Daniel Shays consisting of many heavily debated farmers, marched to the local courthouse demanding relief. Many of the Massachusetts militiamen refused to arrest the farmers, with whom they agreed with, forcing Massachusetts to ask the national government for aid. The government was unable to provide a militia because the States had failed to gather the soldiers beforehand. The uprising was finally brought to an end June 1787 by a privately funded militia.
Shay’s Rebellion brought acknowledgment to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The government had no money to pay its debt or defenders and failed to raise a militia to put down the rebellion. To find a solution to all the problems they faced they Congress called for a revision of the Confederation. Delegates from 12 of the 13 states met in Philadelphia to craft a new Constitution that would become the foundation for our government.
