What was a major difference between the articles and the way our government works today?

One of the major differences between the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution nowadays is the division of powers, under the Articles of Confederation there was only a unicameral legislature and the central government was weak, the states had all the power and the central government had no power to collect taxes and pay international debt. The Constitution is divided by the executive power, a bicameral legislature (Senate and House of Representatives) and a judicial branch, unlike the unicameral legislature of the Articles of Confederation. The federal government has the power to collect taxes and deals with foreign affairs.

a revolutionary war veteran

affirmative action refers to the policies that take gender, race, or ethnicity into account in order to promote equal opportunity.

employers subject to title vii are prohibited from taking race or sex into account in any employment decisions. aa is a penalty for having any job group substantially statistically "underutilized" in any race or either sex. the employer must take steps to eliminate the underutilization, then stop, ending its aa efforts