EXPLORING THE WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention tried to remedy the problems of the Articles of Confederation. Use
the indicated section of the Constitution in your book to complete the chart below showing how the
Constitution fixed each weakness with the AOC.
AOC Weakness
Congress could not levy
or collect taxes. They
had to rely on states
collecting and
sending…not
mandatory
Each state had only one
vote in Congress
9 out of 13 states were
needed to pass a law.
Congress could not
regulate trade
(commerce).
No executive branch to
carry out the laws
made by Congress
No national court
system (no judiciary)
What the Constitution says/does to FIX IT
Article I, Section 2, Clause 3
Taxes will be calculated based on the population of the state
Article I, Section 8:
Congress has the power to tax
Amendment 16:
Constitution is changed!!! Taxes are now on INCOME, not calculated
based on population
Article I, Section 3, Clause 1:
How are the votes passed out among the Senate?
 Each state has 2 Senators
 Each Senator has 1 vote
 Each state has 2 votes in the Senate
 All states are equal in the Senate, no matter the size of their
population
Article I, Section 7:
Does it say how many states are needed to pass a bill?
 No.
How does a bill become a law?
 A bill has to pass both Houses of Congress and be signed by the
President to become a law
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 is called the
 “COMMERCE CLAUSE”
What does it do?
 Regulates not just trade, but commercial activity
Congress has the power to regulate what kinds of trade?
 Foreign Trade
 Interstate Trade
 With the Indian Tribes
Article II, Section 1, Clause 1:
 Provides for an ELECTED President (Head of the Executive
Branch)
 Term length = 4 years
Article III, Section 1, Clause 1:
 Creates an independent Supreme Court
 Judges serve during “good Behavior” – meaning for life or
retirement unless impeached or convicted – protects judges
from threat of dismissal
 Judges salaries can’t be reduced – protects them from the whims
(pressure) of Congress
The states, as well as
Congress, had the
power to coin money
Article V:
Unanimous
 2/3 of states to propose a change to Constitution
amendment of AOC
 ¾ to ratify (or approve) the change
(13 of 13)
Article VI, Clause 2 is called the
Congress could not
 “SUPREMACY CLAUSE”
force states to obey
What does it do?
national laws.

Unanimous ratification
(13 of 13 to ratify
AOC)
Congress couldn’t
support an army &
navy and so had to
depend on the
support of state
militias
Is the “linchpin” of the constitution—means it keeps the whole
thing from falling apart
 If a state law contradicts or conflicts with a national law, the
national law is superior
 All national laws have to be in conformity to the Constitution
Article VII:
 Only took 9 of the 13 states to ratify the Constitution in order for
it to go into effect
 All eventually ratified it