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The Articles of Confederation
Warm-Up
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Guided Practice
The Powers of Congress
Members of the Continental Congress were afraid that individual freedom might be taken away by the
national government if it had too much power. In order to avoid having a powerful federal (national)
government, here is a list of provisions (parts) included in the Articles of Confederation that limited the
power of the federal government.
No Chief Executive - After the abuse of power by King George III, the Americans didn’t want to have
the possibility of another abusive leader. However, not having a chief executive meant the new United
States lacked the leadership it needed to stay united.
No court system was established - Having a court system might mean that the national
government would have more power than the state governments and would be able to tell the states
what to do – just like the English government did to the colonies. However, without a court system,
there was no overall authority to settle disputes that might happen between individual states.
9 out of 13 states had to approve laws – The new United States wanted to make sure they all had
a say in what laws were passed. They also wanted to be sure that one section of the country didn’t
have the power to pass laws that another section did not agree with. Unfortunately, this could cause a
problem because it might be difficult for laws to be passed if states had a hard time agreeing.
Congress did not have the power to impose and collect taxes - England had charged the
colonists high taxes on everything without their consent. They wanted to avoid that happening again.
But, without being able to impose and collect taxes, the federal government had no money.
Articles did not control trade among the states – The new United States did not like how England
controlled the colonies trade through mercantilism. This became a problem because trade between
the states was disorganized and different states charged each other high taxes to trade across state
lines.
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Congress could not create an army - England had forced colonists to house soldiers from an army
that took away the colonist’s rights. However, there was no army to protect the United States from
foreign attack or problems (rioting) at home.
All 13 states had to agree in order to change the Articles - If a change was being made to the
overall government, all states should agree. This would stop the rights of one state from being
trampled on. However, it was impossible to make necessary changes to the government because at
least one state always disagrees.
Directions: Identify if the following provisions of the Articles of Confederation is a strength or weakness
by placing it into the correct column.
Provisions of the Articles of Confederation
Weak Congress
Conduct foreign affairs
Declare war and make peace
9 out of 13 states needed to approve laws
No chief executive
Land Ordinance of 1785
Print and borrow money
No national court system
All 13 states must agree to change the Articles
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Strengths of the Articles of Confederation
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
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Topic: The Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation
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