Why the Articles of Confederation failed.

The first attempt for the United States at a Constitution was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation first came up for discussion on June 12, 1776¹. Knowing the inevitability that Independence would soon be a reality, a committee was formed to discuss and draft a Constitution for all the United States. It would not be until November 15, 1777² that they would be approved by the Congress, and not until March 1, 1781³ that they were finally ratified by all 13 States. Just a few days over eight years later, the Articles of Confederation would be part of history, being replaced by the Constitution on March 4, 1789⁴.

So why did the Articles of Confederation fail? Why did this first attempt at government not succeed? What in the Articles was wrong, or insufficient, or cumbersome that needed to be corrected? There were many reason the Articles of Confederation failed, many things happened in the United States and the government that exposed significant flaws. Perhaps you are one of the many that have heard it was because the Articles were not strong enough, that is part of the reason, but not the only reason. What the Articles of Confederation where is discussed here (The Articles of Confederation explained; What are they?).

The major problems of the Articles of confederation that will be addressed here are:

• Each State had One Vote in Congress.
• Nine States required to pass most Legislation
• Congress could not regulate Trade
• The United States could not raise its own revenue 
• The Congress could not enforce its laws
• The Government of the United States was a Single body
• The Congress could not suppress insurrection or rebellion, or protect the Nation from foreign threat.
• Amendments required a Unanimous Vote

The Articles of Confederation explained; What are they?

On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress first voted to declare independence from the United Kingdom¹. Two days later, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was accepted², and the United States of America was born. It was not until March 4, 1789³ that the current Constitution of the United States took effect, so what governed the United States from 1776-1789? For the most part, but for a very short time in 1776-1777⁴, it was the first Constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation Though shorter than the present Constitution (~3,400 words to ~4,500 words), the Articles of Confederation bridged the time from Independence and War to our current Federal Republic.

 

Even before the Congress voted to declare Independence from Great Britain in 1776, the fact it would happen was not much in doubt, it was only a matter of when. With a committee having been formed to draft up a Declaration of Independence on June 11, 1776⁵, the inevitability of self-government required action. The following day on June 12 a committee was also formed to, "prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between these colonies"⁶. This Committee consisted of (sic)

 

The Articles of Confederation

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General Welfare (complete)

 

Perhaps no single Clause is more contentious than the General Welfare clause, found in Article I Section 8 Clause 1 of the Constitution,

• The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States

In particular the part of “to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare” being the one that is most often cited as granting the Federal Government a broad and sweeping amount of power. Many things Congress does, or wishes to do are justified as being for the “General Welfare” of the United States, that many may contend it does not permit.

General Welfare (Part 11) Final Thoughts

When I started to write about general welfare, I at first thought it might be a two, three maybe four part article, but it eventually morphed into TEN and now eleven parts, and I still did not cover all that I wanted to. I was however was able to cover the various arguments and circumstances surrounding the term “general welfare” in many respects. Throughout the discussion we have covered some of its first origins and uses, how it came to be part of the Constitution, and the debates about it after the Convention finished, and leading up to when the Supreme Court started to hear arguments over it [which is another entire discussion in itself]. The focus here has not been what Supreme Court has thought of the term in Article I Section 8 Clause 1, but how others thought of it before and shortly after it even became law. Why was it used, and what was its pedigree to those who decided to put it in the Constitution, and how it was viewed by those who ratified it.