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// Evaluate the extent to which the Articles of Confederation were effective in solving the problems that confronted the new nation. //

Following the Revolutionary War, the newly free Americans faced many issues they had not had to deal with before. Without a government of some sort the colonies would have split apart and been significantly weaker than they would be together. Most people were fearful of strong central government because it would have had the potential to take people's rights and would have been no better than the British rule they just fought a war to escape. This put the country in an awkward situation because they needed to find a proper balance for their government. Although the Articles of Confederation may not have found the perfect balance, they errored on the side of too little power which allowed them to successfully transition the country through a delicate period of time even though they were unable to solve all of the new problems.

The main success of Articles was that it left enough control to the states that it met their demand for limited power in the central government. The colonists did not want another overly powerful government that was able to control them more than necessary. Britain's rule over the colonies left them wanting to control the government, not for the government to control them. The idea of a government deriving its power from the people, as shown in the Declaration of Independence, was what the colonists believed in. The Articles of Confederation kept the states satisfied to a great extent which was a key feature to maintaining unity during this transitional period.

The states needed to stay united following the Revolution in order to be able to survive. Had they split from one another they have had disputes which could have caused fighting between them. This would have surely weakened them and Britain may have been able to regain its hold over the colonies. The Articles of Confederation bond the colonies in a "league of friendship" which allowed them to stay strong and give no hope for British reclamation. The states were even able to work together in some situations to make the country stronger, such as the Land Ordinance of 1785. Land, west of the Appalachian mountains, given to the national government by the states, was publicly sold at 1$/acre. This allowed the government to gain badly needed revenue to help combat domestic and foreign debt.

Foreign affairs were also handled well under The Articles. A mutual defense treaty was negotiated between the US and France which provided a level of security to the delicate nation. They were also able to negotiate commercial deals with some countries, including France, which helped to lessen the economic issues they were facing from their independence from England. Profitable foreign relations were very helpful during this time and prevented international problems from arising.

There were some problems the Articles were unable to do much about and some issues even created by the Articles. Being independent from Britain caused the former colonies to have to produce finished goods for themselves for the first time. While under British rule, raw goods were exported to Britain where they were manufactured into finished products and imported back in the colonies. Inexperience with having to create finished products caused great economic instability during this time which the Articles were ultimately unable to combat because of their lack of power. However, this is not a major point of concern because time is what could fix that problem. The citizens needed time to grow economically and learn to produce without the control of Britain and there is not much a government would be able to do to speed up this process.

Another issue posed by the Articles was that they were not able to require a tax be paid to the national government and were only able to collect taxes with the states permission. This lessened the amount of revenue of the national government. As previously stated, the Land Ordinance of 1785 was able to supplement that revenue and not having federal taxes on the citizens was probably a positive at the time, raising national morale after they were forced to pay taxes by the British. A larger issue was that the government could not regulate tariffs nor the states currencies. This caused a good bit of confusion when traveling between states, where in on your money could be valid and in another it might be worthless. Despite the confusion and lack of interstate commerce control, this was a trivial issue when compared the Articles successes in governing during this delicate time.

The Articles of Confederation were a phenomenal start to laying a foundation to a great future. Programs such as the Post Office and the Department of Foreign affairs were established under it and were still used under the Constitution. It helped to get a look at where the true balance between order and freedom was for a government. The government under the Articles set up the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which had an initial purpose of modifying the Articles, which lead to the creation of the Constitution.

During a delicate time of instability the Articles of Confederation effectively solved many of the main problems without further escalating other problems. Even though the government under the Articles was too weak to entirely fix some of the problems, had it been any stronger some states may have refused to ratify it because of their fear of a strong central government. This could have split the states apart and caused more problems then the new nation was already facing at the time. The Articles helped to find the proper balance of power for the government of the country and was a transitional stepping stone into the future Constitution. The problems in the period following the Revolution were effectively solved or circumnavigated by the Articles of Confederation to a great extent and this allowed the new nation to prosper in the future.

Bibliography

"Learn About the United States (U.S.) Articles of Confederation & More | Constitution Facts." //Learn About the United States (U.S.) Constitution // //& More | Constitution Facts //. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. 

"The Articles of Confederation." //US Army Center of Military History //. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. . 