The Ups and Downs of The Articles of Confederations

The Revolutionary War gave the colonies their independence. As a result Congress immediately tried to exert a form of control over the colonies. In 1777, John Dickinson had drafted up The Articles of Confederations. This article was the first document which gave Congress governing powers which transformed into a federal government. Although it was created in 1777, the articles did not actually come into effect until 1781. The Articles of Confederations ultimately united the colonies and formed states, but had many downfalls because it could not effectively run and control a proper government.

            The economies were falling in the states. Federal government tried to help bring the economy back up by using The Articles of Confederations, but did not succeed. In order to make money, the federal government had acquired a lot of the western lands. They hoped that by selling the unoccupied/claimed land, the federal government can pay off some debt in which they owe due to the war. Paying off the war became an important issue because they the soldiers who survived wanted to receive payments for their work. This proved to be futile because a lot of colonist could not afford it while others did not need the extra land. In the end, the Ohio Company easily bought a million and a half acres of land. This was very significant because the government was hoping to sell the land for at least one dollar an acre, but because no one would buy it they sold it to the Ohio Company for just ten cents. The federal government’s attempt to make money and raise the economy did not work because such low amounts they had earned.

            The federal government relied on the gracious donations which colonies gave to them from their own taxes. The Articles of Confederations stated that they could not impose taxes on the colonist. This proved to be a wrong move because certain states would not openly give the government money. This meant that they normally had insufficient funds. The Articles of Confederations also allowed the government to print their own currency. Over time, this paper money would be worthless because it would not mean anything since it could not be backed up by some form of goods. There were many attempts in fixing economical problems, some had helped, but the overall attempt had failed.

            Foreign relations fared just about the same as economical issues. Due to the Revolutionary War, Britain had blocked off their ports from the trade of raw goods to finished goods. The times were hard but, colonist learned to compromise. Merchants began to explore in hopes of finding new trades, but local governments either prohibited trades or did not want to have any relations with the colonist. The Articles of Confederations did not allow the colonist to freely go exploring and search for trades unless authorized. Many failed to comply with these rules and set off in search of trades them selves. The restrictions imposed were not enforced and foreign relations were horrible.

            Although the Articles of Confederations were put into place in hopes of controlling a new developing nation, it proved to be a weak source of law enforcement. The colonists were out of hand, yet there was no one there to control or regulate them. The Articles of Confederations did not make sufficient improvements on a failing economy. They had to lower their expectations in order to comply with the Ohio Company when they were buying the land. They had not made drastic improvements on foreign relationships such as Britain. The federal government also failed to enforce rules such as free trades. The Articles of Confederations were clearly ineffective with forming foreign relations and fixing economic situations.