Difficult To Get Laws Passed Under The Articles Of Confederation

Under the Articles of Confederation, laws were complex to pass because they needed approval from all 13 states, and changes could be made only with unanimous consent.

This structure reflected distrust of central authority and a desire for state sovereignty, but it resulted in a weak national government.

The challenges in passing legislation under the Articles highlighted the Articles’ inefficiency and contributed to their eventual replacement by the Constitution.

Explanantion

The Articles of Confederation, which performed as the first Constitution for the United States from 1781 to 1787, made it very difficult to pass laws, primarily because it required a supermajority for legislation to be enacted.

Specifically, a law could be passed only if it received approval from nine of the thirteen state delegations in Congress.

This requirement created significant challenges for lawmaking because:

State Interests: Each state acted out of its own interests. If a proposed law was perceived as favoring one state over another, opponents could easily block it, leading to frequent deadlocks.

Unanimous Consent for Amendments: Any change to the Articles themselves required a unanimous vote of all thirteen states.

This meant that even small changes became extremely difficult to achieve, discouraging any necessary reforms and adjustments.

Distrust of Central Authority: Following their knowledge under British rule, the states were wary of a strong central government, leading to a design that limited federal power.

This distrust stemmed from perceived tyranny, leading to a weak national government that worked to enforce laws and collect taxes.

Limited Government Powers: The Articles did not give the central government the power to tax, regulate trade, or enforce laws directly.

The Confederation Congress could request reserves from the states, but they often ignored these requests, leading to ineffective governance.

Overall, these structural limitations made the Articles of Confederation ineffective at addressing the needs of the newly formed nation, leading to their eventual replacement by the United States Constitution in 1789.

Example

An example of this hardship can be seen in financial matters: states often refused to support benchmarks such as trade regulations or tax proposals if they saw them as detrimental to their interests, making cooperation nearly impossible.

Moreover, during Shays’ Rebellion, the national government’s inability to quell civil unrest highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Historical documents and studies highlight the challenges faced under the Articles of Confederation, including debates in the Continental Congress and writings by early American leaders such as James Madison, who argued that a stronger federal government was necessary to address the country’s governance challenges.