Articlesof Confederation1

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was our

first form of government

What did the Articles do?

Formed a loose union of states

•The national government could do the following:* Make war* Make peace* Sign treaties* Issue money* Raise an army

Why didn’t the Articles work?

•There was no common currency.

Each state printed their own money and often did not recognize each other’s currency.

•Power to control trade with other states and countries was left to the states.

Many states placed restrictions on trade with other states making it almost impossible to trade.

•Nine of the thirteen states had to approve any

action or decision of the government.

•Debt was a huge problem in the new

nation. Congress did not have the

power to levy taxes.

Not enough

power in the

federal

(central/natio

nal)

government