Strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and Constitution

Confederation and Constitution

The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781, and provided a fairly rudimentary framework for the governance of the new country. But the Articles left the U.S. mainly as a collection of states, with powers concentrated primarily at the state level. The central government's power was severely limited, and one of the results of this was a push for a stronger central government to strengthen the union. The Constitution of 1787 came out of that push. This paper will examine these two documents, noting strengths and weaknesses of each.

Articles of Confederation

The Articles framed the union as a "mutual friendship" among the states, but left the states with a high degree of sovereignty. Article 3 noted that warfare/national defense was one of the main points of central government, where the states would defend each other from external attacks. The Articles governed issues such as interstate commerce and trade, in addition to military matters.

There were several weak points in the Articles, however. For example, Article 4 noted that "the free inhabitants of each of these states...shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state." This in theory extends the rights of all free people to all states, but those conditions did not work in the slave states, for example, which continued to violate this article for many decades to come. The status of Native Americans was not given any mention at all, whether they were considered free or what their status might be within the Union, whether living in one of the states or otherwise. The central government was granted power of Indians' Affairs, however, which more or less created a rather parochial relationship with the native population.

Western expansion was actually not mentioned directly in the Articles. Article 11 notes that "Canada acceding to this confederation...shall be admitted into...this Union, but no other colony shall be admitted...(unless) agreed to be nine states." This article allowed for new states, clearly, but the process was vague, and did not note a role for central government.

States' Rights

The issue of states' rights was a critical one during the debate around the Constitution. One of the people invited to participate, Patrick Henry, decided not to participate on the grounds that the Constitution was likely to infringe on states' and individuals' rights by granting more power to the central government (History.com, 2016). The issue of slavery was one of the more contentious issues at the table, as some of the northern states had already taken steps to outlaw the practice. The southern states insisted that slavery should be an issue for states to decide. In theory and in practice, this abuts against the principle that all free citizens of one state shall be afforded equal rights in all the other states, as outlined in the Articles of Confederation. Indeed, one of the things that was decided that states had to return fugitive slaves to their owners, which was not only in contrast to the Articles but also in contrast to the laws that northern states were implementing at the time.

Western Problem

At the time that the Articles were being written, the Western problem was a major issue. Western lands were often claimed by several states simultaneously, creating an inherent internal conflict for the new nation. Some states, those without claims, argued that the national government should own the western lands, which would cause the other states to give up their claims. One of the reasons this was a significant issue is that it would set a framework for the strength of the central government. If the national government owned those lands -- essentially trumping the claims from the states -- that would indicate a strong central government, one that superseded states' rights on a major issue. Many states were uncomfortable with this, either for the loss of future land or just for the loss of power within the union to the new central government (Library of Congress, 2016). The articles were viewed as creating a union of sovereign states, so setting the boundaries of that sovereignty was a major issue for many states. Ultimately, land claims were given up and the Articles were ratified.

Analysis

The issue of states' rights continues to this day, and there remain many who wish that states have a higher degree of sovereignty. The Articles essentially formulated a basic vision for the central government, gave it powers on a number of key issues. But the strength of the central government, and limits to state sovereignty, were essentially decided with the western lands issue. The Constitution laid out a much clearer framework for how the central government was going to work, further strengthening federal powers that were first granted with the Articles. Overall, the conflicts with respect to state sovereignty were never really resolved. Some of the biggest issues, such as slavery, ultimately would continue to create tension in the new nation, and lead to southern succession and the Civil War (and beyond).

Leaving such issues unresolved, and indeed leaving a lot of leeway for future negotiation over the power of states, has been a significant challenge for the nation. While the Constitutional amendments would expand on a number of critical issues, dealing with individual rights, some of the issues that were left open in the Articles do seem to lack full and coherent resolution. Compromises were made to get southern states into the Union, which was deemed important, for issues of national defense, economics, etc. but ultimately those compromises have created an imperfect union, and certain issues continue to persist to this day.