Question

Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution.

Answer 1

Brief overview
- The Articles of Confederation (ratified 1781) created a loose confederation of sovereign states with a weak national Congress. It governed the United States through and immediately after the Revolutionary War.
- The U.S. Constitution (ratified 1788, effective 1789) replaced the Articles by creating a stronger federal government with separated powers, a national executive, a judiciary, and an ability to tax and regulate commerce.

Articles of Confederation — strengths
- Kept the states united through the Revolution and provided an existing national government when independence was declared.
- Successfully negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783) and conducted foreign affairs.
- Passed important land-policy measures (Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787) that organized western settlement and created a process for admitting new states.
- Protected state sovereignty and limited centralized authority, reducing the risk of a tyrannical national government — an attractive feature to people wary of monarchy.
- Simple, inexpensive government with limited bureaucracy.

Articles of Confederation — weaknesses
- No power to tax: Congress could request funds but not compel payment, leaving the national government chronically underfunded and unable to pay war debts or finance operations.
- No power to regulate interstate or foreign commerce: states imposed tariffs and trade barriers on each other, creating economic disunity and conflict.
- No independent executive to enforce laws or lead foreign policy consistently.
- No national judiciary to resolve interstate disputes or interpret national laws.
- Legislative inefficiency: a single-chamber Congress with one vote per state; major legislation required supermajorities (9/13) and amendments required unanimous consent, making change extremely difficult.
- Inability to raise and maintain a standing army: Congress could only request troops from states, weakening national defense and response to internal disorder (e.g., Shays’ Rebellion exposed these limits).
- Currency and credit problems: competing state currencies and no stable national currency undermined commerce and credit.
- International weakness: foreign powers often disrespected or negotiated with states individually because the national government lacked coercive power.

U.S. Constitution — strengths
- Creates a stronger federal government with enumerated powers (taxation, regulation of commerce, national defense) necessary for effective national governance.
- Separation of powers and checks and balances among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent concentration of power.
- Bicameral legislature (House and Senate) balanced representation of population and states’ equality, addressing large vs. small state concerns.
- National judiciary (Supreme Court) to adjudicate disputes, interpret laws, and ensure uniformity.
- Executive branch headed by a single president for decisive leadership in foreign and domestic affairs.
- Commerce Clause and power to raise revenue stabilized national economy and allowed consistent interstate and international trade policy.
- More practical amendment process (2/3 Congress + 3/4 states) — easier than unanimity but still rigorous.
- Supremacy Clause established national law as supreme over conflicting state laws.
- Elastic (Necessary and Proper) Clause allowed the federal government to meet new needs through implied powers.
- Bill of Rights (added 1791) addressed many concerns about individual liberties and limits on federal power.

U.S. Constitution — weaknesses and criticisms
- Centralization concerns: a stronger national government alarmed anti-federalists who feared potential for tyranny; many feared insufficient protections for individual rights until the Bill of Rights was added.
- Compromises on slavery: the Constitution protected slavery indirectly (Three-Fifths Clause, fugitive slave provisions), creating moral and political faults that later led to crisis.
- Senate equality: equal representation for states in the Senate gives smaller states disproportionate influence relative to population.
- Electoral mechanisms: the Electoral College and indirect election features can produce results not aligned with popular vote and have been criticized as undemocratic.
- Ambiguity and elasticity: broad clauses (Necessary and Proper, Commerce) can be interpreted expansively, raising debates over the proper scope of federal power — a source of ongoing political conflict.
- Implementation and power struggles: stronger federal structure creates continuous tensions between state and federal authority; political factions and partisan conflict were partly an unavoidable outcome.

Comparative conclusion
- The Articles’ main strengths were in protecting state sovereignty and keeping the new nation together in wartime; its chief flaws were an inability to raise revenue, regulate commerce, enforce laws, or act decisively.
- The Constitution corrected most functional problems by creating a stronger, more flexible national government with institutions to make and enforce policy, but it introduced new tensions over central power, representation, and contentious compromises (notably slavery) that shaped U.S. politics going forward.
- In short: Articles = stability and state-centered liberty but ineffective governance; Constitution = workable national government with safeguards and trade-offs that required further amendments and political contest to balance power and protect rights.