American Government › Section B · The Constitution › Topic B.2
The Articles of Confederation
The first national government of the United States was designed above all to avoid tyranny. It succeeded in that, but it left Congress unable to tax, regulate trade or enforce its decisions, and its failures shaped every choice made in 1787.
In this topic
- A government for wartime
- Confederal, federal and unitary systems
- How the Confederation Congress worked
- Powers given and powers withheld
- Why so weak? A deliberate design
- Worked example: the requisition problem
- Trying to fix it: the impost
- Trade, diplomacy and defence
- Worked example: Shays's Rebellion as a stress test
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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