Question

The articles of confederation did not allow the government the power to tax or to force the states to do anything. What challenges could this cause

Answer 1

The Articles of Confederation (1776 -1789) was the first written form of government of the United States after the American Revolution. Under the Articles the central government was weak and states held most of the power because they feared a strong central government could lead to tyranny.

The central government lacked of power to collect taxes and could not intervene on disputes between states, so the nation faced many challenges. They had the power to borrow money but could not collect taxes (only states had the power to collect taxes to avoid taxation without representation), and since the government was not able to collect taxes, the debts accumulated were impossible to pay and other countries wouldn't lend money to the United States because the government couldn't pay back and it took away the nation's credibility.

The central government had no power to regulate commerce, or to impose tariffs on imported goods, so the economy also faced hard challenges and was very difficult to trade. Another weakness under the Articles of Confederation was the lack of power to mediate disputes between states and to enforce the laws, the government only had the power to create laws, but it was very difficult to enforce them since the Executive and Judicial branches didn't exist, and 9 out of 13 states needed to agree to pass any amendment. This weaknesses gave the Founding Fathers the idea of the government the United States has today.