Episode 2: What’s So Bad about the Articles of Confederation?

Constitutionally Speaking

English - October 16, 2017 13:45 - 41 minutes - 40 MB - ★★★★★ - 641 ratings
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Previous Episode: Episode 1: Why the Constitution Matters

Next Episode: Episode 3: America’s Mulligan

In the second episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay Cost and Luke Thompson look at the Articles of Confederation, the first government of the United States.

In the second episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay Cost and Luke Thompson look at the Articles of Confederation, the first government of the United States. The Articles were too weak to accomplish the basic tasks of government, in no small part because the states were not yet prepared to join in a firmer union. Worse, the national government was saddled by other problems, like debates over federal land, a “chaos” clause in the Articles, and a congressional refusal to print money.

The nationalist faction in Congress, those who wanted a more vigorous central authority, tried various measures to strengthen the Confederation. But these all failed, and by the mid-1780s the national government was substantially weaker than it had been when the colonies declared their independence.