Flaws In The Articles Of Confederation

Thesis statement: As the Articles of Confederation reveal many flaws, it depicts the need for the republic to rethink and propose solutions that provide a cure to the nation’s distress.

The improvements resulting from the American Constitution and Articles of Confederation are not appropriate for overcoming the problems that the country faces today. Unstable governments, personal liberties, and conflicts between rival parties indicate the superior force overbears the majority, thus excluding the minority parties from the process of decision-making. The constitution does not follow the rules of justice reflected through the role of the minor party. The argument claims that the Articles of Confederation are less favorable for the nation’s stability as they constitute a set of weaknesses. The failure of the articles indicates that the government needs to take action and open different prospects that can provide a cure to the nation’s distress.

The central concern of the Articles of Confederation was to allow each state self-government, freedom, and rights. However, the Articles of Confederation represent many flaws, such as an absence of division of power. The central federation had the power of ruling, reflecting fragility. The biggest weakness involves enormous debt that influences the state and its activities. The states gained more power compared to the central government, which resulted in administrative weakness. The federal government lacked power, which influenced its ability to enforce laws. The state had more power to reject the laws passed by the federal government. Another significant threat posed by the Articles of Confederation was Congress’s inability to levy taxes or control trade-related activities. A federal court system is also missing in the articles that could give adequate power to the federal state for enforcing laws. The absence of executive officials and national courts influenced the process of carrying justice and interpreting laws. As Congress lacked the strength to collect taxes, it eliminated the country’s power to pay debts. Due to the different currencies used in states, national currency lacks stability. The councils failed to engage citizens and people and thus lacked information about the actual problems encountered by society. Irrespective of the formation of states, voting rights remained limited (Kelly).

Irrespective of the weaknesses, the articles also included a range of benefits for the country. Articles, for the first time, created a legislative body and separate governing bodies such as Congress and the highest power. The power of declaring power resided with the Congress, which was also involved in assigning treaties and entertaining foreign relationships. Congress was the sole entity managing disputes between the states and territories. States were not permitted to use taxes to discourage treaties, thus eliminating the chances of corruption. The articles contributed to the growth of western land due to the just policy that promoted the concept of national harmony. The articles had a positive role in acknowledging new states and connecting with original states. Northwest decree remains another achievement of the Articles as it allowed settlement of the north on the Ohio River.

There a number of challenges faced by the government of United state in the twenty-first century including financial constraints, delivering services, engaging citizens and managing new partnerships. The profit-driven model poses risks in the future and exhibits incompetency in tackling complex problems of services. Coordinated services will ensure a stronger coalition of local government and a stronger recognition of its role. Increasing distrust for public engagements was alarming for private rights. The weakened judiciary poses serious risks to the nation’s stability. Rights of individuals and larger bodies remains a concerning idea, however, the articles of confederation neglected it continually.

The suggestions for overcoming weaknesses of the articles involve rethinking revenues, reshaping labor relationships, engaging citizens and local communities, ensuring private delivery of goods, and making effective use of media. The country is under a fiscal crisis that depicts the need to address the issue by rethinking revenue. Cutting budgets does not provide a feasible solution as it will raise productivity and limit efficiency depending on cost reductions. Many councils indicate the need for increased reinvestments and funding to manage the health, education, and other sectors. Rethinking revenues involves considering sources of income that allow the government to grow parts of the economy under new taxation rules such as taxing internet sales. The fiscal crisis affects the role of labor as their union demands better wages. The economic expansion provides a solution to overcome the reservations of labor. The government needs to consider the demographic changes and the aging population. An appropriate approach for the local government is to evaluate the relationships of employees and focus on attracting young employees by promoting career development. Councils can play an effective role by putting trust in front-line staff and promoting operations under greater autonomy (Mengele).

Participative governance is another suggestion for overcoming the challenges facing the government. An appropriate solution suggests engaging citizens with the local communities that allow councils to reveal the actual needs of the people. Allocating scarce resources becomes essential during the period of austerity. The councils can prioritize services to address the issue of unmet needs of the citizens. Through their interaction with the people, they can learn about the actual problems. An aging population with increased life expectancy puts an extra burden on the government due to scarce resources. The situation suggests rethinking the role of the older population. Demographic projections reflect building a diverse constituency for the young generation and ensuring they become voices of society. The republic remedy suggests the construction of a strong judiciary branch that takes an active role in law enforcement and eliminates corruption in systems. Increasing the number of representatives in the majority and minor parties also proposes effective solutions against unequal power distribution. The need to create a powerful national government is crucial (Kelly).

Due to the limitations of public control, the private delivery of services promoted social enterprise and club service providers. Social enterprises and management can also take the responsibility of providing roads and infrastructure. The overall emphasis is on increasing private investment in services. Proposed solutions under present circumstances involve empowering neighborhoods and making them stronger to solve their issues. Reaching beyond boundaries and addressing regional concerns existing in neighborhood authorities becomes one of the prominent concerns for a council. Making effective use of social media is useful in transforming the concept of public services. Media is a powerful tool that can enhance engagement between council authorities and citizens. Perceptions associated with the quality of service will improve under the proposed changes, thus eliminating gaps between users and providers. Under these changes, the relationship between communities and people will change. The councils will then need to create new opportunities for governance. The state needs to develop codes for experimenting with new ideas that allow missed and flexible allocation of assets. Governments must be able to respond to the changes actively and adopt new approaches for service delivery, energy transformation, and transportation (Mengele).

The central argument claims that the Articles of Confederation failed to perform effectively or deliver to the nation. Apparent weaknesses such as financial debt, an unjust division of power, the absence of a judiciary, and a weak national government represent flaws of the articles. The strengths remain limited to the creation of a legislative brand and the growth of Westlands. America still faces the threats of growing debt, economic instability, and a gap between citizens and the council. The argument suggests a need for rethinking and creating a better republic that provides a cure to the distressed nation. Rethinking revenues and enhancing the participation of citizens in the council’s decisions with recognition of the labor party provides appropriate solutions to overcome weaknesses.

Work Cited

Kelly, Martin. Why the Articles of Confederation Failed. 2018. 12 03 2018 <https://www.thoughtco.com/why-articles-of-confederation-failed-104674>.
Mengele, Claudia. Local government in 2020: challenges and opportunities. 2012. 12 03 2018 <https://www.theguardian.com/local-government-network/2012/apr/11/local-government-2020-challenges-opportunities>