Question

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date:
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civics classwork: the articles of confederation
ss.7.c.1.5: identify how the weaknesses of the articles of confederation led to the writing of the constitution.
directions: read the scenario and determine if the articles of confederation could have solved the problem.

1. when the united states went to war with britain for independence, they borrowed money from numerous countries, including france. after the revolutionary war, leanne keene, a french ambassador, arrives in the united states to demand that the debt from the american revolution be paid back immediately!

can the articles of confederation solve this problem? why / why not?
2 the young country is already experiencing serious problems with their economy. delaware refuses to trade with south carolina. virginia has the highest tariffs in the country. every state is in competition with the other states and each state has their own policies for trading with foreign countries.
can the articles of confederation solve this problem? why / why not?

1. six states abolish slavery in their states. the other seven states did not abolish slavery because it proved to be profitable for land - owners. confederation delegates nevin weinberg and dani kwatcher propose an amendment to abolish slavery in the entire country.

can the articles of confederation solve this problem? why / why not?

1. both new hampshire and new york desire more territory for settlers within their states. new land would increase trade, profit, and power for their individual states. they both claim vermont territory. vermont sues the other states and they all appeal to congress to settle their dispute.

can the articles of confederation solve this problem? why / why not?

1. congress was responsible for making national laws. but some of their laws were being blatantly ignored by the states. for example, states would form their own treaties with other countries, even though only congress had the power to do so. but who would stop them?

can the articles of confederation solve this problem? why / why not?

Explanation:

1. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had no power to tax. So it couldn't raise the money to pay back the debt immediately.
2. The Articles of Confederation gave states a lot of sovereignty. Each state could make its own trade policies. There was no central authority to regulate interstate and foreign trade uniformly.
3. To amend the Articles of Confederation, all 13 states had to agree. With 7 states relying on slavery for economic gain (as it was profitable for land - owners), it was highly unlikely that all 13 states would agree to abolish slavery.
4. The Articles of Confederation had no clear mechanism for a strong central government to adjudicate disputes between states over territory in an effective and binding way.
5. The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government. There was no executive branch to enforce the laws made by Congress. So, even if Congress made laws, there was no effective way to stop states from ignoring them.

Answer:

1. No. Congress under the Articles had no power to tax to pay the debt.
2. No. States had too much sovereignty over trade policies under the Articles.
3. No. Amendment required unanimous state consent, which was unlikely.
4. No. Weak central government under the Articles couldn't effectively adjudicate state - to - state territorial disputes.
5. No. Weak central government (no executive) under the Articles couldn't enforce laws.