As the Revolutionary War came to a close, the Continental Congress introduced a new form of government as it instituted the Articles of Confederation. The articles established a democratic government that granted the states sufficient power to controltheir own laws and regulations. However, the Articles of Confederation were ineffective and, hence; they failed to provide a strong government. During this time in an American history, often known as the “Critical Period”, regionalism and anarchism began to expand as a result of the following reasons. The Continental Congress controlled public affairs, but the Articles of Confederation neglected to grant the Congress power to enforce laws or unify the States. Under the Articles, the United States lacked a solid monetary system to ensure that taxes would be paid and to protect commerce, both nationally and foreign trade. Also, without leading national figure, the strong unity America gained during the Revolutionary War began to diminish along with the nations overall strength. Being that Congress had only the power to recommend actions to the states, the Articles were incompetent. Law and recommendations could not be further enforced by Congress. Each state obtained its own form of a constitution, monetary system and method to enforce the laws. Each state committed strongly to the state laws and self interests rather than to the recommendations of Congress. America’s sense of unity began to plummet as regionalism pitted one state against another. For example, Rhode Island voted to reject Congress’s recommendation of an impost on imported goods because its leaders felt the idea objected the state’s constitution. (Document A) Also, the Articles neglected to provide a solid and adequate monetary system to ensure that taxes would be paid and to protect commerce. Congress was unable to collect taxes that were established to pay pre-war debts. This yie...
