“The band which at present holds us together, by a very feeble thread, will soon be broken, when anarchy and confusion must ensue.” George Washington said this while describing the current government of the United States. With the ratification of Maryland on March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation went into affect and all seemed well. Even though the Confederation had many accomplishments, it was hardly an ideal government. Problems began to arise soon following the enactment of the Articles. The Confederation lacked adequate powers to deal with interstate issues, while it lacked ample stature to be of an influence on other nations, making the Confederation unable to negotiate easily. Financial issues were prominent because the states were allowed to coin their own money and the government could not force states to give it funding. Problems within the states arose because of economical problems resulting from the states having too much power, economically as well as politically. The government had little power to do many things-its main jobs were to recommend and advise.Because each state was allowed to print its own currency, interstate trade became increasingly difficult. Currency that was used in one state was worthless in others. This led to states waging trade wars against one another, and imposing tariffs on good imported across state boundaries. Because there was no national currency, merchants found it difficult to trade within the United States that further depressed the economical position of the country. In order to change federal taxes, all thirteen states had to agree to the change. This made it almost impossible for the government to increase its funding. Problems arose within the states because of economic sanctions pressed upon one state to another. Because of these problems, many people were driven into financial ruin. States were agitated by political turmoil over the respective rights a...
