Articles Of Confederation Swot Analysis

The effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation was insignificant to an extent because this document had very few strengths and a myriad of weaknesses that were greater than the advantages. When historians talk about the Articles, they usually do not bring up the strengths; they bring up the weaknesses and how they affected the United States. This document is weak, but important because it is the first written agreement, which meant all of the states were actually getting along, and the first constitution of the United States of America.
One of the only strengths of the Articles of Confederation is the Northwest Ordinance, which was the procedure by which a territory becomes a state. This is considered a strength because the new land the

country owned could finally become a state. The Articles gave the government the power to set aside land for churches, schools, government, and businesses.

The Northwest Ordinance was the main strength of the Articles of Confederation. Since the United States was a new nation, this was a big step in having control of the whole country and all the land it owned. Other small strengths included the ability to declare and end war, to start dealing with money that was exclusive to the country, and the ability to start dealing with foreign countries and not have to go through England first. Since the articles were a document for all of the states, it helped bring agreement and stopped arguments from happening because it was the general set of rules. For the most part, the articles did set up a government, but it’s power was inadequate. The articles also set up an ineffective economy, but it was a necessity for the new nation to have an economy. The articles were right to set up these things, but they did not do the job of carrying them out.
Although there were some strengths, weaknesses were more prominent in the outcome of the Articles of Confederation. One of the main weaknesses was there was no enforcement of laws, or really enforcement in general. There was no president to help run the country, so there

was no authority to establish courts. Also, since there was no executive branch, no laws could be enforced or carried out. Continuing on with power and enforcements, states could not be taxed because there was no way to prosecute or punish the states that did not pay taxes. Since revenue comes from the states, financial stability of the country started to become a worry. Also, there was no army or way to protect the country. Overall, enforcement and ruling was a big part of the country’s weaknesses. It was the biggest factor in the country not running successfully. Shay’s rebellion was an important example of the Articles of Confederation being too weak to enforce a law. There was only one vote per state, no matter what size, which meant bigger states had the same say as smaller states, even though the larger states felt the bigger the population, the more votes they should get. The United States also lacked a way to deal with foreign affairs because of the power issues that the nation had. There was no political stability because too much power was given to the states and not enough power was given to the central government. However, the states wanted a limited central government. The leaders of the states wanted more power given to them, which really was a mistake because then all states would not be uniform and work in harmony, they would only care about the well being of their state and not the well being of their country. Another way the articles did not help the cause of a country with synergy was that there was no nationalism or pride for the country. Every state fended for themselves. Since all foreign incidents were cut off, there was no way to trade and make trade deals. Therefore, the country became even more financially unstable, plus the debt from the war was a big factor.
The extent of power of the articles was small. The country’s leaders did not want to have another England where the king gets all the power and there is no say in the government from the people. Obviously there were strengths, but weaknesses overcame the strengths of the Articles of Confederation. The main reason the power of the articles was so inadequate was because, as stated previously, there was no enforcement of anything.