Many people wanted a new plan of government because the Articles of Confederation was too weak. The government created by the Articles of Confederation was made weak on purpose because we were afraid of having too strong of a government like we had when Great Britain ruled us. Thus, the government under the Articles of Confederation wasn’t able to tax its people. It couldn’t make people join the military. It had trouble keeping order at home. It also couldn’t resolve disputes between states.
These weaknesses led to financial issues. We had trouble paying our debts to other countries because it was hard for the government to raise money. Our paper money was not always accepted because both the state governments and the federal government printed paper money.
The government had issues with other countries. When Great Britain wouldn’t leave the forts in the West, there was little the government could about it militarily because it couldn’t require our citizens to join the army. The same was true when Great Britain and Spain interfered with our trade.
The government had trouble maintaining order within the country. When Shays Rebellion occurred, the federal government didn’t respond to the rebellion. It was the state militia of Massachusetts that ended the rebellion. There also was no place where states could resolve disputes they had with each other.
Because of these issues, people realized we needed a new plan of government. As a result, our current plan of government, the Constitution, was developed.
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