Which were weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

• A. Congress Had No Power to Tax or Regulate Commerce Among States; No Common Currency; No Executive/Judicial Branch
• B. Strong Central Government With Tax Power
• C. Colonial Currency as Universal
• D. No Problem; It Was Perfect

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that a central government needs real powers to function. Under the Articles, the national government could request money but could not force states to pay taxes, so funding for programs and the military was unreliable. It also could not regulate trade between states, leaving states to write their own rules and tariffs, which hurt economic unity and growth. There was no common national currency, which made buying, selling, and paying debts across state lines messy and confusing. And there was no executive to carry out laws or a national judiciary to settle disputes between states. Without these powers, the government lacked authority and coherence, which is why these were critical weaknesses and helped push the country toward a new framework in the Constitution.