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The Articles were an 18th-century NATO
A league of friendship
Article II left each state with its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power not expressly delegated to Congress. Congress got foreign affairs, some economic matters like coining and borrowing money, and the power to settle disputes between states. It had no power to tax and no executive, and big decisions needed nine states.
Why no tax power
The missing tax power was deliberate. Americans had just fought a war to break from a king and a parliament they saw as tyrannical, and taxation from above was central to that tyranny. Keeping the power with the states guarded against rebuilding what they had torn down.
Where it broke down
It did not work. Congress could coin money but not manage it, which produced an all but worthless dollar. It could raise an army but not tax to pay for it, which left continental officers ready to foment rebellion. IOUs to soldiers and unpaid debts to France and Spain strangled the young union. Disputes went unsettled: New Yorkers claimed Vermont while it called itself an independent republic and threatened to join British Canada, and Maryland and Virginia fought over water rights on the Potomac.
Why was the Articles' tax power left out?
Colonists had protested the Stamp Act and the tea tax under the slogan no taxation without representation. A new national power to tax looked like a return to the same tyranny. The Articles instead let Congress request money from the states, which could ignore the requests. Many states paid only a fraction of what Congress asked.
What did the Articles get done?
The Confederation Congress negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. It also passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which set up how new western territories could become states. That law also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. These were real achievements, though they came despite the lack of funds.
Why did Vermont threaten to join Canada?
Vermont declared itself independent in 1777, and both New York and New Hampshire claimed its land. Congress would not admit it as a state. During the 1780s, Vermont's leaders, including Ethan Allen's brother Ira, held talks with British officials in Canada. Vermont finally became the fourteenth state in 1791.
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