Failures and Successes of the Articles of Confederation
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Several events such as Shay's Rebellion in 1786 have proven the Articles of Confederation to be a failure causing its successes such as the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Land Ordinance of 1785, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to be overlooked. Even though the Articles of Confederation were a failure, they served as a foundation for the first attempt at a national government, and through this failure, it helped strengthen the government formed by the Constitution.
One specific weakness of the articles is the fact that there was to be no standing army. When Daniel Shays led a group of farmers to prevent bank foreclosures on farms in Massachusetts, the state government's inability to maintain order proved vulnerability in the system. The fact that the citizens were able to succeed in their mission with little opposition exposed the nation as weak under their current government, and possibly, on the verge of falling apart. Following Shay's Rebellion, revisions were made to the Constitution in which the Federal Government was given the power to raise and maintain a standing army.
One of the most important successes of the articles was the establishment of the Paris Treaty of 1783 between Britain and the United States. Not only did this treaty end the revolutionary war diplomatically and in a peaceful manner, but it also showed recognition of the independence of the United States from Britain. The nine articles included in the treaty also made other influential differences such as the specification of certain fishing rights, restoration of the rights and property of Loyalists, establishment of the boundaries, evacuation any British forces, and the opening up of the Mississippi River to citizens of both nations.
Another success of the articles was the establishment of the Land Ordinance of 1785, which established a system for surveying and subdividing public land outside the states into townships that were to have one section set aside for public education...