The Extent of which the Articles of Confederation was an Inadequate Form of Government

The Articles of Confederation was an inadequate form of government to a great extent, due to foreign affairs such as the failure of the Treaty of Paris, domestic affairs, which included the unattainable authority to tax, the lack of a uniform currency, or regulate trade, and the features of the AOC for example not having a chief executive and a unicameral legislature.
The foreign affairs that beleaguered the United States shortly after the adaptation of the Articles of Confederation (the AOC) were immense. All of this could be traced to the three envoys, Jay, Adams, and Franklin, as they discussed the provisions of the Treaty of Paris. Why would the colonists make a promise they could not keep, to compensate loyalists whose property was confiscated during the war and to pay foreign debts. Both the colonists and Great Britain broke this promise. With Great Britain calling for a military expedition to destabilize the struggling colonists. This expedition seemed like a good idea, since under the AOC the colonists could not create a substantial army, without relying on the states to provide them. This exposed a vast flaw in the AOC. If they could not handle foreign problems, how could they handle problems within their own country?
Another criticism by those who favored a more powerful central government; federalists, was that it lacked taxing authority. The federal government had to request funds from the states. Since the main idea of the AOC was not to put too much power with the federal government, but with the states. The federal government only collected money from contributions from the states. Since delivering taxes to the federal government was optional, most of the states did not, thus increasing the problems the United States had with infrastructure and their overall economy. The war's debt ultimately trickled down to individuals, in large part to small farmers. In addition, the tax system at the time, a direct capitation (poll tax), was highly regressive. This led to Shay’s Rebellion one of the greatest influences on American government. Along with a weak overall economy, the lack of a uniform currency also plagued the government. Since there was no uniform currency; everyone used a different money type, the inflation rates/trade rates increased dramatically. This had a direct impact on business transactions within a state and between states.
Many of this young country’s problems can be explained by what was written in the AOC. The AOC was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 in York, Pennsylvania. At that time, all the colonists could think about was not returning their country to the way it was prior to the Revolutionary War. Little did they know, a subtle balance between the two fundamental government types, a strong federal government or a weak one, was what the people of America really needed. The two major flaws that were spurred by a weak form of government was a lack of a chief executive and a non- unicameral legislature. Without neither co-existing with the other, the only thing that would remain would be a complete monarchy by Congress.
Overall the Articles of Confederation was a weak form of government in handling foreign and domestic problems, and controlling its populace. The whole creation of the features of the AOC had to be due to the fear of re-created the government that Britain had opposed onto the colonist. The very existence of a confederation government has to be a weak central government with most powers given to the states. But what the AOC neglected was the fact that if people were angels there would be no need for government. The nation’s economy at the end of the Revolutionary war was crippled by the AOC, and needed but a single document; the Constitution of the United States to make it right.