Exact Answer: 8 years
The United States introduced its first written constitution which is known as the Articles of Confederation. Under this constitution, the people were not able to conduct foreign diplomacy on their own. This constitution made the central government quite weak. The constitution came as a big problem for people to conduct the foreign policy.
There are many states with different foreign policies which were not possible to conduct under the Articles of Confederation. For example, the state of Georgia has different rules and policies which are independent in nature for Spanish Florida. The Articles of Confederation were ratified by many states in 1981.
Due to its restricted features and other flaws, the constitution was replaced in 1989. The Articles of Confederation were very weak on purpose and did not allow the central government to work properly. Under this article, Congress has to give up its power on tax. The interstate commerce affairs were not in the hand of congress.
How Long Did The Articles Of Confederation Last?
| Articles Of Confederation | Time |
| In years | 13 years |
| In months | 156 months |
As there were many weaknesses that led to the replacements of the Articles of Confederation. The US constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation as it has very limited power and restricted congress from the important affair. The national court system was absent in the Articles of Confederation.
The concept of a unanimous vote for amending the articles made the constitution more unfavorable. The chaos and disturbances between the states increased because of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation didn’t bring a stable economy to the state.
Under the articles, congress has no executive branch for enforcing the acts passed by Congress. The grapple between the states affected the national government in a huge manner. The states did not help the national government financially when it was required.
Many of the states start to build their separate military and introduced their own money. The Articles of Confederation took the majority of the power of the national government and made the national government quite weak.
The people started demanding the replacement of the Articles of Confederation as it made the national government financially weak. The military weakness of the states became a major concern for the people of the state. People started demanding a meeting to replace or change the Articles of Confederation.
The independence of the states ultimately makes the central government very quick.
Why Did The Articles Of Confederation Last For This Long?
The Articles of Confederation came with very strong policies for the independence of the states, but not for the national government. This affected the unity of the state together. The Articles of Confederation came out as a big success for winning the American Revolution but failed in making the central government very strong.
The American people are known for their dedication and loyalty to their state which got weakened towards the central government. The view of the states for the national good made many arguments and disagreements between all the states. The state denied giving money or helping the national government whenever required.
The Articles of Confederation made the national government extremely helpless to interfere in any acts passed by congress. As the national government has no power to enforce the acts passed by the Congress under the Articles of Confederation. The trade problems of the states came under the Articles of Confederation.
All these weaknesses and issues led to the replacement of the Articles of Confederation. The new US constitution came as a hope for the central government to get back to its position. The new US constitution was mainly introduced to work on the weak trade and finance of the state.
The US constitution emphasized the unity of states and the power of central government. The US constitution is flexible and convenient for maintaining peace amongst all the states.
Conclusion
The Articles of Confederation showed its effects for around 8 years. The weak parts of the Articles of Confederation became a reason why the constitution lose its effectiveness. The American people felt the requirement of a constitution that would work for the welfare of the state.
The constitution should serve the purpose of maintaining peace in the states by encouraging the growth of trade and powerful military.
