Independence from Britain made necessary the establishment of a new Eleven states drew up new constitutions; Connecticut and RhodeIsland revised colonial charters. The Articles of Confederation created a looseunion of near-sovereign states. The Confederation was inadequate and wasfailing in the structure of government. They also were in deep trouble, financiallyand economically. The Articles of Confederation probably achieved its mostimportant success in the handling of west diplomatic and financial concerns. Inevaluting post-American Revolutionary War, overall the Articles ofConfederation did not provide the United States with an effective governmentdue to the lack of central power.Upon Independence, financial problems troubled the Confederationgovernment. During the American Revolutionary War for independence,Congress and the states had printed “good faith” paper currency. It becamevirtually worthless and was never redeemed. The structure of the Articles ofConfederation allowed the Congress to request funds and borrow money but notlay taxes or collect tariffs. Congress had to either borrow funds from privatesuppliers or tax the states to finance reconstruction after the war. Unable to taxwithout the approval of all 13 states, Congress turned to a wealthy, self-madePhiliadelphia merchant, Robert Morris, who in 1781 became the nation’ssuperintendant of finance. Morris proposed that the states authorize thecollection of a nationalimport duty of 5 percent to finance the congressionbudget and to guarantee interest payments on the war debt. In (Doc. A) a letterfrom the Rhode Island Assembly to Congress on (Nov. 30, 1782), Rhode Islandexplains the rejection of Morris’s proposal of the collection for a national importduty. Rhode Island stated that it was unequal and against the constitution. Because all 13 states had to agree, the proposal was thrown out and was notinforced. Morris and Alexander Ham...
