The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to do all of the following EXCEPT:

Question

Accepted Answer

Levy taxes directly on citizens. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not levy taxes directly on the American people. This was one of the Articles' most critical weaknesses. Instead, Congress had to request financial contributions from the states, which were free to comply or ignore these requisitions as they saw fit. Most states contributed little or nothing, leaving the national government chronically underfunded and unable to pay war debts, maintain an army, or conduct basic government functions.

Congress under the Articles did have the power to declare war and make peace  -  indeed, it had done so during the Revolutionary War. It conducted foreign affairs and negotiated treaties, including the Treaty of Paris (1783) that ended the war. It also managed relations with Native American nations, though this authority often overlapped with state claims. These powers made the Confederation government a functional entity in some respects, but the inability to raise revenue independently crippled its effectiveness.

The inability to tax was perhaps the single most important factor driving the movement for a new constitution. Without reliable revenue, the national government could not service its war debts (undermining its credit), could not maintain a military (leaving it unable to respond to threats like Shays' Rebellion), and could not fund basic government operations. The Constitution addressed this directly in Article I, Section 8, which grants Congress the power "to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises." This fundamental change in fiscal authority was essential to creating a viable national government.

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