The main weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that it created a national government that was too weak to act effectively, especially because it could not tax, regulate interstate or foreign trade, or enforce its own laws over the states. This left most real power in the hands of the individual states, making the country more a loose alliance than a unified nation.

Core problem in one line

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could make decisions but had almost no power to make states obey them, which made governing the new United States extremely difficult.

What “too weak” actually meant

  • Congress could not directly tax people or states; it could only ask states for money, and states often refused, leaving the national government broke.
  • Congress had no power to regulate trade between states or with other countries, causing economic chaos and trade disputes.
  • There was no national executive (president) or national court system, so there was no way to enforce laws or settle disputes fairly between states.

Why this was such a big deal

  • Because the central government could not raise money or maintain a standing army, the U.S. was vulnerable to both internal unrest and foreign threats.
  • Economic problems, like states printing their own money and taxing each other’s goods, weakened trust and cooperation among the states.
  • Changing or fixing the Articles required unanimous agreement of all 13 states, making meaningful reform almost impossible.

Simple way to remember it

Think of the Articles of Confederation as a league of friends where the “group leader” can suggest plans but cannot collect money, enforce rules, or stop arguments—so when serious problems appear, nothing really gets solved.

TL;DR: When people ask “what was the main weakness of the Articles of Confederation?”, the key idea is: it set up a national government so weak—no real taxing, trade power, or enforcement—that it could not effectively run the country, which is why it was eventually replaced by the U.S. Constitution.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.