What rights did the Articles of Confederation grant to the federal government?

The Articles of Confederation granted the federal government a limited number of rights as it was designed to be a weak central government with the majority of power remaining with the individual states. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was given the power to:

1. Conduct foreign affairs and enter into treaties and alliances with other nations. 2. Declare war and make peace. 3. Maintain a navy and an army by requesting troops from the states. 4. Establish and control a postal system. 5. Coin and borrow money. 6. Regulate Indian Affairs. 7. Be the final arbiter in disputes between states, which were to be resolved in a Congress of the Confederation. 8. Pass laws related to these powers; however, for most decisions, approval from 9 out of the 13 states was required to pass legislation.

The significant limitation was that the federal government could not impose taxes or regulate commerce, which greatly limited its ability to raise revenue or control trade among the states and with foreign countries. These limitations led to the federal government being financially weak and often ineffective in enforcing its own legislation, ultimately contributing to the replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution in 1789 which provided the federal government with considerably more power.