The following chart compares some of the provisions of the Articles of Confederation with those in the Constitution. It's important to note that most commentators see the Articles period (1781-1789) as a weak one in terms of governmental power. Whether that is a positive or negative for the United States depends on one's point of view regarding the size and influence of a national government. Libertarians would view the Articles period as the pinnacle of American freedom, while those favoring a strong central government would see it as a failure.
 
 

	Articles of Confederation	Constitution
Levying taxes	Congress could request states to pay taxes	Congress has right to levy taxes on individuals
Federal courts	No system of federal courts	Court system created to deal with issues between citizens, states
Regulation of trade	No provision to regulate interstate trade	Congress has right to regulate trade between states
Executive	No executive with power. President of U.S. merely presided over Congress	Executive branch headed by President who chooses Cabinet and has checks on power of judiciary and legislature
Amending document	13/13 needed to amend Articles	2/3 of both houses of Congress plus 3/4 of state legislatures or national convention
Representation of states	Each state received 1 vote regardless of size	Upper house (Senate) with 2 votes; lower house (House of Representatives) based on population
Raising an army	Congress could not draft troops, dependent on states to contribute forces	Congress can raise an army to deal with military situations
Interstate commerce	No control of trade between states	Interstate commerce controlled by Congress
Disputes between states	Complicated system of arbitration	Federal court system to handle disputes
Sovereignty	Sovereignty resides in states	Constitution the supreme law of the land
Passing laws	9/13 needed to approve legislation	50%+1 of both houses plus signature of President

 

Please cite this source when appropriate:

Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources"
http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/USHistory.html (31 March 1998).