The Articles of Confederation are best described as creating which type of relationship among states?

The Articles of Confederation are best described as creating which type of relationship among states?

• A. A strong central government
• B. A federal system
• C. A unitary system
• D. League of friendship

Answer: (D)

The main idea being tested is how power was organized among the states under the Articles of Confederation. It created a loose alliance, a confederation described as a "league of friendship," where states kept their sovereignty and the central government was deliberately weak. That league of friendship operated with a national government that could handle foreign affairs, war, and coin money, but it had no power to tax or regulate commerce and lacked an executive or national judiciary. Because the central authority was so limited, the states acted mostly on their own, making the national government ineffective at enforcing laws or coordinating policy. This differs from a strong central government, which would have real authority over the states; from a federal system, which involves a meaningful division of power between national and state governments with a stronger central layer; and from a unitary system, where the central government holds supreme power over subnational units. The Articles embody a loose, confederal arrangement—the league of friendship.

The main idea being tested is how power was organized among the states under the Articles of Confederation. It created a loose alliance, a confederation described as a "league of friendship," where states kept their sovereignty and the central government was deliberately weak.

That league of friendship operated with a national government that could handle foreign affairs, war, and coin money, but it had no power to tax or regulate commerce and lacked an executive or national judiciary. Because the central authority was so limited, the states acted mostly on their own, making the national government ineffective at enforcing laws or coordinating policy.

This differs from a strong central government, which would have real authority over the states; from a federal system, which involves a meaningful division of power between national and state governments with a stronger central layer; and from a unitary system, where the central government holds supreme power over subnational units. The Articles embody a loose, confederal arrangement—the league of friendship.