Question

congress. here, they exercised what few powers they were given by the articles of confederation. the group was responsible for conducting foreign affairs, declaring war or peace, and maintaining an army and navy. the crucial, day - to - day powers that were necessary for the united states to thrive were deprived from congress. the articles of confederation denied congress the power to collect taxes, regulate trade, and enforce laws. the first government of the united states was created with the fear of a tyrannical, oppressive government in the back of their mind; subsequently, they created a government with too little power to do much of anything.
the articles of confederation was a failure in many ways; its largest failure was congress inability to tax. since the issue of unfair taxation prompted the war for independence just a few years earlier, it is easy to understand the founders desire to deprive their government of this power. unfortunately though, taxation is necessary for society to function. without taxation, congress could not raise money to fund a military, build roads, or have a post office. matters reached a breaking point in 1787 when daniel shays, a former soldier, raised a small militia and seized control of a federal armory. the federal government was unable to stop the rebellion since they did not have the necessary funds to pay its soldiers. to make matters worse, the articles required a consensus of states to agree if they wished to amend, or change, this government. do you think the interests in new york were the same as those in south carolina? are people in georgia going to have the same views as those in connecticut? reaching a consensus was nearly impossible.
the delegates realized that the articles of confederation required great revisions in order to be functional, and they quickly agreed that entire system needed replaced. a constitutional convention was held in the summer of 1787 to create a stronger, more effective federal government. this new plan would balance the interests of the federal government with state governments, as well as the interests between large and small populated states. it would be called the united states constitution, and the country would elect george washington as its first president in 1789.

1. what powers did the congress have? what did they lack?

the powers to conduct foreign affairs, declare war and peace, maintain army. but they lacked power to enforce laws and levy taxes

1. which of the following is a synonym for the word census?

a) disagreement
b) unity
c) division
d) squabble

1. what caused the articles of confederation to fail?

Explanation:

1. The word "census" refers to an official count or survey. "Count" is a synonym. Among the options, "count" is closest in meaning to "census". So the answer is b as "count" is a synonym for "census" and "count" is closest to "census" in meaning compared to the other options like "disagreement", "division", and "squabble".
2. The Articles of Confederation failed mainly due to Congress's inability to tax, which meant it couldn't raise funds for important functions like maintaining a military. Also, the requirement of a consensus of states to amend the Articles made it nearly impossible to make necessary changes.

Answer:

1. b. count
2. Congress's inability to tax and the difficulty of amending the Articles due to the consensus - requirement of states.