The United States had accumulated $43 million in debt while fighting the Revolutionary War. The United States had gained its independence, but immediately after the war, the new country struggled to determine the country's identity, while also trying to figure out how it would pay its debts. While the states fought together against the British during the war, they became sovereign states again after the war. The Articles of Confederation failed to establish a national government with any real power, while maintaining the status quo whereby states remain sovereign entities with the power to impose themselves, control tariffs and print their own money. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayState sovereignty was guaranteed by the Articles of Confederation. This meant that Congress did not have the power to impose taxes on the states to raise revenue, which was then needed to repay debts incurred during the Revolutionary War. As a result, the Continental Congress had to take out loans and print money, which led to hyperinflation and the use of foreign loans, to pay off war debts. The United States struggled to pay its debts after the war and defaulted on French loans in 1785 and 1787. The Constitution, ratified in 1788, gave the federal government the power to levy taxes on the states. With the help of James Swan, an American banker who took over French debts and then resold them on domestic American markets, the American government was able to become free of all foreign debts. Along with taxing powers, states were given the power to control tariffs on interstate commerce. This meant that Massachusetts could impose tariffs on goods imported from neighboring Rhode Island. This only discouraged interstate trade and increased disunity in the newly independent country. Foreign powers like Great Britain, which the United States had just defeated to gain independence, reaped the benefits of different states' different trade policies. When Massachusetts and New Hampshire closed their ports to British goods, Connecticut opened its ports and benefited from cheap British goods. No national trade policy has created conflict between states and foreign powers have reaped the benefits. No common currency was established by the Articles of Confederation. In 1775, before the creation and ratification of the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress issued paper money called Continentals. Congress had printed too many Continentals during the war and the states were printing their own currency, rendering the Continentals worthless. The currencies of different states had different values, which made trade between states even more difficult. Benjamin Franklin had printed money for the colonies and was aware of the negative effects of competing currencies on trade between the colonies. It is for this reason that he advocated for the creation of a common currency and his wish was granted. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gave Congress the power to mint coinage. Congress passed the Coinage Act in 1792, which established the U.S. dollar as the standard currency of the United States. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our editors now..