What type of government is confederation

How to Evaluate Sources. Information Literacy. Wireless Printing. The three Systems Federal System Power is shared by a powerful central government and states or provinces that are given considerable self-rule, usually through their own legislatures. Unitary System One central government controls weaker states. Confederal System Weak or loose organization of states agrees to follow a powerful central government.

Nations can choose to follow or not follow the lead of the weak central government. The vast majority of political power rests with the local governments; the central federal government has very little power.

Local governments have a great deal of freedom to act as they wish, but this freedom often leads to conflicts between states and the federal government. In some cases, a confederacy is little more than an alliance between independent states.

Example: For Americans, the Confederate States of America—which governed the South during the Civil War—is the best-known example of a confederacy, but there have been others.

In fact, the first government of the United States, created by the Articles of Confederation finished in , was this type of system. Today, Belgium is basically a confederacy between two largely independent states, Flanders in the north and Wallonia in the south. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Summary Systems of Government. Popular pages: Nations and States. Take a Study Break. Federal e. Quite significantly, however, all powers not specifically delegated to Congress belonged to the states.

Congress did not have the direct power to tax or to regulate interstate and foreign trade. It could only ask the states for money with no means to compel payment, and the states had the right to impose their own duties on imports, which caused havoc with commerce.

Congress had no authority to raise an army on its own and had to requisition troops from the states. All major policy issues — war and peace, treaties, the appropriation of funds — required the approval of nine states. The Articles reflected the nation's concern about executive power; however, the lack of an executive meant there was no effective leadership. A unanimous vote of the states, acting through their legislatures, was necessary to amend the Articles.