After the colonies declared independence in 1776, the articles of confederation established a new american government in 1777. americans did not trust powerful centralized governments after their experience with the british monarchy. what were some of the ways that the new confederation government kept the national government in check?

One way was that the confederation government had no way of taxing the states or coining money. That way, they would not be able to collect any taxes from the people if the people in the states didn't want those taxes. This was a way to prevent any possibility of having a corrupt government introduce taxes that are disliked.

Another thing was the idea that the government would only deal with things that protect the colonies from outside influences and provide military support. They could not do anything outside of that because their main goal was representing the colonies in affairs with other countries, so they didn't have the possibility of bothering the people at home.