Final answer:
The Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. These included a lack of a centralized authority to enforce laws, the inability to levy taxes on states, and the difficulty in amending the Articles. An overly powerful executive branch was not a weakness of the Articles.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was the lack of a centralized authority to enforce laws. This meant that the national government did not have the power to ensure that its laws were obeyed by the states. Another weakness was the inability to levy taxes on states. The national government could request funds from the states, but it had no power to enforce taxation.
On the other hand, an overly powerful executive branch was not a weakness of the Articles of Confederation. In fact, the Articles did not have a strong executive branch at all. The government under the Articles consisted mainly of a legislative body, the Confederation Congress, which had limited powers.
Furthermore, the difficulty in amending the Articles was another weakness. The Articles could only be amended with unanimous approval from all thirteen states, which made the process of making necessary changes very challenging.