What was the government prevented from doing by the articles

If you mean the Articles of Confederation, the articles prevented the federal government from enforcing laws, collecting taxes, raising troops, and settling disagreements or controlling trade between states.

The Articles of Confederation prevented the federal government from:

1) Collecting taxes on citizens - Since this was the first constitution developed after America declared independence, it makes sense as to why they did this. One of the main reasons that the American colonists wanted to break away from Great Britain was due to a strong central government that passed taxes without their consent.

2) Enforcing federal laws - The federal government had no way of forcing states to follow laws passed by Congress.

3) Establishing a national currency - Each state was able to develop their own currency (money).