What did the articles of confederation prevent the u.s. government from doing?

It prevented the government from overpowering the citizens

The enslaved people in Sparta were called Helots.

They were actually the majority of the people in the land dominated by Sparta, according to Herodotus, as many as seven times more than the Spartans.

They worked primarily in agriculture.

The Helots were regularly killed by the Spartans.