1. 1 The Articles of Confederation

2. 2 Background  After the Declaration of Independence, patriots realized that they needed some form of central government to control the people They came up with the Articles of Confederation- the U.S.’ first ever written constitution (adopted in 1781)  It PURPOSELY established a VERY weak centralized government *** The states did not want the government to have too much power b/c of their experiences with Parliament & the King of England (who violated their natural rights)  Instead, the people wanted the states to have most of the power so they created a loosely unified country

3. 3 Under the Articles:  The U.S. established a unicameral legislature Each state would send representatives to the capital city once a year to meet (called the Confederation Congress)  Changes couldn’t be made w/o a unanimous vote  The Confederation Congress was given some rights/powers: Declaring war, raising armies, signing treaties  They were also denied some rights/powers: Imposing taxes, controlling trade, & enforcing laws  These rights were given to states ONLY!

4. Think about it: How do you think the Confederation Congress could generate enough money to run a country if they weren’t permitted to tax the people? 4

5. 5 Western Policies  Since they couldn’t tax the people, the Confederation Congress decided to sell land west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to make money for the government Northwest Ordinance of 1787- created the Northwest Territory west of the Appalachian Mountains that would be open to American settlement ***This began America’s obsession with western expansion

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7. 7 Reasons the Articles Failed :  After the Revolutionary War, the states no longer had the same goals = BIG PROBLEMS TO COME  Problems with trade: British merchants flooded the U.S. with inexpensive goods which forced many Americans out of business when they couldn’t compete  Problems with diplomacy: The government couldn’t enforce the Treaty of Paris w/ Britain because of the weak government The government couldn’t persuade Spain to allow us access through New Orleans to the sea

8. 8  Problems with the economy: The end of the Revolutionary War caused a severe recession  States made paper currency at high rates, therefore causing high inflation Shays’ Rebellion- full scale rebellion of farmers in 1789 b/c the state of Massachusetts decided to raise taxes time after time (which caused many farmers to go into foreclosure)  Rebellion by Americans showed just how weak the government was

9. Think about it: (1) Why do you think that states were taxing their people after the Revolutionary War? (2) How do you think the people felt about being taxed by their states? Explain your answer. 9

10. 10 Effects of the Articles of Confederation:  People realized that the Articles of Confederation were putting the entire U.S. in jeopardy As a result, people began calling for change  What they really wanted was a centralized government with more power, but not too much!!!

11. Think about it: Create a caption for this cartoon 11