Origins of American Government The Articles of Confederation

The Articles PPPPresented in 1777 KKKKept the same government put in place by the 2nd Continental Congress TTTThe states wanted a confederation or “league of friendship” rather than a strong central government BBBBy March 1781, all 13 states had ratified the Articles of Confederation

The Setup  Had a unicameral Congress where executive positions were chosen  Committee of the States managed the government when Congress was not in session  No federal court system

The Setup  Each state had one vote in Congress no matter its size or population  Every state legislature selected its own representatives to Congress, paid them, and could recall them at any time  Congress only had the powers expressed in the Articles  All other powers remained with the states

Congressional Powers  Make war and peace  Send and receive ambassadors  Enter into treaties  Raise and equip a navy  Maintain an army by requesting troops from the states  Appoint senior military officers  Fix standards of weights and measures  Regulate Indian affairs  Establish post offices  Decide certain disputes among the states

Weaknesses  Congress did not have the power to levy or collect taxes  Congress did not have the power to regulate trade  Congress could not force anyone to obey the laws it passed or to abide by the Articles of Confederation

Weaknesses  Laws needed the approval of 9 of the 13 states  Amending, or changing, the Articles required the consent of all states  The central government did not have an executive branch  The government had no national court system

Good Things CCCCame up with a fair policy for the development of lands west of the Appalachians OOOOrdinance of 1785 AAAAllowed for the survey and division NNNNorthwest Ordinance (1787) TTTTerritories were to be developed for statehood on an equal basis with the older states

 Peace treaty signed with Great Britain in 1783  Congress set up departments  Foreign Affairs  War  Marine  Treasury  “full faith and credit”

Problems TTTThe states begin to fight over boundary lines and tariffs TTTThe government owed money to foreign governments and soldiers (40 million) BBBBecause of the money issues they couldn’t maintain an army TTTThere was a depression in 1786 and the states faced financial troubles

Shays’s Rebellion  Armed farmers forced courts to close  Hoped the state would pass laws allowing them to keep their farms  Daniel Shays led a group that closed the Massachusetts state supreme court  There rebellion was put down by the militia but it opened some eyes

Annapolis Convention  Inspired by a meeting George Washington had at Mount Vernon  Virginia’s representatives called for a meeting in Annapolis in 1786  Only 5 states sent delegates even though all were invited  Hamilton persuaded delegates to call for a convention in Philadelphia in May 1787

Annapolis Convention  The purpose the of the convention was:  to regulate commerce between the states  to propose changes that would make the national government more effective  All they were supposed to do was to revise the Articles