The Articles of confederation Chapter 4.1

States create republics After the Constitutional Convention in 1776 States create new governments All wanted to have republics – governments elected by the people Led to some disagreements as to how much power to give the people Some wanted democracy Others distrusted the ability of the common people

Preference for democracy Democratic Patriots wanted to create strong state legislatures with weak governors Unicameral legislature – single house government with leaders elected by the people Gave the people greater rights Other wanted conservative state constitutions with a strong governor

Preference for Democracy Bicameral legislature – two house legislature such as a Senate and House of Reps Counterbalanced the common voters in the House with the wealthy well-educated in the Senate

Voting Fought over voting rights Democratic patriots wanted e qual political rights for all free men Conservatives wanted only men who owned property to be allowed to vote John Adams believed that allowing poor men to vote would “confound and destroy all distinctions and prostrate all ranks to the common level.”

Articles of confederation Original constitution It was a loose union of states that agreed to work together It was drafted under the leadership of John Dickenson It did not allow for a strong centralized government Reflected the principles of the Declaration of Independence Rejected centralized power of the British Empire

Federal government Each state could send as many as 7 delegates to represent their state in Congress Each state had a single vote Given powers to make, implement, and enforce laws Did not have an executive branch

The congress Had the power to: Declare war Raise armies Sign treaties Did not have the power to: Impose taxes Regulate trade

Lack of power Weakened Congress Depended upon state funding Led to Congress selling land west of the Appalachian Mountains

Northwest territory Congress wanted to settle and govern the land they had authority over This was known as the Northwest Territory Sold this land to speculators and farmers

Land ordinance of 1785 Passed to make it easier to sell and regulate land to settlers Land arranged into townships Each township divided into 36 sections Each section was 640 acres and sold for $1 an acre Most farmers could not afford this so they had to buy from land speculators Wealthy land speculators would buy up large quantities of land for a cheaper price

Northwest ordinance of 1787 Created the Northwest Territory – area north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi Divided into territories When population reached 60,000 in a territory, they could apply to become a state Also banned slavery and protected civil liberties in the new territories

American Indians Lost their lands due to Congress’s decisions Expected to relocate Congress could not maintain a large enough army to protect settlers

Problems with Spain America wants land owned by Spanish They fight over borders Spain closes the Mississippi – so farmers can’t ship their goods down the river Keeps settlers from going west of the river

Problems with Britain Before war, many Americans had borrowed money from British lenders Treaty of Paris – America agreed to let the British recover their debts American courts sided with Americans Many states would not allow Loyalists to have their property back

British retaliate British refuse to abandon frontier posts on American soil Congress had no money to raise an army to get rid of them and they had no power to raise money through taxes – uh oh

Problems with trade After the war, British merchants flooded U.S. with inexpensive British goods American artisans driven out of business Many states restricted British imports Did not impose the same duties on foreign goods British went to the states that had the lowest taxes

Problems with trade Congress had no power to regulate commerce so they could not stop British form exploiting trade laws

Economic crisis Country went through a severe recession – economic slowdown Farm prices fell and farmers in debt States had borrowed money for the war and the wealthy merchants and planters wanted to be paid back in gold or silver

inflation Farmers and other debtors wanted states to print paper money so they could pay off their debts Paper money worthless if not backed by gold or silver Inflation begins – the value of money lost value

Paper money 7 states issued paper money Rhode Island – paper money became so worthless that merchants would not take it People rioted The state forced merchants to take the money or be arrested and fined This showed that the people could force the government to steal from the wealthy

Shay’s rebellion Triggered when the government of Massachusetts raised taxes instead of issuing paper money Taxes affected poor farmers the most August 1786 Daniel Shays, veteran of the Revolutionary War, led a mob of angry farmers to block farm foreclosures January 1787 Shay and 1200 farmers decided to try to seize weapons from the Springfield Armory to shut down the courts

Shay’s rebellion The state militia, led by General Benjamin Lincoln, suppressed the rebellion the next day

AOC Parody Shays Rebellion

aftermath People begin to argue for a strong, centralized government

Works cited hughesDV. “Shays' Rebellion Explained.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Sept. 2013 MrBettsClass. “Articles of Confederation (Kelis's "Milkshake" Parody) – @MrBettsClass.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Oct. 2015. Werner-Lepsansky, Emma J., et al. United States History. Pearson Education Inc: United States, 2016. Print.