Articles of Confederation

Organization of New Governments Leaders of the 13 colonies were working to change them into independent states while at the same time, the Congress was meeting to try to define the powers of a new central government By 1777, ten of the former colonies had written new state constitutions Each constitution was a subject of heated debate between conservatives (law and order) and liberals (protecting individual rights)

State Constitutions While the state constitutions varies on specific points, they all had the following in common: List of Rights– basic rights and freedoms that belonged to all citizens Separation of Powers– government divided into three separate branches– the legislative, the executive, and the judicial— to provide a safeguard against tyranny/over-powerful executives Voting– white males with some property/money were allowed to vote because they had more of a stake in government than the homeless/poor Office-Holding– elected officials were held to higher property qualifications

Articles of COnfederation 1776- as Jefferson is writing the declaration of independence, john Dickinson drafted the first constitution of the u.s. Articles of Confederation adopted in 1777; ratified in 1781 Written to protect the powers of individual states After the revolution- Uneasiness, tension about giving up power to another central authority

Structure of govt. under the articles Central govt. with just one branch- a congress Unicameral (one-house) legislature Each state given one vote; 9 out of 13 votes required to pass laws In order to amend the articles, a unanimous vote was needed Nearly impossible to achieve

Powers of the govt. under the articles Congress did not have the power to: Gave Congress the Following powers: Wage war Make treaties Send diplomatic representatives to foreign countries Borrow money Regulate interstate commerce Collect taxes- states had to volunteer how much money they’d give Use an executive branch to enforce laws

Accomplishments under the articles Congress under the articles did make some achievements Won the war against Great Britain Land ordinance of 1785- policy for surveying and selling western lands; set aside land for public education Northwest ordinance of 1787- granted limited self- government and prohibited slavery in developing states in Great Lakes/Ohio river valley region

Problems under the articles Financial Most war debts left unpaid Individual states coined their own currency; congress issued worthless paper money Congress had no power to tax Could only request states donate money for national needs

Problems under the articles Foreign European nations had little respect for U.s. Unable to pay debts or take unified action during a crisis Britain and spain threatened to expand their territories in the west as soon as the Revolution ended

Problems under the articles Domestic 1786- Captain Daniel Shays led other farmers in an uprising against high state taxes, imprisonment for debt, and lack of paper money Stopped the collection of taxes and forced the closing of debt courts 1787- Shay and his men attempt to seize weapons from Springfield armory; stopped by Massachusetts militia

A need for change Main problem with articles is they did not give the national government enough power to operate effectively U.s. citizens lacked a national identity- more loyal to their states than to the country as a whole The articles made it more difficult for states to agree and work on common interests National govt. was powerless to resolve disputes over trade, boundaries, money, etc. etc. 1787- the need for a stronger central govt. causes states to send representatives to a meeting to discuss drafting a new constitution…

? What was the first national constitution of the u.s.? What was the structure of govt. under the articles? What powers did the federal govt. have under the articles? What powers did the federal govt. NOT have under the articles? Briefly explain the financial, foreign, and domestic problems the country faced under the articles of confederation. How did most u.s. citizens feel about loyalty to a strong, central govt.?