Articles of Confederation the first written plan of government for the US. A confederation is an union of 13 states that cooperate for a common purpose (friendshipI The government was made weak on purpose , because of American fears of a strong central government (result of trouble with GB)

Under the Articles of Confederation Each state had one Vote in Congress (it took 9 votes to pass something) Congress could Declare war Raise army and navy Print money Set up postal system Congress could not End disagreements between states (no Court) It was difficult to change (amend) the Articles Could not collect taxes Could not pay off debts

Accomplishments Under the Articles Land Ordinance of 1785- law passed that organized the Northwest Territory for sale Land was divided in to townships 6 sq. miles, townships were divided into 36 sections: one section in each township was set aside for a public school and the other were sold. Addressed the issue of dividing western lands

Accomplishments Continued Northwest Ordinance- a law passed by Congress in 1787 that specified how western lands would be governed When 5,000 free adult men lived in the territory it could elect a legislature When the population reached 60,000 the territory could apply for statehood Settlers had same rights as other citizens Slavery was banned This law helped stop the spread of slavery to the west

Failure Under the Articles Money Trouble Paper money was worthless (no gold or silver to mint into coin) Each state printed it’s own money (states disagreed about the value) made trade between states difficult)

Failures Continued Shay’s Rebellion – Farmers shut down the courts in Massachusetts to stop land and livestock from being taken because farmers could not pay debts and taxes. showed that the government could not stop internal rebellions viewed as a sign that the nation was failing under the Articles of Confederation, and they needed to be revised led to the creation of the Constitution (stronger central government)