Warm Up – January 30 10 minutes to review with each other for your quiz

Continental Congress Debates Continental Congress was debating key questions during the American Revolution… How much power should “the people” have? State representation based on population or state? Who gets new western lands? Can power be shared between a federal government and state governments?

The Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation – 1781, document that outlined the roles of the federal and state governments. Included articles (sections) describing all of the compromises decided upon in the Continental Congress.

Shared Power Between Federal and State Governments Who should have more power? Compromise - Delegates decided to form a confederation of states where the power would be shared among the states and federal government. Confederation – alliance or union of political bodies

Shared Power Between Federal and State Governments FEDERAL Powers CAN Declare war, make peace Sign treaties Regulate international/Native trade CANNOT Levy (set) taxes on citizens Regulate trade between states STATE Powers CAN Levy (set) taxes on state citizens Regulate trade with other states CANNOT Declare war

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 The Articles had 2 major achievements: Bringing the Revolutionary War to a successful conclusion North West Ordinance (plan for governing the western lands)

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 Strengths Weaknesses Congress was given the power to: Declare War & Establish an Army/Navy No Power to Draft Soldiers

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 Strengths Weaknesses Make Peace & Sign Treaties No Power to Enforce Treaties

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 Strengths Weaknesses No Power to Collect Taxes from the States Borrow Money

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 Strengths Weaknesses Organize a Post Office

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 Strengths MAJOR WEAKNESSES No Chief Executive No national court system No Power to Regulate Interstate Commerce No National Currency Difficult to Pass laws (2/3 vote)

The Articles of Confederation America’s 1st Constitution 1781-1789 Strengths Weaknesses Congress was given the power to: Difficult to Amend (unanimous vote needed to change the articles)

Conclusion Why did the Founding Fathers choose a government with a weak central government? They feared that a strong central government would create tyranny, and stamp out the peoples natural God given rights.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation No central unity No president or central leader to enforce laws No national court system to resolve disputes Congress cannot tax citizens to pay debts Each state = 1 vote in a one-house legislature (regardless of population) Major decisions = 2/3 approval (war, etc) Amendments (changes) to the document, including federal laws = all 13 approval

TOD – January 30 Answer the following questions on the same post-it as the warm up: 1. What was the primary goal of the Articles of Confederation? 2. Why did the founding fathers want to avoid creating a strong federal (central) government? 3. Why did the Articles of Confederation eventually fail?