Lesson 8.1: The Articles of Confederation

Today we will examine the Articles of Confederation.

Vocabulary republic: form of government in which people elect the people who govern them. bill: a proposed law to be considered by a legislative body.  constitution: the set of basic laws by which a nation, state, or other organization is governed. ratification: the act of ratifying; formal approval esp. by a legislature.

What We Already Know Philosophers of The Enlightenment, like John Locke, promoted the belief that people had rights that came from God… and that governments should protect those rights.

What We Already Know For eight years, the United States fought a bitter war against a government that threatened those rights.

What We Already Know During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress had served as the government for the United States.

State Governments Once the American colonies declared independence, each of the states had to create its own government. To deal with issues at the state level.

Democratic- form of government in which citizens have a say. A and B Discuss If you had to set up a government that was more democratic, what would be some of the proposals you would make. Be prepared to share out. Democratic- form of government in which citizens have a say.

State Governments The framers of these early state constitutions did not want to destroy the political systems that they had had as colonies. They simply wanted to make those systems more democratic.

State Governments Nearly all states tried to limit the power of the executive branch, the branch that carried out the laws. Terms of office were usually short and elections were held frequently.

State Governments To be more democratic some states set up their governments with three branches, so that power did not rest with any one group. One branch would write the laws and raise money. One branch would carry out the laws. One branch would enforce the laws.

State Governments Some states included a bill of rights in their constitutions guaranteeing their citizens certain rights. The idea of a bill of rights came from the English Bill of Rights of 1689.

State Governments By 1786 five states had abolished slavery. Vermont abolished slavery in their constitution. In 1783 a Massachusetts court ended slavery when it ruled that “all men are born free and equal.”

State Governments Not all the states had a bill of rights, and not all of them abolished slavery. All of them did have a republican form of government. These early state constitutions would later serve as a pattern for the U.S. Constitution.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

What effect did state governments have on national politics? A. They provided a solid foundation for the U.S. Constitution. B. They abolished slavery everywhere. C. They created constitutions that contained bills of rights. D. They demanded that Congress repeal the Northwest Ordinance.

What form of government did all the new states create? A. republican. B. socialist C. parliamentary D. bureaucratic E. monarchy

Why did most of the new state constitutions create governments with separate branches? A. It was the way government had been organized back in England. B. Separate branches would make the governments strong and effective. C. Each branch could operate independently of the other two. D. They wanted to prevent those governments from becoming too powerful.

Makes sense… During the Revolutionary War, each state was independent, with a republican form of government. The war showed the need for the states to work together. This idea of “united we stand, divided we fall” carried on after independence was won.

The Articles of Confederation By 1776, the Continental Congress began to develop a plan for a national government. Congress agreed that the government should be a republic, and it organized itself based on the model that the British Parliament provided.

The Articles of Confederation Although the delegates disagreed about several issues, in forming a new government, Congress eventually arrived at a final plan, which they called the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation One issue that had stood in the way of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation was the issue of Western land.

The Articles of Confederation Some of the smaller states. had no western lands, which could be sold to pay debts and increase revenue.

The Articles of Confederation Over the next three years, the other states gave up title to the western land. Control of the western lands was given over to Congress. The small states finally voted to ratify the Articles by 1781.

The Articles of Confederation The Articles created a government with only a legislative branch; the Congress. Each state, large or small, had only one vote in Congress.

The Articles of Confederation Since Congress had no Executive Branch, it could not carry out its own laws. The only power left to Congress was wage war and make peace sign treaties print money control western lands

The Articles of Confederation The power to collect taxes and enforce national laws was left to each of the individual states.

Be prepared to share your reasoning A and B Discuss The Articles of Confederation left Congress with very little power. Do you think this was done deliberately? Why or why not? Be prepared to share your reasoning with the class.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

What had Congress modeled their government after? A. the Spanish Diet. B. the German Reichstag C. the British Parliament D. The Russian Duma.

Who had the most powers under the Articles of Confederation? A. The national government (Congress). B. The state governments. C. The Loyalists. D. The Republicans.

Land Ordinance of 1785 Congress was given charge of the western lands. Since Congress had not been given the ability to raise revenue through taxes, it developed a plan to sell land under their control.

Land Ordinance of 1785 Under the Land Ordinance of 1785, land was surveyed into square townships, six miles on a side. Each township was sub-divided into thirty- six sections of one square mile each. It established what would be known as the Northwest Territory.

Land Ordinance of 1785 One square mile was set aside for schools. This was the first time the national government promoted public education.

The Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance described how the Northwest Territory was to be governed. As each territory grew in population, it would gain rights to self-government When there were 60,000 people, they could apply to become a new state.

The Northwest Ordinance Under the Northwest Ordinance, slavery was banned in the new territories and religious freedom was guaranteed.

The Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance was important piece of legislation because it set a pattern for the orderly growth of the United States.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

What issues involved the Western territories between 1775 and 1787 ? A. Who would control the territories. B. How to divide western lands. C. Making peace with the Indians D. How to buy more land from foreign countries. E. How to settle the western lands. (Choose all that apply.)

(Choose all that apply.) What did the Land Ordinance of 1785 accomplish? A. established townships in what would become known as the Northwest Territory. B. set aside land for schools. C. set aside land for plantations. D. took land from the larger states. E. set up a way governments would be run in the Northwest Territory. (Choose all that apply.)

(Choose all that apply.) What did the Northwest Ordinance accomplish? A. It banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. B. It established settlers' rights to religious freedom. C. It set a pattern for the orderly growth of the United States. D. It allowed Congress to purchase land from Mexico. E. It outlined when the territories could govern themselves. (Choose all that apply.)

Be prepared to share your answers A and B Discuss Do you see any future problems that either the Land Ordinance of 1785 or the Northwest Territory Ordinance may create? Be prepared to share your answers with the class.

(These Q’s will go on Portfolio ) 8.1 Cornell Notes (These Q’s will go on Portfolio ) Portfolio Page What effect did the new governments created by the new state constitutions have on national politics? Why did most of the new state constitutions create governments with separate branches? Who had the most powers under the Articles of Confederation? What was the United States Congress modeled after? What issues affected the Western territories between 1775 and 1787? What did the Land Ordinance of 1785 do? What did the Northwest Ordinance do?

National government’s State governments’ powers powers Copy this chart onto Portfolio Articles of Confederation National government’s State governments’ powers powers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3.

Copy this chart onto Portfolio p24 What was the state’s reaction? What happened? What was the cause? Shay’s Rebellion What was the state’s reaction? ‘Big Picture’ result?