Structure of the Government Loose union of autonomous states Unicameral Congress Each state has 1 vote Congress has the power to Conduct Foreign Affairs Declare War Maintain Armed Forces Raise Loans, Issue Credit, est. Coinage Regulate Trade with Indians

Ratification All 13 states must ratify for the Articles to go into effect Maryland will not ratify because of Western land claims 1781: 8 states w/ land claims cede the land to Congress Articles finally ratified & go into effect

Strengths of the Articles of Confederation States retained the majority of the power Successfully won the Revolution & negotiated a peace Won large amounts of land

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation 9 of 13 votes to pass a law 13 out of 13 to amend the Articles Representatives were frequently absent Could not tax Could not raise an army No executive or judicial branches

Local vs. National Identification Americans did not see themselves as “Americans” Identified themselves by their states – ex: Virginians or New Yorkers –Saw the country as “these” United States Wanted the states to have the majority of the power

State Constitutions Ideals of Republicanism Most had strong governors with veto power Most had bicameral legislatures Established Judicial branches Property required for voting Some had universal white male suffrage Most had bills of rights guaranteeing basic rights to all citizens

The United States in 1783

The Land Ordinance of 1785 Established a system for the Northwest Territory to be surveyed and sold Land to be sold cheaply since gov’t needed $

Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Established how statehood could be achieved in the Northwest Territory 3-5 states would be created NO SLAVERY IN THIS TERRITORY Things necessary for statehood: 1.When population reached 5,000 adult male landowners  elect territorial legislature. 2.When population reached 60,000  elect delegates to a state constitutional convention.

Problems in the West After the Revolution, Americans moved out west Indian conflicts! Squatters: no governments out west to buy land from People just moved and took over land

British: still occupied forts in the Northwest Would not leave until ALL British debts paid

Disputed Territorial Claims Between Spain & the U. S.: Spanish: worried Americans were going to take their land Closed port of New Orleans effectively killing ALL trade west of Appalachian Mtns.

The Economy The U.S. owed $50 million to foreign nations Over printing of money led to inflation, then a depression

Had a huge trade deficit with Britain Each state had it’s own solution Tariffs placed on each other States began to tax heavily to deal with problems

Shays’ Rebellion ( ) Farmers in Western MA upset about taxes and increasing debt They were losing land or were put into prison Were owed a pension since most fought in the Revolution

Daniel Shays leads these men in a rebellion against MA government Attack the courts of MA in Springfield MA militia forced to act to put down rebellion National gov’t unable to do anything

Problems between the States States are fighting amongst themselves –Territory –Tariffs –Commerce –Money National government is supposed to solve these problems, but the representatives only argue and 9 states never form a consensus

Annapolis Convention (1786) Major problems under the Articles Virginia called for a meeting to discuss fixing the problems Meeting held in Annapolis, MD Only 5 states showed up –NY, NJ, PA, DE, VA Decided to meet again in May 1787 in Philadelphia