The New Nation!

Treaty of Paris Following the British surrender at Yorktown, the Continental Congress sent delegates to Paris to negotiate the terms of British surrender The Terms -Britain had to accept that the U.S. was its own sovereign nation -Fishermen in New England would have access to waters as far East as New Foundland -The United States’ boundaries would extend to the Mississippi River (the country would double in size) -The U.S. had to promise peace with Loyalists in U.S. -Agreed that all debts owed to creditors MUST be paid

Articles of Confederation Provided foundation of national government States were afraid of big government As a result, it was difficult for Congress to enforce policies over the states

Congress’ Powers Could declare war Could raise armies Could sign treaties Could NOT tax

Relations with Britain After War for Independence Britain allowed America to export goods to Britain Britain to NOT allow them to access goods from Caribbean

Major Achievements of the Articles of Confederation Commercial treaties Settling land in the West

Weakness of Articles of Confederation The states were not unified in their trade policies with Britain This hurt business for American artisans and manufacturers In turn, the States were under pressure to compete with one another

Problems with Diplomacy Diplomacy is the managing of relations with foreign countries Under the Articles, Congress could not force states to pay back debt to Britain from before the war (part of Treat of Paris)

Problems with Diplomacy When Congress tried to open trade with neighboring Spanish merchant, Southern states thought the government was working for Northern states and against them

Economic Crisis Unable to trade with Britain, America was sent into a recession Recession - a severe struggle to produce wealth for the nation = more debt

States tried to recover by raising taxes Since citizens were in debt, the only solution was to print more money Leads to INFLATION- decrease in value of currency

Shays Rebellion Massachusetts State stops accepting payment in worthless currency Helpless farmers rebel Mass. Militia opens fire