The Articles of Confederation

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION WERE RATIFIED ON MARCH 1, 1781 AMERICA’S 1 ST FORM OF GOVERNMENT AFTER SEPARATION FROM BRITAIN

3 The Articles of Confederation During the Revolution, the new United States needed a functioning government Modeled after colonial governments States would retain sovereignty Founders were fearful of concentrated power due to past experience with the British

Articles of Confederation The Government was unable to tax the colonies 1. There is no money to be made without National taxes. 2. It greatly effected soldiers in the war. National Government could not force states to obey it’s laws 1. Each State made it’s own laws and rules.

Articles of Confederation Congress lacked strong and steady leadership 1. There was no “President” 2. Laws were passed when 9 out of 13 states gave approval. All 13 states had to agree to make changes to the Articles. There wasn’t a National Military 1. Each state had the right to their own Army or military forces.

Articles of Confederation There was no National Court 1. Central Government had no way of settling disputes between states. Each State could issue it’s own paper money 1. National currency became almost worthless.

Articles of Confederation Each State only had one vote in Congress. (size and population didn’t matter) 1. This meant even the small states had as much power as the large states. Lack of foreign policy 1. Made it impossible to force Britain to fulfill its obligations as described in the Treaty of Paris. 2. No way to regulate foreign trade.

8 Powers Granted to Government under the Articles of Confederation Declare war and make peace Make treaties with foreign countries Establish an army and navy Appoint high-ranking military officials Requisition, print, and borrow money Establish weights and measures Hear disputes among the states related to trade or boundaries

9 Powers Denied to Government No power to raise funds for an army or navy No power to tax, impose tariffs, or collect duties No executive branch to enforce laws No power to control trade among the states No power to force states to honor obligations No power to regulate the value of currency

Results of the Articles Shay’s Rebellion- Massachusetts farmers rebel against foreclosures on property. Leaders of states convinced that more rebellion was likely without a stronger central authority Led to the Annapolis Conference.

So What? As we can see, the Articles of Confederation had many weaknesses. In a way, they created more of a problem than a solution. After realizing the issues at hand, we drafted and adopted the U.S. Constitution.

Assessment 1) What was our Nation’s 1 st form of Government? 2) Why did the National Government seem to have problems earning money? 3) Who was the President when the Articles of Confederation were ratified? 4) Why was the National Currency almost worthless? 5) How many votes in Congress were each State given? 6) How many State votes were needed to make or pass a law? 7) Why was it difficult for the Government to settle disputes between States? 8) How many States had to agree to make a change to the Articles? 9) Why was the National Government unable to force states to obey it’s laws? 10) What did the weaknesses of the Articles lead us to creating?