1. Experimenting with Confederation
Coach Martin

2. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
1) Congress could not collect taxes
2) 9 out 13 states needed to agree to pass a law
3) Articles could be amended only if all states approved
4) No power to enforce laws
5) No Court System
6) No National Unity
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

3. Americans adopted the Articles of Confederation but found the new government too weak to solve the nation’s problem
What now? Do we need a government?
Big Idea

4. Americans Debate Republicanism
Colonies Become States
People consider their colony to be the government system
colonists give their allegiance to colony
idea persists when colonies become states
Americans Debate Republicanism

5. Americans Debate Republicanism
Unity Through a Republic
Colonists believe democracy gives too much power to uneducated
Is this true?
Colonists prefer a republic--- citizens rule through elected representatives
Views of Republicanism
Government should be based on the consent of the people
John Dickinson Beliefs
A nation can only succeed if people placed the good of the nation above their own
Adam Smith Beliefs
Allow people to pursue their own economic and political interests
Americans Debate Republicanism

6. Americans Debate Republicanism
State Constitutions Characteristics
1) Many states limit powers of government leaders
2) Guarantee specific rights to citizens; stress liberty, not equality
3) Only white males can vote; in some states must own property
Political Precedents
Previous republican governments cannot be adapted to U.S. needs:
State and National government
Rome, Greece, and Italian States didn’t last
Americans Debate Republicanism

7. The Continental Congress Debates
Representation By Population or By State?
Size and Population of state varies
Continental Congress believed represented state so each state is represented equally
Supreme Power: Can It be Divided?
Confederation or alliance: national government and states share powers
Articles of Confederation—laws assigning national, state powers
National government handles war, treaties, weights, measures, mail
No Executive or Court System???
The Continental Congress Debates

8. The Continental Congress Debates
Western Lands: Who Gets Them?
By 1779, 12 states approve Articles of Confederation
Maryland approves when western land claims given to U.S.
Articles of Confederation go into effect March 1781
Governing The Western Lands
Land Ordinance of creates plan for surveying western lands
Northwest Ordinance of 1787-plan for creating territories, statehood
The Continental Congress Debates

9. The Confederation Encounters Problems
Political and Economic Problems
1) Confederation lacks unity; states pursue own interests
2) Congress amasses huge debt during Revolutionary War
3) Rhode Island rejects tariff on imports; foreign debt cannot be paid
The Confederation Encounters Problems

10. The Confederation Encounters Problems
Borrowers Versus Lenders
Taxes put farmers in debt and causes them to lose their farms
Creditors favor high taxes to ensure they are paid back
Debtors want large amount of paper money
Creditors want small amount of paper money
The Confederation Encounters Problems

11. The Confederation Encounters Problems
Foreign-Relations Problems
U.S. does not pay debts to British merchants or compensate Loyalists
In retaliation, Britain refuses to evacuate forts on Great Lakes
In 1784, Spain closes Mississippi River to American navigation
Westerners unable to ship crops east through New Orleans
Congress unable to resolve problems with foreign nations
The Confederation Encounters Problems