1. A New Country: What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Coach Kuntz
United States History

2. Differing Governments
-After the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, the colonies began organizing their governments:
Most states wrote constitutions. A constitution is a document that sets out the laws, principles, organization, and processes of a government.
In 1777, the Continental Congress approved the first American Constitution called the “Articles of Confederation” with hopes of unifying the 13 colonies.
-As early as 1777, the United States had state and national governments.

3. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
1. Small, weak central government
-The national government under the Articles of Confederation was small and weak
-Weaknesses of the national government:
Congress could pass laws, but 9 of the 13 colonies had to approve a law before it could go into effect.
Congress could not regulate trade between states or between states and foreign countries.
When Congress passed a law, it was up to states to enforce the law.

4. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
2. No Money and Lots of Debt
-After the Revolution, the United States owed millions of dollars to individuals and to foreign nations.
-Congress did not have the power to tax in order to raise money.
-Congress had to ask states for money or borrow it. They could not force states to contribute.

5. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
3. Conflict Between the States
-The national government had no no system of courts to settle conflicts between states.
-Each state printed their own currency. Most states refused to accept the money of other states. As a result, trade became very difficult.
-Congress could not regulate trade between states or between states and foreign countries.

6. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
4. Border Disputes (Conflicts, arguments, disagreements)
-If two states claimed the same piece of land, there was nothing in place to resolve this conflict.
-For example, both New Hampshire and New York claimed Vermont.
-States feared that states who continued to expand would become too powerful.

7. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
5. Weak Military
-After the Revolution, the Continental Army greatly decreased in size.
-The national government could declare war but they mostly had to rely on state militias to fight.
-The national government could not force state militias to fight.

8. Successes of the Articles of Confederation
-The Articles of Confederation weren’t all bad. Congress did manage to pass a few important laws:
Land Ordinance of Set up a system for settling the Northwest Territory. The territory was divided into townships. Townships were then divided into 36 sections of 1 square mile.
Northwest Ordinance- Set up a government for the Northwest Territory, guaranteed basic rights to settlers, and outlawed slavery there.
-The Ordinance also provided a way to admit new states to the nation. Once a territory had a population of 60,000 free settlers, it could ask Congress to be admitted as a state.