The Articles of Confederation

1. The Articles of Confederation

2. Objectives • Be able to explain what the Articles of Confederation were. • Be able to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles. • Understand the importance of Shays’s Rebellion.

3. What were the Articles of Confederation? America’s first attempt at independent government (A precursor to the Constitution) • The Articles were an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states.

4. The Articles of Confederation • The fear of having too much power in one person’s hands reflects the experiences the colonies had under a monarchy. • In the Articles, the state governments limited the power of the national Congress.

5. Strengths of the Articles of Confederation • Power to declare war and settle disputes between states • Power to coin and “borrow” money • Power to negotiate with foreign countries and sign treaties • Power to operate post offices

6. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation WEAKNESSES • The national government could not force the states to obey its laws • It did not have the power to tax • It did not have the power to enforce laws • Congress had no power regulate foreign or state trade • Congress lacked strong and steady leadership • (There was no Executive Branch) • There was no national standing army or navy • There was no system of national courts • (There was no Judicial Branch) • Each state could issue its own paper money • Each state could put tariffs on trade between other states. (A tariff is a tax on goods coming in from another state or country.) • All laws had to be approved by 9 out of 13 states

7. Achievements of the Articles of Confederation • The Treaty of Paris (1783) • Brings an official end to the war • Britain official recognizes the United States as an independent nation • England gives up all its land rights • The Land Ordinance of 1785, stated that land in the west was to be surveyed using a grid system to establish 6 mile blocks.

8. Achievements of the Articles of Confederation: Settling Western Lands • The Northwest Ordinance (1787) assisted in the orderly expansion of the United States. • It outlined a plan for applying for statehood to western territories • 5,000 free males who own 50 acres could start government • Population of 60,000 could become a state

9. Settling Western lands • The Northwest Ordinance provides an orderly settlement process in the West. • It promised • No slavery • Education • Freedom of religion • Trial by jury

10. Northwest Territory • The Northwest Territory was east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. The states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin would be formed from this area.

11. Shays’s Rebellion • Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. • The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.

12. Reasons for Shay’s Rebellion • The rebellion started on August 21, 1786, over financial difficulties. • Farmers were required to pay debts in gold. • However, most farmers had no money because they were not paid during the war. • Wealthy lawmakers invested their money in the war too. • They wanted to collect that money from the farmers’ debts.

13. Shays’s Rebellion • Poor farmers were not represented in the Massachusetts’ legislature • They could not pass debt relief laws. • The rebellion setout to free debtors from prisons and close courts that were hearing cases against farmers.

14. Outcomes of Shays’s Rebellion • The Massachusetts militia was called out to stop the rebellion. • Poor farmers in 1791 elected officials who supported their stance, would close courthouses, and demand financial help from the Congress. Major Outcome of the Rebellion • Shays’s Rebellion prompted national leaders to create a stronger central government (Partially out of fear). • It helped spark the creation of the Constitution.

15. Samuel Adams Said What?!!!!! • “Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death.”

16. Views about Shays’s Rebellion • Adams went on to write a law called the Riot Act, which prohibited 12 people or more from meeting, and it would have gave the government the power to shoot rioters! • Samuel sure had changed since 1776! • Think! Why did Shays’s Rebellion freak-out some of the Founding Fathers?

17. Thomas Jefferson Said What?! • "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government. God forbid that we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion."