Articles of Confederation and New Challenges

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Articles of Confederation and New Challenges
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I. Ideas about Government

• English
• Colonists drew ideas from English Bill of Rights
• Magna Carta - made the king (leader) subject to
  the law
• Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
• No person could be forced to attend a church or
  pay taxes for a church
• Separation of church and state

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I. Ideas about Government (cont.)

• Right to Vote
• Suffrage - the right to vote
• Any white man who paid taxes could vote.
• Women and African Americans
• Some states originally allowed these groups to
  vote
• These rights were soon taken away

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II. Articles of Confederation

• 2nd Continental Congress met to discuss a new
  national constitution
• Congress
• Settle conflicts between states
• Make coins (money)
• Borrow money
• Make treaties with other countries and Native
  Americans
• States could refuse request for money and soldiers

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II. Articles of Confederation (cont.)

• Ratification - official approval
• Conflict over western lands slowed ratification
  by all 13 states
• Maryland was last state to ratify the Articles
• Thomas Jefferson assured Maryland that western
  lands would be made into new states
• The first national U.S. government is put into
  place!

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III. Northwest Territory

• Land Ordinance of 1785
• Set up a system for surveying and dividing up
  western lands
• Divided land into townships (36 sq. mi.)
• One lot (sq. mi.) saved for education
• Four lots given to veterans
• Rest sold to the public

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III. Northwest Territory (cont.)

• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Determined how new states would join the Union
• Population had to reach 60,000
• Territory had to draft a constitution
• Other effects
• Protected civil liberties
• Required public education
• Banned slavery in future territories
• Five Territories - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
  Ohio, and Wisconsin

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IV. New Challenges

• Economic Problems
• Trade with Britain
• Closed many ports to U.S. ships
• Forced American merchants to pay high tariffs
  (taxes) for goods imported to G.B.
• Trade with Spain
• Closed the lower Mississippi to U.S. ships
• Hurt farmers and merchants because their goods
  could not be shipped out.

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IV. New Challenges (cont.)

• Economic Problems (cont.)
• Trade Among States
• Congress had no power to regulate interstate
  commerce
• States followed their own interests
• Made it hard to trade between states
• Inflation
• States had hard time paying off debt
• Began printing large amounts of money that had no
  value
• Congress had no power to stop states from
  printing more money

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IV. New Challenges (cont.)

• Economic Problems (cont.)
• Weak economy
• All the above factors helped lead to a depression
• Low economic activity combined with high
  unemployment

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IV. New Challenges (cont.)

• Shays Rebellion
• MA tried collecting money by taxing land
• Hit farmers hardest
• August 1786 - farmers revolt closing courts in
  western MA
• Daniel Shay (Sept. 1786)
• Led a revolt to shut down the MA Supreme Court
• Defeated by state troops

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IV. New Challenges (cont.)

• Shays Rebellion (cont.)
• Showed the weakness of the Confederation
  government
• Most power held by states
• One branch of government
• No system of checks and balances
• Constitutional Convention
• Philadelphia - May 1787
• Delegates from all 13 States
• Met to revise the Articles of Confederation