Essential Question:

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• Essential Question
• What were the long-term problems with the
  Articles of Confederation?
• Warm-Up Question
• Now that the Americans have won the Revolutionary
  War, what major decisions must now be answered?

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The Articles of Confederation
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The Articles of Confederation
A pure democracy would put too much power in the
hands of the uneducated mob

• When Americans declared independence in 1776,
  they needed to form a new government
• They wanted to form a republic where citizens
  vote for elected leaders to represent them
• They wanted to protect citizens individual
  states from a powerful national government

The American republic would be a more
enlightened version of the Roman Senate
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Thirteen Independent States
When independence was declared, the 13 colonies
became independent states
But, the USA needed a national govt to do things
that states could not, like sign treaties form
a military
Each state had its own constitution, legislature,
an elected governor 8 states had Bills of
Rights
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The Articles of Confederation
Americas 1st national govt was the Articles of
Confederation (1777-1789)
This confederation style govt loosely
connected the states under a weak national
government
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Each state could send between 2-7 representatives
to the national congress, but each state had only
1 vote
Government Structure
To pass a law, 9 of the 13 states had to agree
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The national congress could make laws, settle
disputes between states, negotiate treaties,
handle Indian affairs, oversee a military
Government Powers
But all other powers were left up to the states
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Americans did not want to re-create a powerful
govt like the one they just fought the
Revolutionary War to break away from
Government Powers
So, the national govt had no president could
not tax the states or citizens
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Successes of the Articles of Confederation
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The United States, 1783
Areas of Settlement, 1783
The Articles established a good system of
settling western lands
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Western Land Claims Ceded
by the States
First, states had cede (give up) their claims to
lands in the west to the national govt
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Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 to
create an orderly way to divide the west into
townships farms
Selling western lands was the only way the
national govt could generate money since it did
not have the power to tax
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Land Ordinance of 1785
Section 16 of the each township was set aside for
a public school
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The Northwest Ordinance

• The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 gave government
  to the territories
• When a territory had 5,000 residents, it could
  create a self-governing legislature
• When a territory had 60,000 residents, it could
  apply to become a U.S. state
• Slavery was outlawed in the NW

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• Essential Question
• What were the long-term problems with the
  Articles of Confederation?
• Warm-Up Question
• Why did U.S. leaders create such a weak national
  govt when they made the Articles of
  Confederation?

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Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
Activity
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The Weaknesses of the Articles

• The Articles of Confederation was Americas 1st
  form of govt
• The weakness the national govt was originally
  seen as good because it eliminated tyranny
• Later, these same weaknesses kept the govt from
  solving serious national problems

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Economic Problems

• The inability of the government to collect taxes
  led to problems
• America could not pay off debts from the
  Revolutionary War
• Property foreclosures led an uprising among
  Massachusetts farmers called Shays Rebellion in
  1787 but the govt could not pay for an army to
  stop it

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• Shays Rebellion
• https//www.youtube.com/watch?vYOR9O9mUObE

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Shays Rebellion in western Massachusetts
Shays Rebellion proved to be the convincing
event that led to the Constitutional Convention
of 1787

• Poor farmers in western MA were angered over high
  taxes prospect of debtors jail
• Daniel Shays led an uprising closed debt courts
  threatened a federal arsenal

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Americas First National Government The
Articles of Confederation
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Weaknesses of the Articles

• After Shays Rebellion, people like Hamilton
  Madison began calling for a stronger national
  govt
• In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss
  ways to improve the Articles
• Instead of revising the Articles of
  Confederation, the delegates replaced it with the
  Constitution

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Weaknesses of the Articles

• 1. weak national (or central) government.
• i. All the power rested with the individual
  states.
• ii. The national government had to get the
  permission and support from the states to do
  anything.
• 2. Congress could not tax or regulate trade.
• i. States would tax everything and collect the
  revenue.
• ii. There was not a set tax amount from state to
  state.
• iii. States would not trade with each other.
• iv. Other countries did not want to trade with
  the states.
• 3. One vote per state no matter the size of the
  population or land size.
• i. In order for the central government to pass
  laws 9 out of 13 had to approve them.
• 4. The national government did not have an
  executive or judicial branch.
• i. There was not a separation of powers.
• 5. No common currency among the states.
• i. States printed their own money.
• ii. National currency was worthless.

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Weaknesses of the Articles

• Draw representations of each of the 5 major
  weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.