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1:The Articles of the Confederation
ESSENTIAL QUESTION Why do people form governments?
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Vocab● Constitution: a set of principles a state or country will operate under. ● Tyranny: abuse of power● Republic: When the people hold the power to elect their leaders● Federal Government: The main gov’t that oversees all of the states as a
whole. ● Appalachian Mountains: The large mountain chain that runs north to south,
on the east side of the country. ● The Continental Congress: the original governing body of the newly-created
US.
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Copy the following into your notebook as NBP #● Revolution over - how would the new country govern itself?● Would they all have common goals? Think of the regional differences that existed during the colonial
era. ● Most states wanted state constitutions that had limited power as to keep tyranny in check● The U.S. would be a REPUBLIC● The first “constitution” (The Articles of the Confederation) was too weak - too much power was given
to individual states, and the federal government could not get anything accomplished. ● How would new states be added once settlers moved west of the Appalachian Mountains?● 1787, The Northwest Ordinance added the territory from lands north of the Ohio River and east of
the Mississippi River. Slavery not allowed there. ● In 1798, the US created the Mississippi Territory from land west of Georgia, slavery was allowed
there.● These were meant to encourage settlers to move there to grow the US.● The Continental Congress was in debt from the war.● Under the AOC, could not tax individual states to balance the budget. ● Spain controlled Florida and the lands west of the Mississippi. With no strong central gov’t, how
could the US deal with the possible threat from Spain?
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The Making of a Republic● After gaining independence, Americans faced
the task for forming independent governments at both the state and national levels.
Guiding Question: What kind of government was created by the Articles of Confederation?
● The independent states faced the challenge of governing themselves.
● 13 states needed a plan of government that would satisfy all their needs.
● Would the states be able to work together and still maintain their independence?
● How would each individual state govern itself?
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States Write Constitutions● May 1776, Congress asked the
states to organize their governments.
● Each state adopted a state constitution, (plan of government).
● Eight states had drafted constitutions before the end of the year.
● New York and Georgia followed in 1777 - Massachusetts in 1780.
● Connecticut and Rhode Island decided to use their colonial charters as state constitutions.
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Limits on Power● The fear of too much gov’t after living under a
monarch was an overarching theme.● They wanted to craft state constitutions that
limited the power of the governor.● Pennsylvania's constitution replaced the office
entirely with an elected 12-person council.● States also divided power between the governor
(or council) and the legislature. ● Most states set up two-house, or bicameral
legislatures to divide the work of government even further.
● The first state constitutions aimed to keep power in the hands of the people.
● For example, voters chose the state legislators, and states held elections often.
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Who Could Vote?● In most states, only white males who were
at least 21 years old could vote.● These men also had to own a certain
amount of property or pay a certain amount of taxes.
● Some states allowed free African American males to vote.
● Because state constitutions limited the powers of the governors, the legislatures became the most powerful branch of government.
● The state legislatures tried to make taxes fair for everyone, but disagreements arose.
● The shift from British colonies to self-governing states held many challenges.
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A New Republic● Not only state gov’ts, but a national one too.● The new country should be a republic, a
government in which citizens rule through elected representatives.
● Could not agree on what powers the new republic's government should have.
● At first, most Americans wanted a weak central government.
● Expected each state would remain free to act independently on most issues.
● States would rely on a central government only to wage war and handle relations with other countries.
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The Articles of the Confederation● In 1776 the Second Continental Congress
appointed a committee to draw up a plan for a new central government.
● The Articles of Confederation. ● November, 1777, Congress adopted the
Articles—the nation's first constitution.● The Articles of Confederation established a
weak central government. ● The states kept most of their power. ● For the states, the Articles of Confederation
were "a firm league of friendship" in which each state retained "its sovereignty, freedom and independence."
● The Articles of Confederation gave the Congress limited powers.
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Functions of the Articles of the Confederation● Congress could conduct foreign affairs, maintain
armed forces, borrow money, and issue currency. ● Congress did not have the power to regulate
trade, force citizens to join the army, or impose taxes.
● If Congress needed to raise money or troops, it had to ask the states.
● States were not required to contribute.● New central government had no chief executive
(no one to carry out the laws and lead the government in day-to-day operations.
● Government carried on its business, such as selling western lands, through congressional committees.
● All the states had to approve the Articles and any amendments.
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Getting AOC in Place (feather and ink project of some kind?)
● Not every state supported the Articles of Confederation at first.
● Under the new plan, each state had one vote regardless of population.
● States with large populations believed they should have more votes.
● Disputes over land also threatened to block approval of the Articles.
● Some states were claiming lands to the west, no one could agree.
● Maryland wanted those states to give up their claims.
● On March 1, 1781, the Confederation formally became the government of the United States of America.
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The Confederation Government● The next several years were critical ones for the young
republic. ● The new national government was too weak to handle the
problems facing the United States. ● The weak Congress could not pass a law unless nine states
voted in favor of it. ● Changing the Articles required the approval of all 13 states. ● This made it hard for Congress to pass laws when there was
any disagreement.● Even with these challenges, the new government managed
some key achievements: ➔ Americans negotiated a peace treaty with Britain and
expanded the country’s foreign trade.
➔ The Confederation also helped with settling and governing the country’s western lands.Specifying How many votes did each state have in the new Congress?
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Policies for Western LandsGuiding Question What process allowed new states to join the union?
● The Articles of Confederation did not propose a way to add new states to the United States.
● Yet there were settlers living west of the Appalachian Mountains, outside the existing states.
● These Western settlers wanted to organize their lands as states and join the Union.
● Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the British gave up control of the land north of the Ohio River and west of the Appalachian Mountains.
● Many Americans were eager to settle in this region. ● The new United States government had to establish policies
for settlement of these western lands. ● Another challenge was to come up with an orderly process by
which new territories could achieve the status of statehood.
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The Ordinance of 1785● 1785, the Confederation Congress passed an
ordinance (or law) that set up a process to survey and sell the lands north of the Ohio River.
● The new law divided this large area into townships 6 miles long and 6 miles wide.
● These townships were to be further divided into 36 sections of 640 acres.
● The government would sell each section at public auction, or sale, for at least a dollar an acre.
● Concerned about lawless people moving into western lands, Richard Henry Lee, the president of the Congress, urged that "the rights of property be clearly defined" by the government.
● Congress drafted another law to protect the interests of hardworking settlers.
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The Northwest Ordinance● 1787, The Northwest Ordinance created a single
Northwest● (Territory from lands north of the Ohio River and east of
the Mississippi River.)● The lands were to be divided into three to five smaller
territories. ● When a territory had 60,000 residents, the people could
seek statehood.● Each new state would have the same standing as the
original 13 states.● The Northwest Ordinance’s bill of rights for settlers in
the territory guaranteed freedom of religion and trial by jury.
● It banned slavery in the territory.● The two ordinances tried to make the settlement of the
Northwest Territory peaceful and orderly.
● In general, successful.
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Similar Legislation in the South● The United States Congress would
later take a similar step in the South.
● In 1798 it created the Mississippi Territory from land west of Georgia.
● Congress organized the government of the territory in the same basic way as in the Northwest Territory—except that slavery was allowed.
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Land Act of 1800● The Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance = to encourage
settlement in the Northwest Territory.● In time it became clear that people needed even more help.● 1800, Congress passed the Land Act. ● Made it easier for people to buy land in the territory. ● E.g., made it possible for people to pay for land a little at a time. ● A person was required to buy at least 320 acres of land at a price of $2 per
acre. ● The buyer could pay half of the money at the time of purchase and the rest in
four yearly payments.
Explaining What did the Northwest Ordinance say about slavery?
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Problems at Home and AbroadGuiding Question: In what ways was the Confederation government weak?
● Because of its weakness, the Confederation government had trouble with financial issues.
● Continentals, paper bills the Continental Congress printed during the war, did not hold their value, by 1781, worth almost nothing.
● The public began to doubt the money was worth anything. ● 1779, it took 40 continentals to buy a single Spanish silver
dollar.● By 1781, a person needed 146 continentals to buy that
Spanish coin!● "Not worth a continental” became a common saying. ● At the same time, the price of food and other goods soared. ● In Boston and some other areas, high prices led to food riots.
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Paying Debt….or Not.● In the 1780s, the Continental
Congress faced a large debt. ● Congress had borrowed money
from American citizens and foreign governments during the war.
● It still owed soldiers pay..● Without the power to tax, the
Confederation could not easily raise money to pay its debts.
● The Continental Congress asked the states for money, but it could not force the states to pay.
● In fact, the states provided less than half of the money the federal government asked them to contribute.
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Plan for Import Tax● Congress faced a collapse of the
country's finances. ● 1781, it created a department of
finance led by Philadelphia merchant Robert Morris.
● Morris had proposed a 5 percent tax on imported goods to help pay the national debt.
● The plan required a change to the Articles of Confederation.
● Twelve states approved the plan, but Rhode Island opposed it.
● The single "no” vote was enough to block the plan.
● A second effort in 1783 also failed to win approval by all the states.
● The financial crisis grew worse.
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Relations with Britain● Trouble with foreign governments revealed the
weaknesses of the American government. ● E.g., American merchants complained that the British
were blocking Americans from the West Indies and other British markets.
● Treaty of Paris of 1783, Britain had promised to withdraw from the lands east of the Mississippi River.
● British troops still continued to occupy several forts in the Great Lakes region.
● 1785, Congress sent John Adams to London to discuss these problems.
● The British were unwilling to talk. ● Pointed to the failure of the United States to honor its
promises made in the Treaty of Paris. ● The British claimed that Americans had agreed to pay
Loyalists for the property taken from them during the Revolutionary War.
● Congress had proposed that the states pay the Loyalists.● 9 The states simply refused, and Congress could do
nothing about it.
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Relations with Spain● The US had even greater problems with Spain. ● It controlled Florida as well as lands west of the Mississippi River -
wanted to stop American expansion into its territory. ● Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to American shipping in
1784. ● Western settlers could no longer use the Mississippi River, which
they relied on to ship goods to market.● 1786, American diplomats = a new trade agreement with Spain.● Representatives from the Southern states blocked the agreement -
it did not include the right to use the Mississippi River.● The weakness of the Confederation and its inability to deal with
problems worried many leaders, including George Washington. ● Americans began to agree that the country needed a stronger
government.
Analyzing Why did Spain close the lower Mississippi River to American shipping in 1784?