CONFEDERATION TO CONSTITUTION

1776-17911. The Confederation Era

2. Creating the Constitution3. Ratifying the Constitution

8.1 The Confederation Era

What were the powers of the states under The Articles of Confederation?

What were the weaknesses of The Articles of Confederation?

What powers do you think governments should have?

The States

Coined Money

Raised Armies and Navies

Instituted Tariff Barriers

(Virginia’s legislature even ratified, or approved, a separate treaty of alliance with France)

Articles of Confederation

Adopted by Congress in 1777 Translated into French after the Battle

of Saratoga to convince France that America had a legitimate government underway.

Sent to the states for approval Final action delayed for four years,

until 1781, 8 months before the victory at Yorktown.)

Western Lands

6 states had no land holdings beyond the Allegheny Mountains

7 states had huge amounts of land 6 states without land thought it was

unfair to have to levy (enact) taxes to cover pensions and debts while the other 7 could just sell their land

Dispute Over Western Lands

Maryland refused to ratify until others gave up claims to Western lands to Congress.

1781 – signed Articles of Confederation (became 13th state)

Why not turn the whole western area over to the central government?

Unanimous approval of the Articles of Confederation by the 13 states was required. MD held out until March 1, 1781 to ratify.

Gave in when NY gives up its claims and VA looks like it will.

Congress also agreed to use the lands for the “common benefit” and carve out new states from the area that would be admitted to the Union on equal terms with the others.

Western Lands

Lands transferred to the central government

Must remain in the union to gain any benefits of the land sales.

Local influence decreased since land was bought from the federal government

The Articles of Confederation

Loose confederation or “firm league of friendship”

Modeled after The League of the Iroquois.

13 independent states were joined together for joint action in dealing with common problems, such as foreign affairs.

Branches of Government

Legislative branch, Congress, was the chief agent of the government.

No executive branch “No More Kings!” The judicial branch left almost entirely to the

states. Congress was weak (on purpose).

Each state had a single vote, regardless of how large it was.

All important bills required 2/3 votes To amend, or change, the Articles, a unanimous vote was

needed, which was next to impossible. States, who had just gained control over taxation

and commerce from Great Britain, did not want to give up their control.

2 Major problems for Congress

1. Could not regulate commerce (trade), so states have different laws about tariffs and navigation.

2. Congress couldn’t enforce tax collection. (It established a tax quota for each state and then asked them to please contribute

their share on a voluntary basis.)The national government in Philadelphia

could only advise, recommend, and request.

Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation

Still a landmark in government and an important stepping stone toward the U.S. Constitution

Held the states together in union Led to a peaceful method for establishing

the present day U.S. Constitution

Review Questions

1. What was the plan of government that was approved by Congress in 1777 and which became fully effective in 1781?

2. Disputes over which of the following led to a delay in official approval of the new plan by the states?

a. Land claims in the Westb. Native-American policiesc. Taxes

3. How many states were required to approve the plan?

4. Which of the following did the new government NOT have?

a. Legislative Branchb. Executive Branchc. Judicial Branch

5. Name the branch of government that would be the strongest.

6. What was the LEAST important reason for the creation of the new government?

a. It gave the government legitimacyb. It took power away from the statesc. It helped gain foreign aid during the

Revolutiond. It created national unity

7. The states wanted a Republic. What does that mean?

8. Not everyone will be allowed to select these representatives. Who will not be allowed to vote?