CHAPTER 2 SECTION 3Mr. Gordon

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION• Articles of Confederation

• In 1777 the Second Continental Congress passed the first official plan for national government, the Articles of Confederation.

• After the Revolutionary War, weaknesses in the Articles led to conflicts among the states, sparking calls for a stronger national government.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION Main Idea

The states’ first attempt to build a national government, the Articles of Confederation, proved too weak to last.

Reading Focus• How was the first national government organized under the Articles

of Confederation?• What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?• What events convinced some American leaders that a stronger

national government was needed?

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

States become Government

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

First National Government

Articles of ConfederationJune 1776: new model of government crafted to build “firm league of friendship” among states, retaining “sovereignty, freedom and independence”

June 12, 1777: Articles of Confederation adopted

Had to be ratified before going into force

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

First National Government

A Delay in RatificationDisputes over control of western lands delayed the ratification process.

Small states feared large states with claims to western lands would overpower them.

Articles were changed to allow Confederation control over western lands.

Articles finally ratified in 1781

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

First National Government

Powers of the National GovernmentCreated weak national government; did not provide for national court system

One-house Congress: power to act on matters of common interest; admit new states; settle disputes; coin money; raise army; declare war; conduct foreign policy

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

First National Government

State PowersStates retained all powers not specifically given to Congress

Powers included: ability to collect taxes, enforce national laws

States required to contribute funds to national government as they saw fit

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Summarizing

How did national and state powers differ under the Articles?

National powers were limited and specifically cited in the Articles of Confederation. State powers were all the other powers that were not specifically cited.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION• Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• Articles gave Congress key responsibilities, but placed limits that kept it from effectively enforcing laws and policies

• Without executive branch, national government lacked means to carry out Congress’s laws

• Without national court system, Congress had to rely on state courts to apply national laws

• Mostly importantly, Articles denied Congress power to tax• Difficult to raise funds to repay money borrowed during Revolution• Lacked authority to regulate trade• Congress had power to coin money, but not sole power to do so;

created barrier to trade, major obstacles to economic development• Congress required to have 9 of 13 states to ratify laws, while only

one state could raise objections to block changes in Articles—weakened Congress’s ability to act swiftly and decisively

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

SummarizingWhat were the weaknesses of the Articles of

Confederation? It had no executive or judicial branch; the

Confederation could not levy taxes, enforce its laws, or regulate commerce between states; all states had to agree before the Articles could be changed.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

• Pressures for Stronger Government

• Its independence secured with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the United States faced a range of challenges that the national government was ill-equipped to meet. The shortcomings of the government created by the Articles of Confederation would lead to calls for a new plan of government.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Northwest Ordinance1787: Northwest Ordinance planned for settling Northwest Territory

Included areas now in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin—disputed western lands that had delayed ratification of the Articles

Created system for admitting new states, banned slavery, included bill of rights

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Dangers and UnrestMost pressing problem: war debts1783: Congress tried to approve tax on imports but act never ratified and government went broke

Postwar depression struckStates pursued own interests, flouting national laws; like “13 sovereignties pulling against each other”

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Pressures for a stronger government

Shay’s Rebellion• September 1786: rebellion of Massachusetts

farmers facing prospect of losing land• Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays led

attacks on courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on farms.

• Shay’s Rebellion swelled to nearly 2,500 by 1787.• Massachusetts legislature asked Congress for

help; Congress had no money or forces• Shay’s Rebellion showed how feeble the

Confederation Congress was and hastened moves to revise the Articles.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Pressures for a stronger government

Calls to Revise the Articles• March 1785: Washington invites representatives

from Virginia and Maryland to his home at Mount Vernon to discuss resolving trade dispute.

• Led to meeting to discuss regulating commerce between all the states

• February 1787: James Madison persuades the Confederation Congress to endorse meeting for “purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.”

• May 1787: meeting to strengthen Articles held in Philadelphia

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Identifying Cause and EffectWhat events caused leaders to want

to revise the Articles of Confederation?

Shays’s Rebellion; interstate trade disputes; inability to levy taxes and pay war debts