The Articles of Confederation

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The Articles of Confederation
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Do Now

• Take out your vocabulary sheets, and lets review
  the key words as a class

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Bicameral

• Having 2 separate lawmaking chambers

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Republic

• A government in which citizens rule through
  elected representatives

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Ordinance

• Law

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Depreciate

• To fall in value

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Depression

• A period when economic activity slows and
  unemployment increases

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Manumission

• The freeing of individual enslaved persons

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Proportional

• Having the proper size in relation to other
  objects or items

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Not Proportional
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Compromise

• A settlement of a dispute by each party giving up
  some demands

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Convention

• Meeting

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Amend

• To change or revise

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Activity

• Which snack would you prefer?
• A. Ice Cream
• B. Pizza
• C. Takis
• D. Empanadas

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New Government

• After gaining independence, Americans did not
  want to put too much power into the hands of any
  ruler or body
• States divided power between the governor (or
  council) and the legislature
• Most states set up two-house or bicameral,
  legislatures to divide the work of the government
  even further
• People agreed the new country should be a
  republic, or government in which citizens rule
  through elected representatives

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The Articles of Confederation

• The Articles were written in 1777 by John
  Dickinson, a Pennsylvania statesman
• The Articles were accepted by Congress in 1781
  and is considered the first national constitution

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The Articles of Confederation

• The fear of having too much power in one persons
  hands reflects the experiences the colonies had
  under a monarchy
• In the Articles, the state governments limit the
  power of the national Congress

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Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• Congress had no power to raise taxes
• Money had depreciated, or fallen in value, and
  Congress could not easily raise money
• Congress had no power regulate foreign or state
  trade
• Laws had to be approved by 9 out of 13 states
• Changing the Articles required the approval of
  all 13 states
• Each state had one vote regardless of population
• Congress did not have the power to enforce laws

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Pollution Problem
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Acid Rain Map
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Relations with Britain

• The United States had promised to repay Britain
  for Loyalists land taken during the war.
• They could not raise the money from the states,
  and so Britain blocked trade routes to the West
  Indies and British markets, and continued to
  occupy several forts in the Great Lakes region.

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Relations with Spain

• Spain controlled Florida, as well as lands west
  of the Mississippi River

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Relations with Spain

• They wanted to stop settlement into their
  territory, so they closed the lower Mississippi
  River to American shipping
• In 1786, American diplomats reached a new trade
  agreement with Spain, but Southern states blocked
  the agreement because it did not include the
  right to use the Mississippi River

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Strengths of the Articles of Confederation

• The Treaty of Paris 1783 was signed
• The Northwest Ordinance was passed
• Congress had the power to declare war and peace,
  borrow and print money, make treaties, and settle
  state disputes

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Strengths of the Articles of Confederation
Settling Western Lands

• The Land Ordinance of 1785, stated that land in
  the west was to be surveyed using a grid system
  to establish 6 mile blocks
• Townships were 6 miles long and 6 miles wide
• Townships were divided into 36 sections
• Each section was sold at auction

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The Land Ordinance of 1785
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Strengths of the Articles of Confederation
Settling Western Lands

• The Northwest Ordinance assisted in the orderly
  expansion of the United States, it outlined a
  plan for applying for statehood to western
  territories
• 5,000 free males who own 50 acres can start a
  government
• Population of 60,000 could become a state

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Settling Western lands

• The Northwest Ordinance provides an orderly
  settlement process in the West
• It promised
• No slavery
• Education
• Freedom of religion
• Trial by jury

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Northwest Territory

• The Northwest Territory was east of the
  Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River.
  The states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
  and Wisconsin would be formed from this area.

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Reasons for Shays Rebellion

• The United States fell into a depression, a
  period when economic activity slows and
  unemployment increases.

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Reasons for Shays Rebellion

• Farmers are required to pay debts in gold, they
  have no money because they were not paid during
  the war
• Wealthy lawmakers invested their money in the war
  too, and seek to get money from the farmers debts
  

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Shayss Rebellion

• Poor farmers are not represented in the
  Massachusetts legislature and cannot pass debt
  relief laws
• The rebellion will free debtors from prisons and
  close courts that are hearing cases against
  farmers

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Shayss Rebellion

• The Massachusetts militia was called out to stop
  it
• Poor farmers in 1791 elected officials who
  supported their stance and closed courthouses to
  demand financial help from the Congress
• Shays Rebellion prompted national leaders to
  create a stronger central government

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Samuel Adams Said What?!

• Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or
  lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel
  against the laws of a republic ought to suffer
  death.

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Views about Shayss Rebellion

• Adams will also write a law called the Riot Act,
  which prohibits 12 people or more from meeting
  and gives the government the power to shoot
  rioters!
• Samuel sure has changed since 1776!

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Thomas Jefferson Said What?!

• "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.
  It is a medicine necessary for the sound health
  of government. God forbid that we should ever be
  twenty years without such a rebellion."

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Wrap Up 1

• How did states divide their power within
  government? Why?
• What is a republic?
• What were some of the problems with the Articles
  of Confederation?
• What were some of the advantages of the Articles
  of Confederation?
• Describe the Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest
  Ordinance

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Wrap Up 2

• What were our relations with Britain and Spain
  like at this time?
• What is depreciation? How did it affect
  citizens?
• What was Shays rebellion? Why was it a
  significant event in terms of changing the
  Articles of Confederation?