Name: _____________________________________ Date: ________________ Period:_____
Aim: Why did the Articles of Confederation ultimately fail?
What powers were given to the federal government under the Articles of Confederation?
Problems of the Articles of Confederation:
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Each state had only 1 vote regardless of size or population
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Foreign Trade –
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Tax: $160 Million in debt -
Creditors: Loaned money
• High tax and less printed money
Debtors: Borrowed money
• Low tax and printed more money
Foreign-Relations Problems
• U.S. does not pay debts to British merchants or compensate Loyalists
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In retaliation, Britain refuses to evacuate forts on Great Lakes
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Westerners unable to ship crops east through New Orleans
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Congress could not enact and collect taxes.
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Regardless of population, each state had only
one vote in Congress.
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Articles could be amended only if all states
approved.
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There was no executive branch to enforce the
laws of Congress.
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There was no national court system to settle
legal disputes.
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Shays Rebellion (January 1787)
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They planned to attack the courthouses in the major cities so they did not have to pay anymore taxes.
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**The rebellion exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation -
Constitutional Convention
• A convention was held in September 1786
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Philadelphia, May 1787 - 12 states (R.I.) sent 55 delegates to rewrite the government
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o James Madison:
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o (Thomas Jefferson was in Paris at the time)
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TASK: