Articles of Confederation
Why were the Articles of Confederation so weak?
AoC writers disliked…
So under the AoC…
Taxation without
representation
The federal government
could not tax
A large central government States didn’t have to follow
that had absolute power
federal laws and treaties
Having to follow British
legislation
States had their own laws
and didn’t have to follow
other states’ laws
Lots of power was in the
king’s hands
No executive branch or
national court system
The king could change
laws at any time
Any amendment required
all 13 states’ approval
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What was the Problem?
• Since the federal government could not
tax, it was very difficult to raise money
• Since states didn’t have to follow laws and
treaties, the federal government had no
assurance that individual states would
follow the national government.
• Each state had its own laws, which made it
difficult for the country to act in a united
way. Congress couldn’t pay back debts
from the revolution and couldn’t get states
to work together to encourage commerce.
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What was the Problem?
• Since there was no executive branch, the
government had no one to lead the
country.
• Since there was no executive branch and
national court system, the government
could not enforce its laws
• Any amendment required all 13 states’
approval, so the AoC was very difficult to
modify
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Shays Rebellion
• Read the excerpt concerning Shays
Rebellion
• Take notes covering the important details
of Shays Rebellion
• Answer these questions in your notes:
• What caused Shays Rebellion?
• What happened during Shays
Rebellion?
• What was the impact of Shays
Rebellion?
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Questions
What caused Shays Rebellion?
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Questions
What happened during Shays
Rebellion?
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Questions
What was the impact of Shays
Rebellion?
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