Chapter 2 – Origins of American Government
Section 3 – The Articles of Confederation
You will learn…
1. about the need for a system of government after the Declaration of Independence…
2. what the Articles of Confederation were and their effects on the United States…
*** Agreed to by the _______________________________ in November 1777, the Articles of Confederation served as a bridge between the Second
Continental Congress of the Revolutionary period and ____________________________________________________ provided by the Constitution in 1789 ***
I. Lead up to the “Articles”
A. After the adoption of the ________________________________________, establishing the "united colonies" as free and independent States, the
Continental Congress began to work on providing a legal framework for that “union”…
a. Remember the “Lee Resolution” – and what it did for the Continental Congress – specifically, create a plan for _________________________.
b. ________________________ presented the proposed articles to the Continental Congress only eight days after the signing of the Declaration
of Independence (he was a member of a committee created to create this plan for colonial confederation)…
* Issues such as ______________________, the powers ________________________________________________, whether to have a
_______________________________ and __________________ procedures were all hotly debated issues!!!
* The “Articles” were ____________________ in November 1777 – from this point on they served as the system of government until
1789…
II. “The Articles of Confederation”
*** The “Articles of Confederation” were an agreement among the 13 original states that established the United States of America as a nation and served as its
______________________________ ***
A. The government structure set up by the “Articles” was extremely simple – it consisted of a single __________________________________...
a. This Congress was made up of __________________________ chosen by their state legislatures…
* Congress only had ________________ per state – regardless of population or wealth! (Problems? Yes!)
* Coin money...
* Raise a national
__________________ (BUT, once
the war was over...)
*** Powerless to ______________
(this caused a HUGE problem!)
*** Could ONLY borrow
________________ from the states
(the ONLY way it could increase
"revenue")...
* Powerless to regulate trade and
* Settle ______________ among
Consequences...
and sign _____________...
Weaknesses...
Strengths...
* Make __________, ___________,
____________________________.
* Bickering among the states...
* Fugitives
* Public acts, records, laws
* Economic chaos (WAR DEBTS!)...
* Coinage of money
* State tariffs
* Shay's Rebellion, 1786 (pension
for life!)...
the states...
*** No ________________ to
enforce acts of Congress.
* No national
_______________________.
* Amendment only with the
consent of _________________.
*** The Articles allowed the Continental Congress to ___________________________________ and conduct _________________________________________!
*** Obviously, the “Articles” proved to be too weak and in 1789 it was replaced with the United States Constitution!
Section 2.3, “Articles of Confederation” Review Questions
Name __________________________________
Directions: Detach this last page from your notes. Use your book and class notes to complete the following questions. Turn into your “in-box” when finished.
1. What were the Articles of Confederation?
2. What powers did they grant to the Continental Congress?
3. Identify 3 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
4. Why did the states purposefully create a weak central government?
5. From what you might already know about the Constitution, how were the “Articles” similar to the system of government we have now?
6. Why were the “Articles” successful during the Revolutionary War, but not after?