The Articles of Confederation
Please take out a #2 pencil and work with your
table team to complete the warm-up for the quiz.
You have five minutes.
We will:
*take quiz #2 on New England/Mid-Atlantic
geography and Ch. 3-4 content
*evaluate why the Articles of Confederation failed
to provide effective national government for
the newly-independent United States
Review for Quiz #2
1. What was the goal of Britain’s mercantilist system?
To promote self-sufficiency within the empire
2. What was “salutary neglect?”
Loose enforcement of mercantilist trade restrictions
3. What was the main difference between the Sugar Act and the Stamp
Act?
The Sugar Act sought to regulate trade through duties and
the Stamp Act sought to impose a direct tax on all Americans
4. What legislation did the British Parliament pass to punish
Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party?
The Intolerable (Coercive) Acts
5. What major battle was the “turning point” of the Revolution and
why?
Battle of Saratoga – convinced the French to ally with the U.S.
Quiz #2
• Please clear your table of all materials except for a #2 pencil
and write in your full name, subject: USH Quiz #2, date
(10/18/13), and period on your Scantron form
• Write your name on the quiz itself. You can write on it but
make sure to answer all questions on the Scantron form.
• When you finish, bring your quiz and Scantron to the cart and
pick up your graded PSI – revise as needed and return for
additional credit by next Tuesday, October 22.
• If you intend to retake the “Colonial America” unit test, sign
up for one of the four retest sessions and turn in your unit
binder materials (with the original binder check rubric)
• Then begin work on the Articles of Confederation handout in
the folder on your table – work on this independently while
everyone finishes the quiz.
The Articles of Confederation
America’s First National Government (1781-1789)
Origins of the Confederation
Based on a proposal by JOHN DICKINSON of Pennsylvania – Articles of
Confederation and Perpetual Union
Second Continental Congress sent the document to the states for ratification in
1777, ratified by 1781
National government consisted of a single-chamber Confederation Congress;
characteristics included:
*ELECTED BY STATE LEGISLATURES
*EACH STATE HAD ONE VOTE
*NO POWER TO TAX WITHOUT EVERY STATE’S APPROVAL
*NO POWER TO REGULATE TRADE
*NO SEPARATE EXECUTIVE OR JUDICIAL BRANCHES
*STATE SOVEREIGNTY MORE IMPORTANT THAN NATIONAL
SOVEREIGNTY
Achievements of the Confederation Congress
* Peace of Paris (1783)
RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
AMERICA GIVEN TITLE TO TRANS-APPALACHIA
FISHING RIGHTS AND LIMITED TRADING RIGHTS WITH BRITAIN
* Land Policy:
Ordinance of 1785:
STATES CEDED CLAIMS TO WESTERN LANDS
CREATED UNIFORM SYSTEM OF SURVEYING BASED ON
TOWNSHIPS (1 TOWNSHIPS = 36 SQUARE-MILE SECTIONS)
Northwest Ordinance (1787):
DEFINED STEPS FOR CREATION/ADMISSION OF NEW STATES
BANNED SLAVERY IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
Land Claims and Ordinances in the 1780s
Below: At the end of the Revolution,
virtually every state had a land
dispute with at least one other state.
Virginia claimed all of the Northwest.
Right: The
township
system
shaped the
“look” of
the Midwest
for years to
come
Political Weaknesses of the Confederation
*LACK OF A STRONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE (DIFFICULT TO
ENFORCE LAWS/TREATIES)
*DIFFICULT TO PASS NEW NATIONAL LAWS BECAUSE
NINE STATES MUST APPROVE
*AMENDMENTS REQUIRE APPROVAL OF ALL 13 STATES
*NO NATIONAL COURT SYSTEM (STATE COURTS
DECIDE THEIR OWN LAWS)
*NO POWER TO SETTLE DISPUTES AMONG STATES
*SMALL STATES OUTBALANCE LARGE STATES
BECAUSE EACH STATE HAS ONE VOTE
Economic Weaknesses of the Confederation
*NO POWER TO TAX CITIZENS DIRECTLY
*NO POWER TO COLLECT STATE DEBTS
*HUGE WAR DEBT (OVER $160 MILLION) HAD TO BE
REPAID TO FOREIGN NATIONS AND U.S. CITIZENS)
*CONTINENTALS WERE NEARLY WORTHLESS BECAUSE
OF INFLATION AND LACK OF CONFIDENCE; LACK
OF CURRENCY DUE TO DEBT PAYMENTS
*ECONOMIC DEPRESSION DUE TO BRITISH TRADE
RESTRICTIONS
*STATES CHARGED TARIFFS ON EACH OTHER’S GOODS,
WHICH HURT TRADE
Diplomatic/Military Weaknesses of the
Confederation
*DID NOT HAVE POWER OR MONEY TO DRAFT AN
ARMY (MUST RELY ON STATE MILITIAS)
*BRITISH REFUSED TO LEAVE NORTHWEST FORTS
UNTIL LOYALIST WAR DAMAGES WERE PAID
*BRITISH SUPPORTED NORTHWEST INDIAN TRIBES
WITH MONEY AND WEAPONS
*SPANISH CLOSED PORT OF NEW ORLEANS TO
PRESSURE WESTERN FARMERS AND ALSO
SUPPORTED SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN TRIBES
WITH MONEY AND WEAPONS
Shays’s Rebellion (1786-87)
*MASSACHUSETTS SOUGHT TO PAY OFF ITS WAR DEBT
BY RAISING TAXES AND REQUIRING PAYMENT IN
SPECIE (GOLD/SILVER)
*WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS FARMERS COULD NOT
AFFORD TO PAY THE TAXES AND LACKED
ADEQUATE REPRESENTATION IN THE
MASSACHUSETTS ASSEMBLY
*DANIEL SHAYS LED FARMERS IN A REBELLION
AGAINST THE MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNMENT
*THIS CRISIS LED NATIONALISTS TO CALL FOR
ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN THE
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
Shays’s Rebellion
Seeds of Rebellion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ImIEcsTEVo
Taking Up Arms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23vQjYzyx9Q
Before you leave…
• Keep your class notes in your binder
• Complete Homework 5 for next class
• Revise your PSI for next class as needed
• If you signed up for a unit test retake, make sure
you are eligible for it – either your name is
checked as eligible or you will turn in your
“Colonial America” binder materials today