 Essential
Question:
–Why did the Americans create
the Articles of Confederation &
what problems did the Articles
present?
 Warm-Up Question:
–What major decisions did the
new American nation have to
answer after winning the war for
independence?
The Impact of the
American Revolution
on American Society
Blacks
demanded
Statestoabolished
the right“feudal”
to Society
laws
Changes
American
freedom in petitions
of primogeniture
& lawsuits
& entail
 The
American
Revolution
led
to
Many
Franklin,
statesJay,
lowered
Hamilton
property
founded
qualifications
abolition to
unintended
social
changes
by
vote;
societies;
but none
Washington
offered
universal
manumitted
male
hissuffrage
slaves
many
Americans
to
Mostforcing
statesVT,
clearly
separated
church
& state
PA, MA abolished slavery
question the meaning of “equality”
Some Southern slave owners
–Many wanted
to
eliminate
the
privately freed their slaves
“Republican Motherhood”—mothers
idea
of
an
American
aristocracy
should instill virtue in their children
–Fighting Took
British
tyranny
made
greater control over
slavery seem
hypocritical;
family farms
& businesses
Abolitionist sentiment grew
–Women gained increased status
New State &
National Governments
Forming New Governments
 When
independence was declared
from England in 1776, colonists
considered themselves a new
nation & needed a new gov’t:
became
individually
In –Colonies
1776, the American
Revolution
has just
sovereign
states
by
started;
The colonists
didgoverned
not wait to gain
British
recognition
of their independence
written
state constitutions
before creating new governments!
–A national gov’t was needed to
provide basic services like sign
treaties & develop a military
States Constitutions
 In
1776, the new states created
written constitutions which:
–Clearly defined the citizens’
rights & the limits of government
–Guaranteed natural rights;
Eight states had bills of rights
–Almost all states reduced the
powers of the governor & kept
most power in the hands of the
people via state legislatures
Defining Republican Culture
creating a national gov’t that
met everyone’s needs was hard:
– How to balance individual liberty
with maintaining order?
– How to balance property rights
with equality?
– How to create a centralized
gov’t without creating a new
tyrannical authority?
 But,
The Articles of Confederation
 In
1775, three committees were
formed to sever ties with England:
–Thomas Jefferson headed the
committee to draft a declaration
of independence
–John Adams headed committee
to establish foreign alliances
–John Dickinson headed a
committee to draft a new central
government
Articles of Confederation
 The
Articles of Confederation was
adopted as America’s 1st national
gov’t in 1777 (but ratified in 1781)
–The Articles
established
an
Each state was treated
intentionally
weak central gov’t
as a pseudo-nation
in order to protect state power
–The confederation-style gov’t
gave all 13
states
1
vote
in
a
Too similar to a monarch
unicameral congress
–There was no national president
The Articles
were created to
The Articles
of
Confederation
loosely tie the states together
 The
only powers granted to the
national government were to
–Settle disputes between states,
negotiate treaties, handle Indian
affairs, oversee a military
 It could not tax citizens or states;
could only request contributions
 Laws required 9 of the 13 states
 Amending the gov’t required
agreement by all 13 states
“A firm league
of friendship”
The colonies were
loosely joined to
address common
problems
"each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and
independence, and every power...which is not...
expressly delegated to the United States.…"
 The
Western Lands
“West” presented a problem:
–Many states had overlapping
land claims in the West
–Some “landless” states (MD,
NJ, DE) wanted part of West &
refused to ratify the Articles
without this issue resolved
–The US gov’t negotiated treaties
with Indians to gain land in
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky
The Land Ordinance of 1785
 The
U.S. gov’t was eager to sell
off Western lands to settlers to
gain revenue (since the gov’t did
not have the power to tax)
–The Land Ordinance of 1785
established an orderly process
for laying out western townships
–Section 16 of the each township
was dedicated to public schools
The Northwest Ordinance
 The
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
gave structure to the NW territory:
–Created new territories, ruled by
a governor, & whose citizens
were protected by a bill of rights
–Residents could create a
legislative assembly when the
population reached 5,000
–Residents could apply for
statehood with 60,000 people
–Slavery outlawed in NW lands
Conclusions
 The
Articles of Confederation
accomplished exactly what its
framers intended:
–By creating a weak central gov’t,
the power of the states was
preserved & no tyrants emerged
–The weaknesses of the central
gov’t failed to meet the longterm needs of the new USA