 Essential
Question:
–What were the long-term
problems with the Articles of
Confederation?
 Reading
Quiz Ch 7B (p.217-229)
Examining the
Articles of
Confederation
The Weaknesses of the Articles
 The Articles
of Confederation
served as the framework for the
U.S. gov’t from 1781 until 1789:
–Early in the “Confederation
Period,” the weakness of the
national gov’t was seen as good
because it eliminated tyranny
–Later, these same weaknesses
kept the gov’t from solving
serious national problems
Economic Problems
 During
the American Revolution,
colonial boycotts hurt trade
 Everyone expected the economy
to improve after independence,
but the Confederation Congress
had a difficult time:
–Paying off debt & collecting taxes
–Halting inflation
–Generating a favorable balance
of trade (foreign & domestic)
The gov’t
request,
but not require,
Debt,could
Taxes,
& Inflation
states to send money to Congress
 The
U.S. was burdened with
$40 million in war debt in 1783:
–The Confederate Congress
could not ease the national debt
because it had no power to tax
–Congress printed $200 million in
new currency to pay off debt
but this led to massive inflation
–Creditors demanded repayment
of debts at market value
Trade Problems under the Articles
Connecticut levied heavier duties on
Massachusetts
Congress was
unable
create
a
goods
than ontoBritish
goods
favorable balance of trade:
This
especially
This
especially
hurt
–To
raise
revenue,
states
created
hurt the North
Southern planters
tariffs on goods from other states
–The lack of hard currency made
trade difficult
–Desire for cheap British goods
hurt infant American industries
–England prohibited its Caribbean
colonies from trading with USA
U.S. Trade with Britain, 1783-1789
Debt
Economic
Washington kept
generals Problems
from overthrowing
the new government: "Gentlemen, you will

The
economic
stagnation
of
the
permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have
eraalmost
led to
uprisings:
not Confederation
only grown gray but
blind
in the
service of my country."
–The lack of tax revenue & failure
Shays’
proved
to be the
of
the Rebellion
gov’t to pay
soldiers
convincing
event
that
led
to
the
sparked
a
military
coup
in
1783
Constitutional Convention of 1787
called the Newburgh Conspiracy
–Property foreclosures led to
desperation & uprising farmers
in 1787 called Shays’ Rebellion
Shay’s Rebellion in
Western
Massachusetts
 Poor
farmers in
western MA were
angered over high
taxes & prospect
of debtors jail
 Daniel Shays led
an uprising &
closed debt courts
& threatened a
federal arsenal
Economic Problems
 “Nationalists”
called for a stronger
central gov’t & a constitutional
amendment to allow create a
5% import tax & a national bank
Led by Alexander Hamilton,
 12
states
agreed,
but aMorris
group of
James
Madison,
& Robert
Rhode Island “Localists” refused
& killed the amendment
 The failure to reform the Articles
“ANationalists
national debt iftonot
excessive,the
will
led
consider
be a national blessing”—Hamilton
Articles hopelessly defective
Policy
Problems
CongressForeign
& the army
were too
weak to resist
 The Articles
proved inadequate to
interstateTreaty
& foreign
affairs:
John handle
Jay’s Jay-Gardoqui
was met
with
regional
resistance
& was rejected
in Congress
–When
Americans
did not
repay
legitimate war debts, Britain
kept troops in the Ohio Valley
–Spain refused to recognize the
southern U.S. border & closed
access to the Mississippi River
–Algerian pirates attacked &
enslaved American merchants
–States argued over river rights
The USA in the Confederate Era
“Have We Fought for This?”
“Have we fought for this?
Was it with these
expectations that we
launched into a sea of
trouble?”
—George Washington, 1785