The Articles of Confederation Period 1780-1788
a loose collection of 13 sovereign or (individually powerful)
states
Weakness
Where did this Idea
come from?
Problems that
occurred…
1. No chief executive
(No king or President
leading the new nation)
Founders were worried
that a king or president
would become too
powerful—they didn’t
want another king
George!
There was a lack of
leadership for the new
nation. No one to make
tough decisions or
represent USA to other
nations.
2. no power to raise
money or tax citizens;
national government
could only request
money from the states
Founders remembered
being taxed by the
British government and
didn’t want the national
government to do the
same thing
National government
had no money
3. no power to draft an
army; the national
government could only
request that states send
soldiers for defense
Continental army
dissolved after the war.
Memory of a large army
of british soldiers in the
colonies was too
painful!
National government
had no defense
4. new laws for nation
need approval of 9 of
the 13 states
This law gave the states
a lot of power to make
decisions. The founders
wanted the states to
have more power than
the national
government so that they
wouldn’t end up like
Britain.
Before the
Revolutionary war, the
13 colonies used british
pounds, shillings, and
pence in silver. The new
nation did not have
silver.
It was very difficult to
pass new laws; nothing
was accomplished
5. No common currency;
states printed their own
money.
Each state had a
different money system.
It was difficult to trade
and travel between
states