Unit 3.1 The Articles of
Confederation
The Articles of Confederation
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During the Revolution,
the new United States
needed a functioning
government
Modeled after colonial
governments
States would retain
sovereignty
Founders were fearful of
concentrated power due
to past experience with
the British
2
A Limited Government
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Articles established a “firm
league of friendship”
among the states
Bills were passed on nine
of thirteen votes
Amending the Articles took
unanimous consent of the
states
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Structure of Government
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Unicameral (single house)
legislative body
Each state had one vote
regardless of population
size
Congress given sole
authority to govern the
country
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Powers Granted to Government under
the Articles of Confederation
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Declare war and make peace
Make treaties with foreign countries
Establish an army and navy
Requisition, print, and borrow money
Hear disputes among the states related to trade or
boundaries
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Powers Denied to Government
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No power to raise funds for an army or navy
No power to tax, impose tariffs, or collect duties
No executive branch to enforce laws
No power to control trade among the states
No power to force states to honor obligations
No power to regulate the value of currency
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It's All About Power!
• Why was the central
government so weak?
• Look at the Americans'
experience with the powerful
central government of Britain
• Do the opposite!
But what if the government
doesn't have enough power?
Federal
Rights
States'
Rights
BIG PROBLEMS!
One Major Weakness
Congress did not have the power to
collect taxes from the states.
Could I please have $1000?
NO!
NO!
NO!
NO!
What's a government to do?
Hmmmm....why don't I just print some
more money?
PRINTING
MONEY NEVER
SOLVES YOUR
PROBLEMS!
Money isn't worth the paper it's
printed on!
Money is only worth
what other people
will give you for it!
Paper money represents real
things
One piece
of gold
=
One piece of
paper ($1)
Paper money represents real
things
One can of
soda
=
One piece of
paper ($1)
Therefore...
One can of
soda
=
One piece of
gold
NO! It doesn't work that way!
Remember...paper money represents real
things. You haven't changed the number
of real things, just the number of pieces of
paper!
=
=
What if you don't have enough?
What if someone won't give you
what you want for the piece of
paper that you have?
Can you just print more paper?
INFLATION!
Now your paper money is worth
less!
=
=
Soda used to cost $1. Now it costs $2!
PRINTING MONEY NEVER
SOLVES A GOVERNMENT'S
PROBLEMS!
Inflation was so out of control in Germany
that in 1923, it cost 4 million of their dollars
to buy a loaf of bread!
Weak Government = Problems!
Here's an explanation of how the
weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation led to Shays' Rebellion,
which led to the creation of the
Constitution.
Daniel Shays
• Captain in the
Revolutionary War
• Retired from the army
• Wanted to be a farmer
in Massachusetts
Financial Crisis
• Remember! The Congress didn't have the
power to tax states...they could only ask
for money!
• The states said no!
• So Congress couldn't pay its bills!
• So they printed more money!
• So they caused inflation and made money
worth less!
How can you be a farmer if you
have no money?
Get a loan from the bank!
Plant your seeds!
When your crops are
grown, harvest
them, sell them, and
pay your loan back!
What if the
bank wants
its money
back NOW?
But your
crops
haven't
grown
yet?
THE REPO MAN COMES!
The bank repossesses the farms and kicks
the former soldiers out of their homes!
Why didn't they have any
money?
• Inflation!
The money they did have
was worthless.
• Taxes!
The state of Massachusetts
had placed high taxes that hit the farmers
very hard.
Why is Property So Important?
• Without property, you can't feed
your family!
• Without property, you can't
vote!
• Without property, you can't
make money!
• Without making money, you get
thrown into debtor's prison!
Shay's Rebellion
• Daniel Shays and the
farmers pick up their
guns and go to the state
courthouse to stop them
from foreclosing on their
homes.
• AND IT WORKED!!!
So they kept doing it...
And made the people in the government
afraid!
The government made new
laws that were meant to
punish Shays and his
followers.
The Congress can't help
Since the Articles of Confederation did not
give Congress the power to raise a
standing army, the federal government
could not help stop the rebellion.
The Climax
The state of Massachusetts sets up an
army.
Shays and his followers try to take over a
federal arsenal to get more guns so that
they could fight the army.
Shays and his men lost the battle.
Some of them got the death penalty for
having participated in the rebellion.
Something Needed to be Done
• The failure of the federal government to
solve the problem of Shays' Rebellion
made people understand that the Articles
of Confederation had made the
government too weak.
• A Convention was called to revise the
articles
• This Convention ends up writing the
Constitution
The Constitution Is Born!
• After 16 weeks of arguments, the new
Constitution was created.
• And that's the government that we still
have today!
Accomplishments of the Articles of
Confederation
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Administered the sevenyear war effort
Negotiated the Treaty of
Paris with Britain in 1783
Established the
Northwest Ordinance of
1787
NW Ordinance creates
the 5 states north of the
Ohio River and
establishes how
territories become states
Map of the land settled in the
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
36
Section Three
The Ratification Process: Federalists,
Anti-Federalists, The Federalist Papers,
and the Bill of Rights
Author: Michelle Williams
Click to add Text
Section Three Summary
By the end of this section you will…
Understand why the ratification of the new constitution was a
challenge
Know the viewpoints of the Federalists and the AntiFederalists
Learn about the Federalist papers and their influence on
ratification
Ratification Proves to be a Big Challenge
9 out of 13 states had to ratify for the new
constitution to go into affect
The ratification would be democratic: state citizens
would elect conventions to decide whether or not
to ratify
Even with all the compromising, large and small
states could still not agree
Leaders split into two factions
1. the Federalists (pro-ratification)
2. the Anti-Federalists (anti-ratification)
And in this corner…
the Anti-Federalists!!!
Proponents of a weak
national government
Did NOT want to ratify
the new Constitution
Felt that the new
Constitution “as-is” was
no where near complete
Anti-Federalists Continued…
Felt that individual rights were left out (the
Constitution had no specific list of individual rights)
The Supreme Court could overturn decisions of
state courts
National Government maintained military forces
even during peace time
States were stripped of any real power
The executive and legislative branch had too much
power and too little accountability
And in this corner…
The Federalists!!
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
John Jay
Proponents of the Constitution
Believed in a strong National Government
Knew that state governments would be reluctant to ratify a
document that would strip them of power
Appealed directly to state citizens through rallies and
written propaganda (Federalist Papers??)
Federalists continued…
Argued that state legislatures, NOT the people had
approved the failed Articles
The new Constitution would protect America against
tyranny and corruption through its strong system of checks
and balances, the three branches of government, and the
bi-cameral legislature
Did not see a need for an addition of a bill of rights
Constitution should remain “as-is” – since the Constitution
did not list any specific rights, no rights would be left out
The Federalist Papers
Written by James Madison,
John Jay, and Alexander
Hamilton
A collection of 85 articles
written to convince New
York state to approve the
Constitution
James Madison’s papers
#10 and #51 would prove to
be the most influential and
important
The Federalist Papers Continued
Federalist #10
“Liberty is to faction what air is
to fire, an aliment without which it
instantly expires. But it could not
be less folly to abolish liberty,
which is essential to political life,
because it nourishes faction, than
it would be to wish the annihilation
of air, which is essential to animal
life, because it imparts to fire its
destructive agency.”
-James Madison
Federalist Papers Continued
Federalist #10
Main points of #10
Factions, defined as “any group of citizens who
attempt to advance their beliefs or economic status
at the expense of other citizens” are dangerous
and real threat to liberty
A well-formed, strong union can break and control
the violence of any faction
The US Constitution will provide protection against
dangerous factions by uniting the nation’s citizens
Federalist Papers Continued
Federalist # 51
“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the
great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control
the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
-James Madison
Federalist Papers Continued
Federalist # 51
Main points of #51
Humans by nature form alliances around common shared
beliefs
Different interests must be represented in coalitions, aka
alliances made by citizens coming together for the same
cause
Madison argues that the best and most successful coalitions
can only be formed in a large republic united under one form
of rule
The bigger the republic, the greater the variety of interests, the
greater the variety of interests, the larger and more successful
the factions
So… what did these “Papers” accomplish??
Probably only played a small role in securing ratification
However….
They have a lasting value as an authoritative and inspiring explanation of the
Constitution
Showed citizens the importance of considering human nature when choosing a
method of government
Showed that both humans AND government can be corrupted – a form of
government must protect against corruption and prevent both citizens and
leaders from abusing their power
STILL Not Ratified… What now??
Even with the efforts of men like James Madison,
not all states were on the Constitution bandwagon
People were still very afraid that all of the rights
they fought for in the war were being threatened by
the Constitutions open-ended structure
The solution? The Framers realized that ratification
would NEVER happen without at least the promise
of a “bill of rights” – something the framers had
been avoiding
Ratification
Finally with the promise of a Bill of Rights all
states will ratify the Constitution
There were still many people who objected,
including Thomas Jefferson and John
Hancock
However, the people were gradually won
over by the one document that unites us
all.