The Articles of Confederation
AP American History
Introduction:
Once Independence was declared the new nation had a name, a flag and an army. What
they lacked, was a government. What then would be the shape of this new government? How
much authority would be granted to the Central government? How much liberty would be given
to the states and citizens? These questions faced our Founding/Forming Fathers in 1777 and
continue to be a topic of intense debate in our nation today.
Terms to know
Confederation
"the Critical Period"
“mobocracy”
anarchy
Daniel Shays
Depression of 1787
Jay-Gardoqui Treaty
primogeniture
Shays Rebellion
Annapolis Convention (1786)
Land Ordinance of 1785
Northwest Ordinance
Newburg Conspiracy (1783)
Adams-Carmathen Negotiations
Text Resources: Bailey pp. 164-177 and Zinn 77-95
Study Questions: (Handwritten, minimum of 50 words)
1. Consider how America and American government would be different if the Articles of
Confederation had remained the national government.—Due November 8
Wednesday, October 30: How revolutionary was the Revolution? We will analyze whether the
Revolution was a radical or a conservative movement. For Wednesday: Read "The Radical
Revolution: an Interview with Gordon Wood"
Thursday/Friday, Oct 31, November 1: Define Radicals and Conservatives as it relates to
Pre- Revolutionary, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary America. Discussion on the Articles
of Confederation as representative of Radical thought. In our groups we will attempt to
assess the document to gain information on how the Confederation was representative of the
preservation of individual liberties as opposed to the politics of national interest.
For Monday: Read Zinn pages 77-95 and answer the related questions
Monday, Nov 4: Discuss the radicalism in the American Revolution, and relate it to the
government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
For Tuesday: Read Bailey p. 164-177
Tuesday/Wednesday Nov 5/6: We will work on the Group project: "The Articles of
Confederation: The Challenge of Sovereignty”. This will help us to analyze the pros and cons
of this document. It will also help us to understand the mindset of those who wrote this
document.
For Wednesday: Read “A State of Crisis”
For Thursday: Bring to class a list of issues and events that led to a revision of the Articles of
Confederation. (Minimum of 10)
Thursday, Nov 7: Assess the problems and success of the newly formed government by
analyzing events of the time period
For Friday: Read Carmathen to Adams on Northwestern Forts, and Jay on Spanish-American
diplomacy, 1786
Friday, Nov 8: A discussion of American Foreign Policy during the Confederation. We will also
discuss DBQ’s.
Monday, Nov 11: To review for the exam, we will analyze how effectively the Articles of
Confederation dealt with the problems that faced the United States of America.
For Tuesday: Study materials for the DBQ test.
Tuesday/Wednesday, November 12/13: DBQ on the Articles of Confederation