CHAPTER 2 SECTION 3
Mr. Gordon
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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Articles of Confederation
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In 1777 the Second Continental Congress passed the first official plan for
national government, the Articles of Confederation.
After the Revolutionary War, weaknesses in the Articles led to conflicts
among the states, sparking calls for a stronger national government.
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ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Main Idea
The states’ first attempt to build a national government, the Articles of
Confederation, proved too weak to last.
Reading Focus
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How was the first national government organized under the Articles of
Confederation?
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
What events convinced some American leaders that a stronger national
government was needed?
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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States become Government
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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First National Government
Articles of Confederation
June 1776: new model of government crafted to
build “firm league of friendship” among states,
retaining “sovereignty, freedom and
independence”
June 12, 1777: Articles of Confederation
adopted
Had to be ratified before going into force
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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First National Government
A Delay in Ratification
Disputes over control of western lands delayed
the ratification process.
Small states feared large states with claims to
western lands would overpower them.
Articles were changed to allow Confederation
control over western lands.
Articles finally ratified in 1781
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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First National Government
Powers of the National Government
Created weak national government; did not
provide for national court system
One-house Congress: power to act on matters of
common interest; admit new states; settle
disputes; coin money; raise army; declare war;
conduct foreign policy
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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First National Government
State Powers
States retained all powers not specifically given
to Congress
Powers included: ability to collect taxes, enforce
national laws
States required to contribute funds to national
government as they saw fit
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Summarizing
How did national and state powers
differ under the Articles?
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National powers were limited and specifically
cited in the Articles of Confederation. State
powers were all the other powers that were not
specifically cited.
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
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Articles gave Congress key responsibilities, but placed limits that kept it
from effectively enforcing laws and policies
Without executive branch, national government lacked means to carry
out Congress’s laws
Without national court system, Congress had to rely on state courts to
apply national laws
Mostly importantly, Articles denied Congress power to tax
Difficult to raise funds to repay money borrowed during Revolution
Lacked authority to regulate trade
Congress had power to coin money, but not sole power to do so; created
barrier to trade, major obstacles to economic development
Congress required to have 9 of 13 states to ratify laws, while only one
state could raise objections to block changes in Articles—weakened
Congress’s ability to act swiftly and decisively
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ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Summarizing
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation?
 It had no executive or judicial branch; the
Confederation could not levy taxes, enforce its
laws, or regulate commerce between states; all
states had to agree before the Articles could be
changed.
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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Pressures for Stronger Government
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Its independence secured with the Treaty of Paris in
1783, the United States faced a range of challenges that
the national government was ill-equipped to meet. The
shortcomings of the government created by the Articles
of Confederation would lead to calls for a new plan of
government.
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Northwest Ordinance
1787: Northwest Ordinance planned for
settling Northwest Territory
Included areas now in Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin—
disputed western lands that had delayed
ratification of the Articles
Created system for admitting new states,
banned slavery, included bill of rights
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Dangers and Unrest
Most pressing problem: war debts
1783: Congress tried to approve tax on imports
but act never ratified and government went
broke
Postwar depression struck
States pursued own interests, flouting national
laws; like “13 sovereignties pulling against each
other”
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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Pressures for a stronger government
Shay’s Rebellion
• September 1786: rebellion of Massachusetts farmers
facing prospect of losing land
• Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays led attacks
on courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on
farms.
• Shay’s Rebellion swelled to nearly 2,500 by 1787.
• Massachusetts legislature asked Congress for help;
Congress had no money or forces
• Shay’s Rebellion showed how feeble the Confederation
Congress was and hastened moves to revise the
Articles.
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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Pressures for a stronger government
Calls to Revise the Articles
• March 1785: Washington invites representatives from
Virginia and Maryland to his home at Mount Vernon
to discuss resolving trade dispute.
• Led to meeting to discuss regulating commerce
between all the states
• February 1787: James Madison persuades the
Confederation Congress to endorse meeting for
“purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.”
• May 1787: meeting to strengthen Articles held in
Philadelphia
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Identifying Cause and Effect
What events caused leaders to want to
revise the Articles of Confederation?
 Shays’s
Rebellion; interstate trade
disputes; inability to levy taxes and pay
war debts