TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Articles of Confederation
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Objectives
• Explain how the states’ new constitutions
reflected republican ideals.
• Describe the structure and powers of the
national government under the Articles of
Confederation.
• Summarize the Congress’s plan for the
settlement and governance of western lands.
• List the main weaknesses of the Articles.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Terms and People
•
republic – a government in which the people
elect their representatives
•
unicameral legislature – a lawmaking body with
a single house whose representatives are elected
by the people
•
bicameral legislature – a lawmaking body with
two houses, a Senate and a House of
Representatives
•
Articles of Confederation – the original federal
constitution drafted by the Continental Congress
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Terms and People (continued)
•
John Dickinson – a member of the Continental
Congress and leader of the committee that wrote
The Articles of Confederation
•
federal – national
•
Northwest Territory – vast territory north of
Ohio and west of Pennsylvania to the Mississippi
River, which was key to expanding the republic
•
Land Ordinance of 1785 – plan to dispense and
distribute public land in the Northwest Territory
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Terms and People (continued)
•
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – plan for
governing and creating new states carved out of
the Northwest Territory
•
Shays’ Rebellion – an uprising of armed farmers
who marched on a federal arsenal in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in protest against higher taxes
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
What form of national government did
the Patriots create initially, and what
events revealed that a new government
was necessary?
After the Revolutionary War, the Patriots
feared entrusting the Congress with too
much power. Most authority remained with
the states.
But strong state governments and a weak
national government led to problems.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Congress encouraged the former colonies to
create state constitutions.
• Although state
constitutions varied,
each provided for a
republic in which
people voted for their
representatives.
• Patriots disagreed over
the design of these
republics, especially
over how much power
to give the common
people.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Democratic Patriots
like Thomas Paine
wanted more power
for common people.
They favored
• Weak state governments
with most of their powers
in a popularly elected
legislature
• Unicameral legislature,
or one having single
house, with either a weak
governor or no governor
at all
• A large House of
Representatives with
small districts so that the
people had more control
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Conservative
Patriots like John
Adams feared
giving power to
the common
people.
They favored
• A governor with broad
powers
• Bicameral legislature,
or one with two houses
• An upper house or
senate made up of
wealthy, well-educated
gentlemen who would
balance a lower house
elected by the common
people
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
There was also debate over who
should vote.
• Democratic states like Pennsylvania allowed all
male taxpayers over age 21 to vote.
• Conservative states preserved colonial
requirements of property ownership for voting.
• None of the states gave the vote to women or to
slaves.
• Over time, the states grew more democratic. The
House of Representatives gained more power at
the expense of the Senate and governor.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Most new state constitutions guaranteed
freedom of religion.
• Previously, colonies collected
taxes for religious institutions.
• Now, religious freedom and
pluralism became the norm.
• The Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom, written by Thomas
Jefferson set the example. It
allowed for religious liberty free
of state influence.
All men shall be free to
profess, and by argument
to maintain, their opinions
in matters of Religion.
—Thomas Jefferson
Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom, 1786
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
The Articles of
Confederation
was created by
the Continental
Congress.
• This first national
constitution created a
loose confederation, or
league of states, in 1777.
• Congress drafted the
Articles of Confederation
under the leadership of
John Dickinson of
Pennsylvania.
• Congress’s power was
limited to prevent the
problems experienced
under Britain.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Under the Articles, government
power was limited.
• Congress implemented and enforced laws.
• Executive power was shared by committees.
• Each state had one vote in Congress.
• Minor issues were passed by a simple
majority. Major issues, like declaring war,
required nine states.
• Amendments to the Articles required
the agreement of all 13 states.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Congress had a limited role.
Congress could
Congress could not
Declare war or
conduct foreign policy
Raise money through
taxes
Administer relations
with Indian nations
Regulate commerce
between states or states
and foreign nations
There was also no federal court system.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
The Articles
created a
method to
settle and
govern the
Northwest
Territory.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
• Surveyors divided the territory
into a grid of lines north to
south and east to west,
establishing hundreds of
townships.
• Each township was subdivided
into sections of one square mile
(640 acre), to sell at $1 each.
• Many farmers couldn’t afford
the $1 an acre, and some land
speculators got special deals.
The Land
Ordinance
of 1785
established
a method to
distribute
public land.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 grid system is still
evident today.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set up a
system to govern territories and create states.
Congress established a
territorial government
and appointed a
governor.
Settlers were guaranteed
freedom of religion, trial
by jury, and rights of
common law.
Once there were 5,000
men, an assembly could
be elected. The
appointed governor
retained veto power.
Once there were 60,000
residents, a territory
could apply for
statehood.
It abandoned the British model of keeping
colonies permanently subordinate.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
The
Northwest
Ordinance
•
Barred slavery
•
Required a republican
constitution
•
Promised settlers basic
freedoms
•
Ignored the rights of
Native Americans
•
Resulted in five new
states: Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin, and part of
Minnesota
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
European
nations did
not take the
new nation
seriously.
Britain denied
American ships access
to the British West
Indies and the right to
export goods to Britain
on American ships.
Spain forbade American
trade with New Orleans.
Britain kept soldiers in
frontier forts located in
the Northwest Territory.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
• The nation’s debt was
mounting.
Growing
problems led
to calls for a
revision of the
Articles of
Confederation.
• The economic depression
was deepening as debts,
bankruptcies, and
foreclosures grew.
• Foreign nations did not
respect the United States.
TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.
Shays’ Rebellion demonstrated the
weakness of the national government.
In 1787, Daniel Shays led
about 1,000 farmers in a
raid on a federal arsenal
in Massachusetts to
protest taxes and farm
foreclosures.
The revolt failed, but
many people saw the
unrest as a sign that a
stronger central
government was needed.