7-1.1 Discussion Notes
Articles of Confederation
State Constitutions
• Britain ignored the terms of the Treaty of
Paris, and kept troops at frontier posts in
American territory. They believed the new
American government was weak and
ineffective.
• In May 1776 the Continental Congress
asked the states to organize their
governments. Because of their experience
with British rule, the states limited the
power of the governors.
• They also divided government
functions between the governor and
the legislature. Most states
established two-house, or bicameral,
legislatures to divide the power even
further.
• To keep power in the hands of the
people they held elections
frequently.
Forming a Republic
• Establishing separate state governments turned
out to be much easier than creating a national
government.
• They agreed the country should be a republic, a
government in which the citizens rule through
elected representatives, but disagreed on how to
organize it.
• Most wanted a weak national government. The
states would be independent —like the original
colonies were. The states would act
independently on most issues, working together
through a national government only to wage war
and handle relations with other nations.
Planning a New Government
• At the beginning of the war, the Second
Continental Congress wrote a plan of
government called the Articles of Confederation,
America's first constitution.
• Although it was not officially approved until
March 1781, they followed it during the war. It
allowed the states to keep their individual power
but also formed an alliance or "a firm league of
friendship.”
• The Articles of Confederation only had a
legislature (no president and no courts) because
the legislature was run by “the people.”
• Congress had to ask the state legislatures
for money and troops, but the states did
not have to contribute. Under the new
plan, each state had one vote in Congress,
regardless of its population, and all
decisions had to be unanimous.
• The states with more people complained
because they thought they should have
more votes. The states also disagreed over
which western land belonged to which
colony.
The Confederation Government
• The national government was too
weak under the Articles of
Confederation.
• 9 out of 13 states had to agree in
order to pass a new law.
• Changes to it required a unanimous
vote.
STRENGTHS of the
government under the Articles
of Confederation
•
•
•
•
•
1)Could conduct foreign affairs
2)Could maintain an army
3)Could issue currency (money)
4)Could borrow money from other
countries
WEAKNESSES of the government under
the Articles of Confederation
• 1)Could NOT force citizens to join the army
• 2)Did NOT have an Executive Branch (no
president)
• 3)Did NOT have a Judicial branch (no
Supreme Court)
• 4)Could NOT impose taxes
• 5)Could NOT regulate currency from state to
state
• 6)Could NOT regulate trade
New Land
Policies
• The Articles of Confederation
did not say how territories
could become states, this
concerned settlers living west
of the Appalachian
Mountains.
• Originally, each state was
allowed to claim the land
west of them all the way to
the Pacific Ocean.
• In the 1780s all
of the states,
except
Georgia, gave
up their land
claims west of
the
Appalachians.
• Thomas Jefferson suggested that when the
number of people in a territory matched
the number of people in the smallest state,
or 60,000, it could petition, or ask, to
become a state with the same rights and
privileges as the original 13 states.
• The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided the
lands north of the Ohio River into townships
that were 6 miles square.
• Each Township was divided into thirty-six
640 acre sections that were sold at auction
for at least a dollar an acre. Each section
received its own number and could be
divided into smaller sections.
• Section 16 was set aside for a public
school. The federal government reserved
sections 8, 11, 26, and 29 for veterans of the
American Revolution.
• The Northwest Ordinance was passed in 1787
creating the Northwest Territory in the area north
of the Ohio River Valley. It would help protect
settlers from illegal “squatters”. Some
congressmen even feared that the squatters
might try to form their own country because they
were so isolated from the rest of the nation.
• The Northwest Ordinance did not allow slavery. It
was the United States' first attempt to stop the
spread of slavery. These laws enabled settlement
of the Northwest Territory in a stable and orderly
manner.
Financial Problems
• After the Revolution the Continental Congress
had a huge debt it could not pay. It owed money
to American citizens and foreign governments
who had loaned us money, and to soldiers for
their military service.
• It begged the states for money without much
luck. A 5% tax on imported goods was suggested,
but the Articles of Confederation would have to
be changed to allow Congress to levy, or collect,
taxes. Only 12 states approved the plan. The
financial crisis worsened.
Problems with Britain & Spain
• After the Treaty of Paris, Britain left troops in the
Great Lakes region and did not allow Americans
to trade with profitable British markets like the
West Indies.
• In 1785 Congress sent John Adams to London to
discuss the issues. The British were not willing to
talk because the United States hadn’t kept its
promises either.
• At the same time, Spain closed the lower
Mississippi River to American shipping. They were
trying to limit American expansion into Spanish
territory west of the Mississippi River. Unfortunately,
American settlers living west of the Appalachians
depended on the river for their livelihood.
• The weakness of the Confederation
and its inability to deal with problems
worried the leaders. Many Americans
began to think that the country
needed a stronger government.