The Articles of Confederation
CHAPTER 7, LESSON #1
States Write Constitutions
Before declaring independence in 1776:
 Continental Congress asked all states to organize
governments
All states were required to create state constitutions
 8 states drafted constitutions by end of the year
 New York and Georgia in 1777
 Massachusetts in 1780
Connecticut and Rhode Island used their colonial charters
as constitutions
Limits on Power
After British rule:
 Americans don’t want too much power in one
ruler or group
 Bicameral: government power split between two
groups or houses (ex: governor and legislature)
 Tried to keep power in the hands of the people
 Voters choose state legislators
 Governors’ power was limited
 Legislatures had more power
Tried to make everyone happy but it didn’t work
A New Republic
New national government:
 All agreed that a republic form of government
be created
 government in which citizens rule through elected
representatives
 Not all agreed on how much power it should have
 Most wanted stated to be independent
 Central government only needed for war or
foreign relations
The Articles of Confederation
November 1777:
 America’s first constitution is adopted –
the Articles of Confederation
 Established a weak central government
 States had more power
Congress had limited powers
 conduct foreign affairs
 maintain armed forces
 borrow money
 issue currency
The Articles of Confederation (cont’d)
 Congress could not:
regulate trade
force citizens to join the army
impose taxes
No chief executive (president)
 Congressional committees did day-to-day
stuff
All states had one vote in Congress regardless
of population size
The Confederation Government
Weak central government:
 Took 9/13 vote to make a law
 All 13 states had to agree to change AOC
 Made it hard to pass any laws
Good things:
 Helped make peace treaty with Britain
 Expand foreign trade
 Settle lands in the West
Policies for Western Lands
No laws for creation of new states:
 Settlers were living west of Appalachian
Mountains.
 This land was given up by the British after the
war.
 Many wanted to organize their land into states.
New laws had to be made on how to settle the
land.
 Create a process to allow territories to become
states.
The Ordinance of 1785
Ordinance (law) was passed in 1785:
 Purpose was to set up a process to
survey and sell land north of the
Ohio River
 6m x 6m townships
36 sections of 640 acres
Land sold at auction
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
 Created the Northwest Territory
 North of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River
 Divided into smaller territories.
 When a territory reached 60, 000 people it could apply
for statehood.
 New states got same rights as original 13 states.
 Settlers got a bill of rights:
 Trial by jury
 Freedom of religion
 Slavery was outlawed
 First attempt to stop spread of slavery
Land Act of 1800
 Encouraged people to settle in the
Northwest territory
Made it easier for people to buy land:
Had to purchase 320 acres of land
 $2 per acre
 Settlers allowed to pay half up front
and pay the rest in 4 yearly payments
Problems at Home and Abroad
Country had big financials problems!
 Money printed during war depreciated – lost its value
 Pubic lost faith in colonial money
 146 Continental Dollars = 1 Spanish Silver Dollar!
 Price of food and other goods soared
 Led to food riots in many cities
 Congress was in HUGE debt
 Still owed revolutionary soldiers money
 Still owed money to foreign governments
 Couldn’t collect taxes because of Articles of
Confederation!!!
Plan for Import Tax
 Economy faced major economic collapse
 1781: Robert Morris proposed an import
tax to help raise money
 This required changing the Articles of
Confederation
 Required all 13 states to vote YES
 Rhode Island voted NO!
 TWICE!
 Congressional debt got worse!
Relations with Britain
 British blocked American ships from the West
Indies and other British markets
 British troops also remained in forts in Great
Lakes region.
 John Adams went to London to discuss issues
but they would not talk to him.
 British claimed the America did not pay back
Loyalists.
 Congress expected the states to do that.
 States refused to pay and Congress could do
nothing.
Relations with Spain
 Spain wanted to stop American expansion west
 Closed the lower Mississippi river to American shipping
 This meant Americans in the Northwest Territories
could not get goods to market
 American diplomats reached an agreement with Spain
 Southern states blocked it and there was nothing
Congress could do.
The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation caused
a lot of problems and it began to worry many leaders.