Miss Smith 7 th Grade Civics *pgs Civics in Practice

 Americans went into war with Great Britain in 1775  In 1776, representatives from the 13 colonies formed the Continental Congress in Philadelphia  Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence (DoI)  It was approved on July 4, 1776

The Declaration and Human Rights  The DoI lists the reasons the colonies decided to separate from Great Britain  It is also a statement of American ideals  The power of government comes from the consent of the governed (the people of the country)  Human rights- the basic rights to which all people are entitled  The DoI is a lasting symbol of American freedom

 The DoI was NOT a plan of government  It was a statement of grievances against the king  In 1777 the Continental Congress adopted a plan of government called the Articles of Confederation  The Articles were approved in 1781 by all 13 states  The Revolutionary war ended in 1783 and the 13 colonies became a confederation called The United States of America  Confederation- loose association of states

 Each state had equal powers and was independent of the other states  The national government had VERY limited powers  The 13 states feared that a strong national gov. would limit their freedoms (much like the king did)  Under the Articles there was a Congress  A lawmaking body where each state had 1 vote, regardless of its size

 The Articles wanted to preserve the states’ sovereignty  Sovereignty- absolute power of government  There was no national court system  The Revolutionary War left the country deeply in debt  The Articles had not given the gov. the powers it needed to solves all of its problems

 Residents thought of themselves as citizens of their state as opposed to Americans  States argued over boundary lines and trade  The country looked weak

 States acted as individual nations  No president/executive branch meant there was no one to make sure laws passed by Congress were followed  No national courts meant there was no one to interpret laws or judge those who broke them  No national currency/money meant Congress couldn’t pay debts or carry out gov. activities and soldiers who fought in the war weren’t paid