America under the Articles of Confederation A Partial Success

Powers of the Articles could request money from states but not tax Could declare war but not raise armies Could negotiate treaties with other nations and Indians Couldn’t regulate interstate trade Had several departments War Post Office- Franklin Finance- Robert Morris Foreign Affairs- John Jay

Dealing with Western Land Land Ordinance of 1785 “old Northwest” surveyed and sold western lands to pay national debt Divided into 36 sq. mile townships Sold in 640 acre lots for 1$ a acre One lot per township to build a school and hire a teacher

A Vital Law Northwest Ordinance (1787)- organized gov. for territories & provided a method to become equal states when pop. reached 60,000 Guaranteed natural rights Outlawed slavery in the territories

Weaknesses- Financial Worthless paper money Awful credit Market flooded by British imports forcing American businesses into bankruptcy States put tariffs on each other depressing trade

Weaknesses- Dealing with other Nations Denied foreign markets for trade Problems with Spanish & English in west Couldn’t make states pay debts owed foreign nations Barbary Pirates began to seize American ships for ransom

Weaknesses-Maintaining Order Newburgh Conspiracy (1783)- army officers threatened coup over not being paid Wanted to overthrow Congress and establish a monarchy Stopped by Washington

The Final Straw Shay’s Rebellion (1786) farmers in western Massachusetts rebel over foreclosures and lack of paper money Led by Daniel Shays Congress is unable to take any action People fear anarchy Put down by militia led by Benjamin Lincoln Demonstrated that the Articles were too weak