A More Perfect Union 1777 to 1790 Chapter Seven

The Articles of Confederation Section One

The Making of a Republic After the war, Britain still did not really recognize or respect the new United States of America and kept most of their troops in America despite the Treaty of Paris. They felt the United States was weak and would eventually fall.

Continental Congress In 1776, the Continental Congress had asked the 13 states to create state constitutions and governments. By 1780, all had some for of a constitution.

State Constitutional Conventions All of the states limited the power of the governor because they did not want a single ruler with too much power. Most states also created a bicameral government (two houses) to split the power with the governors who would be popularly elected to keep the people involved.

New State Governments

Bicameral System Two house system

Early American Voters All white males, at least 21 years old could vote. Some states allowed free African-Americans to vote.

The Republic Most Americans wanted to have a Republic – where citizens elect representatives to speak for them – but could not agree on how. They were reluctant to give too much power to the U.S. government and really wanted 13 independent, smaller nations who worked together.

Articles of Confederation In 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation as their first model for a central government, which would have limited power and respect the sovereignty of the states.

State Power vs. U.S. Power The new government was at the mercy of the states and did not have an executive (president). The new government could deal with other nations, raise an army, borrow money, and issue money. They could not regulate trade, force citizens to join the military, or raise taxes without the state’s approval.

Articles of Confederation On March 1, 1781; the Articles of Confederation were passed and became our first government. Each state had one representative in Congress. The problem was that it was like a paper tiger, no power to really do anything the states did not want to do!

Americans Head West By 1790, over 120,000 settlers lived in the land west of the Appalachian Mountains and wanted to join the new United States but congress had no rules for the addition of these new lands. In the 1780’s all of the states (except Georgia) gave up claims to these Western lands to allow the new government to deal with the land.

American Territory

Jefferson’s Idea Thomas Jefferson suggested dividing the new land up into districts until their population reached a certain size (the size of the smallest state), then they could petition (apply) for statehood.

Ordinance of 1785 In 1785, Congress created an ordinance (Ordinance of 1785) for surveying the new land and dividing it up. They created townships that were 6 miles by 6 miles with 36 sections that were 640 acres each.

Townships & Sections

The Northwest Territory The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 created one large territory (Northwest Territory) that could be divided up into smaller sections. Once the population reached 60,000, they could apply for statehood.

Slavery in the Northwest Within this territory, slavery was outlawed for the first time in America.

Congress & the Economy

U.S. Currency By 1781, the U.S. had been printing money without any real value (depreciated) and eventually it was worth almost nothing. The U.S. government owed a lot of money to its soldiers, citizens, and other nations. They had to ask the states for money, but most could not give anything.

Robert Morris In 1781, Robert Morris, who was in charge of Congressional finances, suggested a tax on imported goods to raise the money. However, one state said “no” and killed the measure.

British Refusals Britain refused to obey the terms of the Treaty of Paris and leave the American territories. Also, they would not allow the Americans to trade in the West Indies. Britain said the U.S. violated the treaty by not paying the loyalists for their losses. Congress asked the states to do this, but they refused. So they would not leave!

Spanish Problems Spain also closed the Mississippi River to Americans to stop westward expansion.