Ch 8.1 – “The Confederation Era” EQ: What issues faced new Americans as they tried to create a brand new government?

First American Government With independence won, Americans set out to create their own governments Citizens wanted the right to vote for representatives in government, this idea is part of the principle of republicanism Efforts focused at the state, not national level At national level Articles of Confederation was created, would provide some unity, but would ultimately fail

The Land Ordinance of 1785? Major issue facing nation was land in Northwest The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided land into 6 mile-square plots, & selling it to bring down national debt Northwest Ordinance allowed territories to become states once they had 60,000 people Banned slavery in these territories

What were the Articles of Confederation?

The Articles of Confederation Articles of Confederation was “agreement” of friendship; Congress could only deal with foreign affairs No executive branch; to keep federal government weak because of fear of a king Congress had no power to tax or regulate commerce

According to the Articles Small Federal Government State Governments Small Federal Government

Discuss: Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? EPIC FAIL!!!

Failed Articles First, country was in debt because Congress could not collect taxes Secondly, Congress could not regulate commerce and different states had different rules

There was no presidency or federal court system under the Articles. NOPE There was no presidency or federal court system under the Articles.

EQUAL Representation Each state had 1 vote in Congress

9 / 13 To Pass a Law

13 / 13 To Amend (Make changes)

Okay… so they did have some successes…..

We Won the War Photo by sskennel

Goal: Northwest Ordinance 1787 States cede “Northwestern” land claims Create New States

in Northwest Territories Northwest Ordinance 1787 SLAVERY OUTLAWED in Northwest Territories Some rights reserved by National Museum of American History

SUCCESS The Northwest Ordinance is widely regarded as the most successful piece of legislation passed by the Confederation Congress.

But mostly the Articles of Confederation were just an

What is Shay’s Rebellion?

Q5: Shay’s Rebellion Backcountry farmers struggled after the Revolution, with debt and losing their farms Daniel Shays leads a rebellion against Boston demanding issuing paper money to help the poor Rebellion is put down, but crisis revealed how fragile new nation was

ELITE CONSENSUS WE NEED MORE GOVERNMENT

THE SOLUTION

Reflection! Write a 10 sentence minimum summary answering the power point EQ with details! Remember: Essential Question: What issues faced new Americans as they tried to create a brand new government?