Articles of Confederation The Structure of Government Level 1

Vocabulary Government: a system of rule over citizens Branch of government: a section of a government with a specific purpose (legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch) Alliance: an agreement to work together Treaty of Paris: the agreement that ended the Revolutionary War with Britain Foreign Debt: money owed to a foreign country Depression: drastic decline in the economy

Essential Question What is a government? How did the first United States government operate?

Development of a Formal Plan of Government Draft and debate in Congress, 1776-1777 Votes: Large states wanted votes based on population. Small states wanted one vote per state. Taxes: Northern states wanted to count the southern states' slave population for taxes Those two issues will be seen again in the debates for the US Constitution Land Disputes: Fights over land in the Northwest Territory between different states New York and New Hampshire both claimed Vermont

The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation Congress was the only branch of government Each state had equal representation one vote for each state Congress Building Today

The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation Congress’s power under the Articles included: Making war and peace Treaty of Paris 1783: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin signed a treaty with Britain even though Congress told them not to.

The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation Congress’s power under the Articles included: Making war and peace What was included in the Treaty of Paris? American independence Boundaries: 45th parallel and the Great Lakes (N), Mississippi River (W), 31st parallel (S), Atlantic Ocean (E) fishing rights off the coast of New Foundland, and the mouth of St. Lawrence River US and Great Britain could use the Mississippi River Repay debts Return of Loyalist property British troops would leave the US Congress accepted it Jan. 14, 1784

The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation Congress’s power under the Articles included: Conducting foreign and Native American Indian affairs Britain wouldn’t leave the Northwest Territory because congress didn’t pay debts or return Loyalist property (Congress could only ask the states to do this). Spain and US claimed the some of the same land Foreign Debts: couldn’t pay debt to the Dutch and French governments Barbary Pirates: Mediterranean Sea pirates demanded money from American ships or their ships would be attacked; US had no navy and couldn’t protect the ships

The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation Congress’s power under the Articles included: The settlement of disputes between and among states Maryland, Virginia and other states claimed the same land in the Northwest Territory VA gave up the land claim to Congress Maryland then signed the Articles of Confederation in March of 1781 NY and NH both claimed Vermont States charged each other tariffs

The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation Congress’s power under the Articles included: Issuance of currency and borrowing Owed $40 million but couldn’t pay it because it couldn’t tax Made money but there was a postwar depression and the states made their own money with different rules. Farmers lost their land and some were jailed. This led to Shays’ Rebellion. (21:36-22:44) 21:36-22:44

Essential Question What is a government? How did the first United States government operate?