BR: T2D22 The U.S. has just won independence. List the top 3 things they ought to figure out next: Government Organization Foreign Affairs Pay off War Debts, keep allies happy, etc.

Ch. 7.1 The Articles of Confederation, Part I U.S. History I Ch. 7.1 The Articles of Confederation, Part I

Organizing After the War Ha! Try and stop me, you Americans! 1. While the U.S. was independent after the war, they hadn’t earned much respect from Britain. Britain continued to ignore some parts of the Treaty of Paris; for instance, they kept British troops at outposts in the frontier, though the land was technically now American, etc. Meanwhile, the American colonies had to learn to work together, and that was no small task. They each adopted state constitutions after independence was declared, except Rhode Island and Connecticut, who chose to keep using their original colonial charters.

Limiting Power in Government 2. Wary of giving too much power to the hands of the few, most of the colonies took action to avoid a similar situation like had happened with Britain, where the King and Parliament had all the power. The governor for instance was given some power, and the rest was split with the legislature. Most states created a two-house, or bicameral legislature, which made it even harder to abuse power. 3. Also, elections were often and frequent, to avoid letting politicians gain too much influence. To vote, you most often had to be male, white, at least 21 years old, and own property & pay taxes. A few states did allow free black men to vote.

Forming a Republic Despite these challenges, the creation of new state governments was much easier than trying to create a national or federal government. 4. The colonists did agree that the new government should be a republic, or a government in which citizens were heard through elected representatives. As for how that should happen, there was not a lot of agreement. Originally, most Americans felt that a weak federal government was ideal, and that in most ways, the colonies could continue to act as small, mostly independent nations, except with regard to war or relations with other countries.

Planning a New Government As early as 1776, the 2nd Continental Congress got a committee organized to create plans for a new national government. 5. Mainly this was to organize the war effort against Britain, and the result was the Articles of Confederation, signed into law Nov. 1777, adopted March 1781. America’s first national constitution, this document outlined a new, quite limited national government. Basically, it was a loose confederation, similar to the EU that exists today, but even weaker, and each state / colony maintained “its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”

What Could Do / Not Do? 6. The Articles gave the federal government (which consisted of just the Continental Congress) the following rights: conduct foreign affairs, borrow money & issue money, and maintain armed forces. However, it had many more restrictions than rights; for instance: Could not regulate trade (either between states, or other countries) Could not force anyone to join the army (draft / conscription) Couldn’t create taxes, to raise revenue (to pay for anything) No central executive (ie, president, etc.) Each state only had one vote in congress, regardless of population It wasn’t approved until all existing states gave up claims to lands West of the Appalachians (at Maryland’s request) VID

What potential issues could you see with this government What potential issues could you see with this government? How might this type of government be better than our current one? 7, 8. Check out the Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution Handout.

New Land Policies As mentioned before, the original colonies were forced to relinquish (or give up) their claims to lands west of the Appalachians in the 1780s and 90s. 9. The central government took control of those lands, which were now much more populated than before. In 1775 – only several thousand settlers lived west of the Appalachians. By 1790, that number was ~120,000! Thomas Jefferson proposed that a plan be created to organize these areas. In 1785, the Ordinance of 1785 was passed, and attempted to organize these lands, into townships. VID (10-16)

Organizing All these Settlers Land Speculators came in, bought up this land, planning to turn around and make a profit from farmers. Everybody ended up better off, and it was a good deal. However, with all these farmers moving into these new areas, the government had to figure out how to keep them organized. (17) The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 created the Northwest Territory, & a path for these areas to become states: VID (18-19) These areas gave the settlers a bill of rights, such as freedom of religion, right to a jury, etc., and also established these lands as free of slavery.

Trouble in America 20. Despite the successes of these ordinances, the United States had other issues. The central government, so weakened by its restrictions, still struggled, especially financially. After the war, Continental Dollars became worthless, as states and government simply printed more dollars and dollars without anything else to back them up. Inflation Activity (21) As you experienced, if nothing else changes, then the money loses its value. For instance, in 1779, a Spanish Dollar was worth 40 American dollars. By 1781, Spanish dollars traded for 141 American dollars. This is called inflation.

American Woes 22. Problem was, America owed money to…everyone. For example: We owed Spain and France money that we had borrowed to fight the American Revolution. Some private citizens had lent the government money as well to fight the war…they wanted to be paid! Revolutionary soldiers were still waiting to be paid their money! Meanwhile, the states only gave about 1/6th of the money needed to pay these debts (since the gov. couldn’t raise much of this money on their own).

More Issues 23. Robert Morris, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, was appointed head of the new Department of Finance. He proposed a 5 percent tax on imports, to help pay for all of this. However, this required that Congress be given the right to create taxes, and Rhode Island refused to approve it, so it failed (a unanimous vote was required for this to pass). Why might this tick off the other states? What do you think? It didn’t look good. You had one Job, Rhode Island

Foreign Troubles 24. America looked weak, and it showed. Britain still had troops stationed in some of our territories, especially the Great Lakes Region, and also wouldn’t allow American merchants to trade in the West Indies (Caribbean). When the U.S. sent John Adams as a representative to discuss this, Britain claimed (rightfully) that many loyalists had never been paid for their taken property, so why should they honor the Treaty of Paris? Ouch. Meanwhile, the friendship with Spain was strained even worse. To make sure that Americans weren’t settling Louisiana, Spain cut off access to the Lower Mississippi River in 1784. U.S. diplomats worked out an arrangement in 1786, but not all the states agreed, so it fell through. Obviously, the Articles of Confederation were not working out very well. Most agreed that the Federal Government needed more power.

HW Reminder: You are creating a political cartoon or editorial letter demonstrating how you would feel about the Articles of Confederation, in comparison with our government / Constitution today. Are they weak or strong? How can you compare the two? Review the Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution Handout for more details on the differences.