Articles of Confederation

State Governments With independence, 13 colonies became individual states Each state wrote its own constitution Need for national body of laws, without giving too much power to a central government

Articles Ratified in 1781 Unicameral Congress: meaning 1 house 1 vote per state (equal representation) Did not give enough power to national government in order for it to lead effectively At least 9 of 13 states had to agree for any law to pass to Congress Distrusted Government due to King’s Abuses

Western Lands Land Ordinance of 1785 Divided land into townships and allowed Congress to sell land for money Northwest Ordinance was passed two years later Divided the area into even smaller territories and provided guidelines for new states to be admitted to the union. Resulted in the formation of 5 new states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin

State Conflicts Every state had different needs, so agreements were rarely made States had no support if there was a conflict Different types of currency in each state Different laws and taxes No national government to enforce boundary lines

Weaknesses of the Articles National government could not tax = could not raise money to pay for war debts No central army to provide protection and defense No court system to provide uniformed justice Foreign countries saw weaknesses in Articles of Confederation which made the States vulnerable National money was worthless

Call for Reform Last state to ratify was Maryland Shay’s Rebellion made it clear that the Articles of Confederation needed to be revised Need to provide military services Need for stronger central government