The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation After the war, each state created their own government Each made a republic- the people choose representatives Also discussed how to form the national government Saw how they had to unite to win the war

The Articles of Confederation Adopted by Congress in 1781 First national constitution State governments were stronger than the national government Feared putting too much power in a small group’s hands Reflects the experiences they had under a monarchy

Strengths of the Articles of Confederation The Treaty of Paris 1783 was negotiated and signed The Land & Northwest Ordinances were passed Congress had the power to: declare war and peace print money make treaties settle state disputes

Settling Western Lands Big question: What to do with new land? Passed laws on how to divide and govern the land: The Land Ordinance of 1785- surveyors had to divide the land using a grid system to establish 6 mile blocks The Northwest Ordinance- described how the Northwest Territory would be governed 5,000 free males who own 50 acres can start an elected assembly Population of 60,000 could apply for statehood

Scenario One You just won American Idol! With your title, you receive $250,000 and a record deal with Capital Records. You spend six months cutting your first album and are so excited for its release. Two weeks before the record drops, every computer company besides Apple comes out with their own version of iTunes. To help keep their customers, iTunes starts a big promotion. Each subscriber gets 50 songs for free! You first single hits the radio and is a smash success, but you are not making any money because of all of the free downloads provided. Your record company sees you as a failure and drops you from the label. How do you feel? Who would you blame for your failure? Would it benefit you as an artist for one group to control online music purchases? Why or why not?

Scenario Two Each summer you and your friends go to Lake Worth for a long weekend to swim, camp, and get away from parents! However, public parks are maintained with money given to the city from individuals or organizations. With the economy being in such a slump, donations keep decreasing and the lakes in Texas becomes more and more polluted and unsanitary. Finally, Texas closes all lakes and parks due to lack of money. What are some ways Texas can get the money to maintain these fun places? Think of some other public works that your city or state provides (postal system, garbage collection & landfills, roads and highways, etc.). How would your life change if these things did not exist?

Scenario Three Think of this past summer and how unbelievably hot it was. Imagine that your landlord was in charge of paying the electric bill for the entire apartment complex, and he did so with each family’s individual payment. However, some families refused to pay the landlord. What would happen to your family if he could not get all of the money to pay the electric bill? Is this policy fair? Why or why not?

Scenario Four You just turned 16! You can now drive by yourself, and your parents just surprised you with a brand new car of your choice. To celebrate, you pick up your friends and head out to dinner. While you are eating, you see some kids drive off in your car. Apparently, they busted out a window and hot-wired the engine. You report it to the police, but there is nothing they can do. Congress recently passed a law saying the police no longer have the power to enforce the laws. All they can do is suggest people follow them. How do you feel about this? How effective would police be if they could not write tickets, arrest people, or carry weapons to help them protect citizens? What are some other negative situations that could occur from this law?

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation Congress had no power to: raise taxes (Scenario 2) could not pay off war debt regulate foreign or state trade (Scenario 1) enforce laws (Scenario 4) Laws had to be approved by 9 out of 13 states (Scenario 3) difficult to get such a large majority

Shay’s Rebellion Massachusetts was in debt like most other states Farmers could not afford to pay their debts or taxes Ordered to sell off land and livestock to pay their debts Led by a veteran, Daniel Shays, farmers rebelled Easily defeated by the Mass. Militia BUT won lots of sympathy from the people Shocked Congress into calling a convention to fix the Articles