The Confederation

Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783 Signing of the treaty ends the Revolutionary War Britain recognizes the United States of America as a sovereign nation With a new nation, comes the reality that they need to create a working government

Articles of Confederation The US just finished fighting for independence from a tyrannical government There was a lot of fear of a strong government that could control all aspects of life The Articles of Confederation formed a weak central government The majority of the power was reserved for the states

Articles of Confederation Only had a Congress States would send delegates once a year to meet in the nation’s capital No executive or judicial branches

Articles of Confederation Congress had the power to: Declare war Raise armies Sign treaties Congress could not: Tax Regulate trade

Western Policies Without the power to tax, congress made money by selling the land west of the Appalachian Mountains The land was divided up and sold according to the Northwest Ordinance The land would be divided into 3 to 5 states People in the area would be guaranteed some basic rights (Religion, property rights, and trial by jury)

Success In Trade Following the war, Britain restricted American trade with British colonies They did allow American goods to be sold in Britain, but ships could only carry goods from the states they were from (Massachusetts ships could not carry NY goods) Trade treaties were made with Holland, Prussia, and Sweden By 1790, America was trading at a higher level than the colonies before the war

Problems with Trade Following the war, America was flooded with cheap British goods which hurt American manufacturers Some states taxed British goods, but it was not uniform throughout the country British goods would go to the states with the lowest taxes then move throughout the country Congress did not have the authority to do anything about it

Problems with Diplomacy