The Continental Congress purposely created loose confederation of states when they wrote the Articles of Confederation because they feared too much power being given to one leader. We know that this form of government did not last long. Predict what you think will cause them to write the Constitution. Why?

Confederate gov’t had trouble with finances; Britain & Spain over landholdings & trade Needed a stronger government to better deal with the problems Gov’t had a large debt from fighting the war: Congress had borrowed money from American citizens and foreign governments Congress had no power to tax, it did not have a way to raise revenue & pay off this debt

Problems over landholdings & trade: British troops remained in several strategic forts in the Great Lakes Region British merchants closed Americans out of the West Indies & other profitable British markets John Adams went to London to discuss these issues: States refused deal worked out by Adams

Problems with Spain were worse than those with England: Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to American shipping Hoped of halting American expansion into their territory Compromise was reached; limited American shipping on the Mississippi South rejected the agreement because it did not include the right to use the Mississippi River

Money was almost worthless: Paper money printed during the Revolutionary War had fallen in value; prices of food & other goods soared In Boston, for example, high prices led to food riots Congress had no power to tax; it & the states issued paper money There were many bills in circulation; the value of the money fell No gold or silver backed these bills

U.S. went through a depression after the Revolutionary War: Plantations were damaged during the war Exports dropped Farmers could not sell the goods; did not have money to pay state taxes Officials took their farms to pay the debt Some farmers were even jailed American trade fell off when Britain closed the West Indies to American merchants Currency was in short supply; whatever was around was used to pay the war debt

1787-Daniel Shays led a group of more than 1,000 angry farmers Forced courts in western Massachusetts to close; judges could not seize farmers’ lands Shays led the farmers toward federal arsenal in Springfield, MA

Farmers did not stop; militia fired over their heads & then directly at them, killing four Uprising was over when Shays & his followers scattered Americans felt the impact of the Shays uprising; scared that future uprisings could occur