1. Warm Up # /20/14
Which geographic feature served as the western boundary for the British colonial settlements prior to the American Revolutionary War?
Rocky Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Mississippi River
Great Plains

2. A new Government
After declaring independence Americans had to establish a new system of government.
The colonies had to make rules, settle disputes, and protect their people from aggressors.
So each colony became an independent state and adopted its own constitution.
But the colonists still needed a central or national government.

3. Timeline
Create a timeline in your INB that places these events onto it:
Declaration of Independence 1776
Articles of Confederation written 1778
Articles of confederation adopted 1781
Treaty of Paris 1783
Shays' Rebellion 1786
Constitutional Convention 1787

4. Articles of confederation
After being under British rule, the colonists did not want to have a central government that would be too powerful.
The Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation in 1778.
The document had to be approved by each state before it could become official. It took almost 4 years, and was approved in 1781.

5. Articles of confederation
The Articles of Confederation deliberately placed more power in the hands of the states, which made the national government very weak.
The Articles of Confederation had only one branch of government: the Congress

6. Articles of confederation
Each state could send several delegates, but only had one vote in the Confederation Congress.
Each law required 9 states support to be passed.
The Congress could declare war, issue currency, settle disputes between states and foreign countries. But, it had no central leader.

7. Confederation Achievements
This Congress signed the peace treaty with Britain that ended the American Revolution
The Articles of Confederation helped establish the ideas of Limited Government- a government that has only certain powers.
It also developed the idea that American citizenship included both privileges and immunities that could not be taken away by state governments.

8. Shay’s rebellion- 1786
Poor farmers were upset over their growing debts, and high state taxes.
If the farmers were unable to pay their taxes they were imprisoned.
In 1786, an uprising of the farmers broke out in Massachusetts.
People in surrounding states began to get concerned about having such a weak national government.

9. Northwest ordinance of 1787
This ordinance prohibited slavery in the Northwest territory, encouraged free education, and religious freedom in the new American land.
It also set guidelines for new states joining the Union.
New states could enter the
Union once they reached
60,000 people.

10. Constitutional Convention- 1787
After Shay’s Rebellion, people wanted a stronger national government.
In 1787, representatives from the states met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.
The delegates quickly decided to discard the Articles of Confederation and create a new national government.

11. New Borders
As a consequence of the war the Articles of Confederation negotiated the treaty and established borders of the new nation. Use the map below to create a map of the new nation and North America in 1787.

12. Exit Quiz:
1. What physical geographic feature was the western border of the US? 2. What British colony bordered the US on the north? 3. Name the three regions of the US in 1783.