1. Articles of Confederation: Our first attempt at that thing called government

2. Introduction
The first government created by the founding fathers was not based on our current Constitution but was the Articles of Confederation:
Articles of Confederation: The first independent government in America that eventually failed

3. Introduction
The Articles of Confederation loosely tied the 13 independent states together
More of a treaty than a real government
Delegates at the convention were afraid of giving too much power to the National government
Why would they fear a strong national government?
Because they were fighting a war against a King who abused his power and didn’t allow colonies a say in government
The Articles allowed the States to have more power than the National government

4. Powers given to the National Government
Declare war
Conduct foreign policy
Settle disputes between states
Manage relations with the Native Americans
One Branch: Legislative (No President or Supreme Court)

5. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
Congress had no power to tax
There was no consistent currency between states
Congress had to ask states to send troops in times of need
Congress had no power to enforce treaties
Congress needed an unanimous (100%) vote to change the Articles
Each state, regardless of population, had one vote
States could nullify (reject) Congress’ laws
There was no executive branch to enforce laws and see that they are carried out

6. Activity Think, pair, share
With a partner at your table start looking at the activity sheet with the parts of the Articles of Confederation
Try to figure out why those might cause a problem for the National Government

7. The Northwest Ordinance
Northwest Ordinance: Set up a system for dividing up public land and creating new states
States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin
When a territory’s population reaches 60,000 then they can become a state
Significance: Banned Slavery in these areas of the United States

8. Shays Rebellion: The End of the Articles of Confederation
Massachusetts started collecting war debts by seizing people’s land
Daniel Shays lead a rebellion of poor farmers against the Massachusetts government
Massachusetts asked Congress for help, but there was no army and no states wanted to send troops
Massachusetts, one of the most powerful states, is almost taken over by angry farmers
Significance: Shays Rebellion showed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation
Forces America to make changes to its government

9. Conclusion
The states needed to fix the errors in government after Shay’s rebellion
This fix: Create a stronger national government
The articles were so broken, they had to start over. Their next attempt created our modern constitution.
Articles: Lasted 12 years
Constitution: 228 years and counting