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Articles of Confederation
America’s First Attempt at Government
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After we declared our independence from England we wanted a government that…
Has enough power to do its job Doesn’t give anyone too much power Considers the needs of all people Lets people have a say Protects individual rights
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ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
In 1777, the Americans wrote their first plan for government in a document called the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
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The Articles of Confederation
Each state was independent and had its own government. Each state would send representatives to the “Congress of the Confederation.” The Congress was the only central government. There was no president. In Congress, each state got one vote.
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We became the united STATES of America
It sounds great…but… The ideas behind the Articles of Confederation (AOC) sounded great… However it soon became clear that because the framers of the AOC were so afraid of a powerful (tyrannical) government they made the AOC too weak to actually “work” as the government for America We became the united STATES of America Instead of the UNITED states of America
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Why would this be a problem?
Weaknesses of the AOC #1 Because the founders were unhappy with the large central government that had absolute power (ENGLAND) The AOC said that the states did not have to follow federal laws and treaties Why would this be a problem? Since states didn’t have to follow laws and treaties, the federal government had no assurance that individual states would follow them
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Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation #2
Because the founders had taxation without representation under England The AOC gave the federal government NO power to collect taxes Why could this be a problem? Why do we have taxes? Since the federal government could not tax, it was very difficult to raise money—and without money we can’t pay for things for the common good like defense (military)
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Weaknesses of the AOC #3 The founders did not like having to follow England's laws—many were said to be unjust and/or applied more to England than it did to America (our point of view was not considered) Under the AOC states had their own laws (that applied to them and fit the needs of their people)—states did not have to follow other states’ laws How could each state having its own set of laws become a problem? Each state had its own laws, which made it difficult for the country to act in a united way. Congress couldn’t pay back debts from the revolution and couldn’t get states to work together to trade.
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Weaknesses of the AOC #4 How could this lead to a problem?
The founder felt the power was only in the king’s hands (Tyranny) Under the AOC there was no one branch/person in charge so therefore no executive branch or even a national court system How could this lead to a problem? Since there was no executive branch, the government could not defend its borders. (no commander in chief) Since there was no executive branch and national court system, the government could not enforce its laws.
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Weaknesses of the AOC #5 The founders disliked that the king could change laws at any time Under the AOC any changes (amendments) to the articles would require all 13 states’ approval (unanimous) Why would requiring all changes to be unanimous become a problem? Any amendment required all 13 states’ approval, so the AOC was very difficult to modify
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Because of these weaknesses….
Because of the weaknesses of the AOC America began to experience many problems that threatened the unity of our new “confederation” The five main weaknesses are….
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1—Too Weak PINKY FINGER (WEAKEST finger)
Above the pinky finger-Write “weak central government.” Because we were afraid of a government that was too powerful we made our central government “too weak”. We had no president to carry out (enforce) laws and no courts (judicial branch) to settle disputes
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(you have to have $$ to get married)
2- No Money RING FINGER (you have to have $$ to get married) Above the ring finger-Write “no money” The national government could not levy (pass) taxes. This means our government could not pay for “things” that promote the common good… i.e. could not pay for our common defense (the military)
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3- Border Disputes MIDDLE FINGER (It’s in the Middle)
Above the middle finger-Write “border disputes” Border disputes over western lands We won our independence and now have colonies wanting to expand into our new territory No one has the authority to help decide which colonies get what territory
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INDEX FINGER (POINTER) (Shaking your finger when you disagree)
4-Quarreling States INDEX FINGER (POINTER) (Shaking your finger when you disagree) 4. Above the index finger-Write “quarreling states” States were quarreling over tariffs (taxes on imports). New York was charging New Jersey and Connecticut tariffs that were so high that CT and NJ were meeting to discuss a united military attack on NY Who rules who? Who can solve the problems?
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5- No Respect THUMB (thumbs down) Above the thumb-Write “no respect”
We had no respect from foreign nations We could not pay our war debts (including money borrowed from foreign nations) We had no power to enforce treaties We had problems in foreign trade This was all because we functioned as 13 independent states rather than one united nation.
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But the culmination of all our problems was felt when our new nation couldn’t even help the people who fought for its independence…. Colonists in Massachusetts were angry over the states high taxes A Farmer (former Revolutionary War soldier) Daniel Shays leads an armed rebellion Congress cannot raise funds to send an army to stop the rebellion Massachusetts finally raises an army and defeats Shay This convinces many people that the AOC needs serious revision We didn’t free ourselves from one oppressive government to fall victim to another 1786
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