1. The Articles of Confederation
Objective:
Describe the structure of the United States national government and state governments under the Articles of Confederation.

2. The Articles of Confederation
National Government
State Government
Each state represented equally
Sent representatives to Congress
Congress convened once a year
Traded freely with other states
Oversaw foreign policy
Determined how much federal tax they might pay
Each state represented equally:
States sent between two and seven representatives to a national Congress but each state only had one vote.
Convened once a year – no power could stop them from meeting
Oversaw foreign policy – Congress dealt with foreign countries
Settled disputes between states – although not extremely successfully
Fix weights and measures – made all states adhere to the same standards of what things weigh or how long things are
Sent representatives to Congress
How many did they send to Congress
Traded freely with other states – each state decided on the terms of trade with every other state
Determined how much federal tax they might pay – Congress couldn’t force the states to pay so they just decided for themselves and they might decide to pay $0
Raised and trained a militia and raised arms – each state would have their own army and provide weapons if needed
Made policy with Indians: while policy needed to be in line with policy set up by the National Congress often the states entered into illegal agreements based upon what benefited their own individual state.
Settled disputes between states
Raised and trained a militia and raised arms
Fix weights and measures
Made policy with Indians
Structure of the Articles of Confederation

3. The Articles of Confederation
National
State
Guaranteed free travel between states
Right to trial by jury
Regulated the expansion of territory for the states
Voting requirements
Quartering of troops
The Articles of Confederation guaranteed that anyone living in any state could move about freely whether to travel or actually move between states to live
Regulated the expansion of territory for the states – states could not expand into new territory without the permission of Congress
Right to trial by jury: states decided how juries looked and what crimes were jury trials
Voting requirements: each state decided the requirements to vote in their own respective states, usually 21 years of age, male, and free, some had property requirements
Some states allowed the voters at large to elect their representatives while other states had their legislatures appointed their representatives.
Quartering of troops: most states outlawed during peacetime but left the decision open if war broke out
Freedom of the press and speech: each state maintained freedom of people to express their opinions verbally or in writing without criminal repercussions
Freedom of the press / speech
Rights under the Articles of Confederation

4. The Articles of Confederation
Gave the federal or national government no power to raise money, taxes, from the states.
No executive branch or judicial branch
The states retained the right to govern their state
Congress had absolutely no operating budget unless the states voluntarily decided to pay.
No president and no national court system
States could govern their own state but had no power over other states
Every state had to agree on a national law in order to pass any legislation which was practically impossible
All national legislation required a unanimous vote of all states to pass any legislation
Weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation

5. The Articles of Confederation
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Slavery was banned in all territories of the Northwest Territory
A federal policy for the settlement, organization, and future statehood of the Northwest Territory
Freedom of religion
Congress would appoint a temporary government for each territory in the Northwest Territory
Trial by jury
Each territory would elect its own government when the population reached 5,000
No cruel / unusual punishment
Rights granted all settlers in the Northwest territory
Religious freedom
Trial by jury if accused of a crime
Right to no cruel or unusual punishment if accused or convicted of a crime
Compensation if the state, government must confiscate your property for governmental purposes
Each territory would become eligible for statehood when the population reached 60,000
Compensation for confiscated property
Successes under the Articles of Confederation

6. Who appointed the first government?
When could settlers elect their own government?
When could a territory apply for statehood?
What was outlawed in the territory?