1. Articles of
Confederation

2. Background
After the colonies declared independence from England in 1776, the new United States needed a new government.
The states were very independent. Therefore, they created a government that was very loosely organized.
1777: Continental Congress began creating a plan for a new government.
1781: The Articles of Confederation was approved by the 13 states.

3. Background
During the Revolutionary War, the 13 states were willing to work together and make sacrifices to
achieve victory.
Things were different in the years following the Revolution.
Property had been destroyed.
Trade with other nations had slowed.
The war left the nation deeply in debt.
The new government tried to handle these problems, but it was too weak to solve them.

4. Confederation Loose association of states
Each state was to have equal powers.
The national government had very limited powers.
The people of the 13 states did not want a strong central government.
They feared a similar situation as the one in England.

5. The Articles Preamble: all states were in agreement
13 articles: outline of government
Conclusion: signing by members

6. Setup of Government
The only body in the new government was a Congress.
They made decisions about matters that affected all of the states.
State legislatures appointed delegates to the Congress.
They could only have one vote.
They selected one member to serve as its president.
John Hanson (Maryland) was the first.

7. Powers of Congress Could declare war. In charge of army and navy.
Allowed to borrow money and settle boundary arguments between states.
Dealt with treaties.
Ran national post office.

8. Successes of the Articles
Its organization helped stabilize the states to help win the Revolutionary War.
Treaty of Paris of 1783: negotiated peace between England and America
Ordinance of 1785: set up a plan for surveying, or measuring, western lands.
Northwest Ordinance (1787): set up a government for Northwest Territory and helped set up how to admit new states to the Union.

10. Issues with the Articles
Limited national authority
National government could not raise money.
States could not be forced to pay taxes.
Made it difficult to pass laws
9 of the 13 states had to agree
Make changes, or amendments, to the Articles was even harder.
It had to be unanimous (all 13 states had to approve).
Congress could not force the states to do anything, including following the law.

11. Issues with the Articles
Lack of Power and Money
Congress had no power to collect taxes.
Congress had no power to regulate trade.
Congress had no power to enforce its laws.
Lack of Central Power
No single leader or group directed government policy.
No national court system existed.
Rules Too Rigid
Congress could not pass laws without the approval of 9 states.
The Articles could not be changed without the agreement of all 13 states.

12. Worries The U.S. was facing serious financial problems.
It had borrowed a lot of money to pay for the War.
State governments began to tax their citizens heavily.
Trade slowed and people lost their jobs.
The Confederation Congress had no power to fix these problems.
Americans worried that their government could not protect them.

13. Shays’s Rebellion Massachusetts 1787:
Daniel Shays, a farmer, owed money due to taxes.
The courts threatened to take his farm.
Shays felt they had no right to punish him since it was the government’s fault.
Shays led over 1,200 protestors in an attack on a federal arsenal, where weapons were stored.
Leaders in Congress were afraid other angry Americans would try to do the same.
Many began asking for a stronger national government.