1. Articles of Confederation
Approved in 1777 and ratified in 1781
First American Constitution

3. Northwest Ordinance of 1785 Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Designed to create towns
Designed to create states

5. Strengths Congress could: Held the states together
raise an army
declare war
sign treaties
Borrow $$$
Create postal system
Held the states together
Spread democracy be developing western territories which eventually became states
Negotiated a treaty with Great Britain (Treaty of Paris)

6. Weaknesses The states had more power than the federal gov’t
Unicameral legislature-1 house of Congress
Each state had 1 vote
Federal gov’t could not levy taxes
Unanimous vote required to amend the Articles
9/13 had to agree to make laws, declare war, sign treaties and forge alliances
Could not regulate commerce
Only one small branch of gov’t
No judicial, executive or House of Representatives

7. Shay’s Rebellion
(1786 – 87) Uprising in western Massachusetts. In a period of economic depression and land seizures for debt collection, several hundred farmers led by Daniel Shays (1747 – Shays then led about 1,200 men in an attack on the nearby federal arsenal The Mass. State gov’t was forced to pay the state militia to suppress the uprising This demonstrated to our forefathers that the Articles needed to at least be changed. Soon after the delegates met in Philadelphia they decided that the Articles could not be reformed and thus they were scrapped