1. Forming a Government, 1777-1791: The Articles of Confederation
United States History 8
Unit 2, Chapter 5, Section 1

2. Main Ideas The American people examined many ideas about government
The Articles of Confederation laid the base for the first national government of the United States
The Confederation Congress established the Northwest Territory
The Articles of Confederation provided a framework for a national government

3. English Laws and the Enlightenment
Americans developed their ideas about government from traditional British ideas
Magna Carta (Great Charter) was a document signed by King John in 1215, making him subject to law
English Bill of Rights passed in 1689, declared Parliament’s supremacy
Enlightenment philosophers also contributed to American ideas about government: John Locke believed that a social contract existed between rulers and those ruled, Baron de Montesquieu thought liberty only came through separation of governmental powers

4. American Models of Government
town meetings, the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact
First written constitution: Connecticut in 1639
Constitution: a set of basic principles and laws that states the powers and duties of the government
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Thomas Jefferson’s ideas about religious freedom, document that declared that no person could be forced to attend a particular church or be required to pay for a church with tax money

5. Right to Vote
Under British rule: only free, white men that owned land could vote
Many state constitutions allowed white men that paid taxes to vote
Some states originally allowed women and free Africans to vote, but this was soon taken away
Suffrage: the right to vote

6. Articles of Confederation
Second Continental Congress organized to create a national government
Articles of Confederation: the new national constitution, with Congress as the single branch of national government, which had limited powers to protect people’s liberty, and with each state having one vote in the Congress, Congress would settle conflicts among states, issue coins, borrow money, and make treaties with other countries and Native Americans
Passed the AoC on Nov. 15,1777 then sent to each state’s legislature for ratification
Ratification: official approval
March 1781, Maryland became last stare to ratify the Articles

7. Northwest Territory
Congress wanted to sell western lands to raise money and pay debts
Land Ordinance of 1785: a system for surveying and dividing western lands (p.154)
Northwest Ordinance of 1787: created a system of bringing new states into the union-pop. of 60,000 and could draft constitution and ask to join union
Northwest Territory: the area that included areas that are now in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin