1. III. Articles of Confederation

2. A. Articles
Articles of Confederation – First governmental system in the U.S. adopted in 1781
Confederation – A loose association of states
Intended to create a “league of friendship”

3. Primary Source - Articles of Confederation, Article II, 1781

4. B. Government Under the Articles
Each state acted like its own separate country
Weak central government – Results from memory of British government
Unicameral – One house branch called Congress

5. Each state was given one vote regardless of population
Rhode Island – 2% of pop.
Virginia – 19% of pop.
No executive branch
No judicial branch

6. C. Problems Following Revolutionary War
Thousands of dollars of personal property had been destroyed
Foreign trade was slowed
Most urgent problem was raising money to pay back huge war debts

7. D. Weakness of Articles
Laws were hard to pass – needed a super majority (9 of 13 states)
Almost impossible to amend Articles – needed all 13 states – Major flaw
Congress could not tax people – had to beg for money
1785 – Asked states for 12 million and received 9 million
1786 – Forced to sell entire navy to raise money

8. No power to regulate trade No power to raise an army
1786 – Less than 1000 soldiers in uniform
No power to coin money
No executive branch made it impossible to enforce laws
No judicial branch made it impossible to settle disputes

10. E. Shays’s Rebellion
Daniel Shays – Revolutionary War hero leads 1200 Massachusetts farmers to a courthouse
Farmers with pitchforks take over courthouse
Federal government couldn’t end crisis for 3 months – Militia finally ends rebellion
Caused Americans to agree to a stronger government - Wake up call for Americans

11. Shays’s Rebellion

12. F. Confederation Fails Main Success – Established a new government
States refused to give federal government any power
People from different states did not feel connected to each other

13. Unable to pay back huge war debt
Annapolis Convention (1786) – Leaders (Alexander Hamilton) who favored a stronger government persuaded Congress to call a convention to revise the Articles
“Something has to be done” – Alexander Hamilton