1. The Articles of Confederation
The Americans won Independence from Britain, but faced a new problem: What kind of government should they have?
Having experienced heavy-handed British rule, the Founders were wary of giving their new government too much power.
Their solution was the Articles of Confederation
confederation - an organization made up of individuals or groups united together in an alliance

2. The Articles of Confederation (cont.)
The Articles of Confederation explained how the 13 states would be governed as a nation.
The basics:
Each state remained independent and had its own government
Each state would send representatives to the “Congress of the Confederation”
Congress was the only branch of government
In Congress, each state got 1 vote

4. Discussion Questions! Be ready to share!
Why did the Colonies decide to create a weak government instead of a strong government?
What are the benefits of a strong government? What are the dangers?
What might be some benefits of a weak government? What is the downside?

5. Create a T-chart on a piece of paper with the headings Powers of Congress and Powers of the States.
Read the modified Articles of Confederation handout and complete the T-chart.
Below your T-chart, answer the following questions:
What are some challenges you foresee the young country having because of the Articles of Confederation?
In your opinion, what is the biggest flaw of the Articles of Confederation? Explain your answer.

6. Warm-up: What are some current issues that you think states would have disagreements about?

7. Powers of Congress
Powers of the States
Pass laws/make decisions with a 9/13 majority vote
Change the Articles of Confederation with a 13/13 unanimous vote
Declare war
Raise an army
Negotiate treaties with foreign nations
Settle disputes between states
Regulate currency
Can admit new states with 9/13 majority vote
Remain sovereign entities
Get 1 vote in Congress
Collect taxes
Keep all powers not given specifically to Congress

8. Strengths and Weaknesses of the AoC+
States got to keep their power and independence
Congress could still create a military when needed -
Congress didn’t have the power to enforce its own laws
Congress couldn’t collect taxes to pay for the military
In order to change the Articles, EVERY state had to agree to the changes

9. With 13 states, it’s difficult to find consensus...
States had different needs
Example: some states relied on fishing, some mostly grew crops, etc.
States had different sizes
Example: Virginia had a population of 400k+... Delaware only ~30k
People had different opinions
Example: some feared a strong central government; some saw it necessary

10. Maryland - McKenna, Mary, Andrea
Georgia - Chris, Reed
New Hampshire - Hikaru, Beatriz
New York - Katrina, Jessica
North Carolina - Alex, Esmerelda
Rhode Island - Maricruz, Ellen
Virginia - Emily, Joseph
New Jersey - Brianna, Abrianna
Delaware - Armando, Todd
South Carolina - Malik, Diego L, Kyle
Connecticut - Kevin, Diego G.
Massachusetts - Destiny, Adara
Pennsylvania - Mr. Londono

11. Rules! Keep order by raising your hand to speak
Each state gets one vote
Votes will be called after discussion of the problem
Decisions require 9/13 to pass
Changes to the articles require 13/13 votes (unanimous)

12. Problem #1
Massachusetts is in extreme debt. In order to keep their government operating, they have imposed very high taxes on farmland. Farmers have rebelled against the government and fighting has taken place. Massachusetts has a small state militia (army), but they are losing control of the situation.
They are asking Congress:
-To send troops to help control the situation (9/13 votes required)
-To raise a force of 1000 troops and $2000 (each state decides what to send)

13. Problem #2
Part of New York under the leadership of Ethan Allen is demanding that they become a new state called Vermont. They are threatening to ally themselves with Great Britain if Congress does not grant them statehood.
Congress must decide:
-Should we allow Vermont to become a state (requires 9/13 votes to become a state)?

14. Problem #3
Georgia is charging South Carolina merchants extremely high taxes to buy their products. South Carolina farmers are threatening to riot if the South Carolina government cannot convince Georgia to lower its taxes. Georgia says that it must charge high taxes because their economy is doing terribly since the war.
South Carolina is asking Congress to:
Change the Articles to make it illegal for one state to tax another (Requires 13/13 votes).

15. What were the advantages of this system of government?
What were the disadvantages?
Is this a strong or weak central government? How do you know?
What improvements would you make to this system? Explain your reasoning.