1. Origins of American Government
Chapter 2

2. Section 3
The Critical Period

3. The Articles of Confederation
Creation: By the Second Continental Congress; during the American Revolution in 1777.
Purpose: Diplomatic Relations; and to Regulate Relations Among States
Structure: Unicameral Congress; Each State had 1 vote; Delegates selected by state legislatures; No executive or judicial structure

5. Powers of Congress under Articles of Confederation
Declare war
Make peace
Diplomacy
Make treaties
Borrow money
Establish money system
Establish post offices
Build a Navy
Raise an Army by asking states for troops
Fix standards of weights and measures
Settle disputes amongst the states

6. States’ Obligations Obey Congressional decisions. Provide funds
Provide troops
Full faith and credit
Surrender fugitives from other states to one another
Submit disputes between states to Congress
Allow open and free travel and trade

7. Articles’ Weaknesses One vote for each state
Congress could not lay and collect taxes
Congress could not regulate trade
No executive powers
No judicial powers
Could only be amended with unanimous consent
9/13 majority to pass laws
Forms only a “firm league of friendship”

8. The Critical Period, The 1780s
The end of the Revolutionary War in 1781 brought the nation’s weaknesses forward.
Union devolved into 13 separate independently operating, bickering nations.
States refused to support central government
Made independent agreements with foreign nations
Organized their own militaries
Taxed one another’s goods
Printed their own money
Failed to pay their debts as inflation soared

9. Shays’s Rebellion Early economic problems
Individuals lose their property to debtors
Fall of 1786, Individuals formed an uprising under Daniel Shays
Mob attacked courts; forcing them to close and halt their foreclosure proceedings.
Later Shays led an unsuccessful attack on a federal arsenal in Springfield, Mass.
State militia confronted Shays‘s forces and put down the rebellion.

11. A Need for Stronger Government
Demand grew for a stronger, more effective central government.
Wealthy merchants, large property owners, and creditors took the lead.
In 1786, various states attempted to resolve disputes amongst themselves at Mount Vernon and Annapolis.
In 1787, several states and Congress called on the states to send delegates to Philadelphia “… for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation”