1. Articles of Confederation The Structure of Government
Level 2

2. Vocabulary Government: a system of rule over citizens
Branch of government: a section of a government with a specific purpose (legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch)
Alliance: an agreement to work together
Treaty of Paris: the agreement that ended the Revolutionary War with Britain
Foreign Debt: money owed to a foreign country
Depression: drastic decline in the economy

3. Essential Question What is a government?
How did the first United States government operate?

4. The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation
Congress was the only branch of government
Each state had equal representation
2-7 delegates per state but only one vote for each state
Congress Building Today

5. The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation
Congress’s power under the Articles included:
Making war and peace
Treaty of Paris 1783:
Treaty of Alliance between the US and France stated no peace could be made until both countries were finished fighting the British
France had a similar agreement with Spain
John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin signed a treaty with Britain despite the alliance with France and the instruction by Congress not to.

6. The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation
Congress’s power under the Articles included:
Making war and peace
What was included in the Treaty of Paris?
Independence of Americans
Boundaries: 45th parallel and the Great Lakes (N), Mississippi River (W), 31st parallel (S), Atlantic Ocean and islands 20 leagues out to sea (E)
Unlimited fishing rights off the coast of New Foundland, and mouth of the St. Lawrence River
Great Britain and the US could both navigate the Mississippi
Repayment of debts
Loyalist property would be returned
Withdrawal of British troops from the United States
Congress accepted it Jan. 14, 1784

7. The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation
Congress’s power under the Articles included:
Conducting foreign and Native American Indian affairs
Britain refused to leave posts in the Northwest Territory because congress hadn’t paid debts or returned Loyalist property (Congress could only encourage this to the states).
Disputes with Spain over land boundaries created with the Treaty of Paris and navigation of the lower Mississippi
John Jay was sent to negotiate but Congress couldn’t agree and the negotiations ended
Foreign Debts: couldn’t pay millions of dollars of debt to the Dutch and French governments
Barbary Pirates: Mediterranean Sea pirates demanded tribute from American ships or their ships would be attacked; US had no navy and couldn’t protect their commercial rights in the region

8. The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation
Congress’s power under the Articles included:
The settlement of disputes between and among states
Maryland, Virginia and other states claimed the same territory of land in the Northwest Territory
VA gave up the land claim to Congress
Maryland then signed the Articles of Confederation in March of 1781
NY and NH both claimed Vermont
States charged each other tariffs

9. The Structure of Government Under The Articles of Confederation
Congress’s power under the Articles included:
Issuance of currency and borrowing
Had borrowed and owed $40 million but couldn’t pay it because it couldn’t collect taxes and the land sales in the Northwest Territory weren’t enough
Coined and distributed money but there was a postwar depression and the states began to issue their own currency with different regulations. Farmers lost their land and in some cases were jailed. This led to Shays’ Rebellion. (21:36-22:44)
21:36-22:44

10. Essential Question What is a government?
How did the first United States government operate?