1. Revolution Aftermath and the Articles of Confederation
Unit 2, Lesson 4

2. Articles of Confederation
First written plan of government for the U.S.
1 branch of government, the legislative branch
Created during 1st year of Revolution

3. Government under the Articles
Congress was unicameral (1 house) and each state had 1 representative
No executive branch, no judicial branch
Federal government was VERY WEAK, giving most power to states
Laws and amendments were almost impossible to pass
Why weak?
Many Americans did not want a strong federal government
They worried a strong federal government could become oppressive and give rise to another king
Americans wanted as much freedom as possible

4. Strengths and Successes of AOC
Strength: Power to declare war and raise an army

5. Strengths and Success of the AOC
Strength: Congress could control the western territories
Northwest Ordinance of set up a system for settling the Northwest Territory and turning it into states
Northwest Ordinance (1787): Divided the area into smaller territories and provided guidelines for new states.
Results in formation of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

6. Weaknesses and Failures of the AOC
Foreign countries did not respect the U.S.
Britain continued to occupy forts in the Northwest Territory
Spain disputed borders with America and claimed the Mississippi River
1783- After the Treaty of Paris:
England refused to withdraw troops from the Ohio Valley Spain closed the port of New Orleans.
Unable to raise/fund an army, the US could not oppose these actions.

7. Weaknesses and Failures of the AOC
No power to regulate trade or print money
States printed their own money
States did not cooperate economically, creating disunion
States competed with each other and taxed each others’ trade (tariffs)

8. Weaknesses and Failures of the AOC
No power to tax
Could not afford to pay back war debts
Could not afford to build an army
Could not afford to build infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.)
States took care of themselves, often with high taxes
What was wrong with the Articles?
For any law to be final, 9 of 13 states had to agree to it.
To change (amend) the Articles, all states had to be in agreement
Congress (fed. government) did not have the power to tax.

9. Shays’ Rebellion Massachusetts raised taxes to pay its debts
Western backcountry farmers were hurt by the tax and many lost their farms

10. Shays’ Rebellion
Daniel Shays led 1,200 farmers to a federal arsenal to steal weapons and march to Boston
The Massachusetts militia stopped the rebellion
Farmers wanted lower taxes and an end to farm foreclosures and attacked courts

11. Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion exposed the WEAKNESS of the Articles of Confederation
Congress could not raise an army to address this threat
Congress could not stop the financial problems that led to rebellions

12. Revise the Articles? The Articles of Confederation were TOO WEAK
Congress authorized the Constitutional Convention, to REVISE the Articles
The convention ended up REPLACING the Articles with the Constitution