1. September 23, 2019
AP U.S. History
Time Period 3

2. Articles of Confederation

3. Opening Role-Play
Your group is a committee within the Continental Congress in 1781 (when the AoC were finally ratified):
What are the 3 most important concerns your government is facing in 1781? How do you plan to address those concerns?
What form of government would you suggest to address concerns in the near future, keeping in mind that you must convince all 13 states to support your plan?

4. Why were the Articles of Confederation so weak?
AoC writers disliked…
So under the AoC…
Taxation without representation
The federal government could not tax
A large central government that had absolute power
States didn’t have to follow federal laws and treaties
Having to follow legislation not created by a democratic government
States had their own laws and didn’t have to follow other states’ laws
Lots of power was in one individual’s hands
No executive branch or national court system
The ruler could change laws at any time
Any amendment required all 13 states’ approval

5. What was the Problem?
Federal government could not tax=it was very difficult to raise money
States didn’t have to follow laws and treaties=the federal government had no assurance that individual states would follow them
Each state had its own laws, which made it difficult for the country to act in a united way.
Congress couldn’t pay back debts from the revolution and couldn’t get states to work together to encourage commerce.

6. What was the Problem?
No executive branch=the government could not defend its borders.
No executive branch and national court system=the government could not enforce its laws
Any amendment required all 13 states’ approval, so the AoC was very difficult to modify

7. Shay's Rebellion

8. Primary Source Activity
Read the background info and then the letter from Thomas Jefferson. Then answer the following:
Why might Jefferson oppose having a strong central government?
Why would the idea of poor farmers rebelling be scary to many of the people at the Constitutional Convention?
Do students agree with Jefferson’s assertion about the “tree of liberty?”
How does this letter challenge or expand the textbook’s account?
Why might many textbooks make it seem like everyone wanted a strong central government after Shays’ Rebellion?

9. Land Ordinances of 1780’s
(Mostly the Work of Jefferson)

10. Cession of Western Lands, 1782–1802
Give Me Liberty!: An American History, 4th Edition
Copyright © 2013 W.W. Norton & Company

11. Northwest Ordinances Ordinance of 1784 Self-government for the west:
Territories become states; “empire of liberty”
Northwest Ordinance of 1785
Established “Old Northwest”; township system
Square mile blocks; $1 per acre
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
5 states in Old Northwest
“Utmost good faith” toward Indians, land won't be taken without consent

12. Western Ordinances, 1784–1787
Give Me Liberty!: An American History, 4th Edition
Copyright © 2013 W.W. Norton & Company