1. The Articles of Confederation AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

3. The Articles  The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States  The Articles of Confederation was officially ratified in 1781 and outlined how the government of the United States was supposed to run  During the early history of our country the United States was a confederacy  A confederacy is a group of states that work together towards a common goal  This, however, was an extremely difficult task as this new country was extremely divided

4. Powers  The Articles of Confederation allowed for:  all states to retain their sovereignty  States to retain every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by expressly delegated by the Articles of Confederation  Each state is also given only 1 vote per issue in Congress  In order for an issue to pass through the Congress, a unanimous vote was required  This clause made it extremely difficult for Congress to make any changes to the Articles of Confederation or to pass any legislation

5. Central Power  The Articles of Confederation provided for no executive power in the government  Why?  Voting issues and a lack of a strong central government lead to many issues in the country  It was almost impossible to raise funds for the Revolutionary War so that troops could be paid and supplies could be purchased  It was also almost impossible to require the conscription of troops to fight the war

8. Weakness  The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation started to wear upon many in the country  It was because of these weaknesses that politicians such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton began to secretly work on a new government  This act was treasonous as it was subversive to the already established American Government

9. A Rebellion  Shays’ Rebellion  Shays’ Rebellion was a series of armed attacks on courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on farms  Due to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, neither the Congress nor the states were able to raise a militia to stop the violence  A paid force had to be raised in order to stop Shay and his men  These attacks further demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the ARticles