1. 1 st American Constitution

2.  Few Americans saw themselves as a citizens of one nation  Felt loyalty to their own states  States were reluctant to give up power to a central government  People feared the government turning into a tyrant like Britain

3.  First American constitution  Created the first United States government  Very weak document

4.  Declare war and make peace  Maintain an army and navy  Negotiate treaties with foreign nations  Borrow money  Establish a postal service

5.  No executive branch (no president)  Could not levy (collect) taxes – couldn’t pay off debt  Couldn’t stop the states from printing money  No court system to settle conflicts between states  Could not regulate trade

7.  Land Ordinance of 1785  -set up a system for settling the Northwest Territory.  (land above Ohio River Valley )

8.  Set up a government for the Northwest territory  Guaranteed basic right to settlers  Outlawed slavery  Provided a way to admit new states to the U.S.  Once a population had 60,000 free settlers it could be admitted as a new state  **Best achievement under the Articles**

10.  After the Revolution the nation suffered a depression  Farmers could not pay debts  Daniel Shays (Massachusetts farmer) organized an uprising  More than 1,000 farmers attacked courthouses and prevented the state from seizing farms  Shays Rebellion was a sign the Articles did not work  A convention was held in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation