3.1 Articles of Confederation

The Articles of
Confederation

Unit 3-1

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Lesson Overview

• Students Will Be Able To-
• Identify the limitations on the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

• Explain how the Articles satisfied some concerns of the states and created other problems for states

• Vocabulary-
• Amendment
• Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
• Confederation
• Constitution
• Council of State
• Northwest Ordinance
• Shay's Rebellion
• Unitary System

Essential Question-

How did the Articles
of Confederation
satisfy some of the
new nation's needs
and fail others?

The Articles of Confederation (AOC)

• In 1776 the Continental Congress was the government of the 13
Colonies
• It issued the Declaration of Independence and selected
George Washington as the commander of the Army

• So, the challenge was to not only win the war but prove to the world that they were their own government, so they created-

• Council of State- prepare a constitution for the new union
of states

• Constitution- a document stating the principles, processes,
structure, and rules of a government

The Articles of Confederation (AOC)

• Each state sent a representative to this council
• Pennsylvania sent John Dickinson

• They created the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation Continued...

• July 12th, 1776 the Council of State presented Congress with its first draft
• Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union-
the 1st constitution of the United States


• It had to be ratified by the 13 states (agreed to)
• The Articles established a Confederation- a
union of independent states joined for a
common purpose

As a confederation, the
states were independent
(sovereign) and managed
their own affairs.

What potential
problems do
you think this
could cause?

Open Ended

As a confederation, the
states were independent
(sovereign) and managed
their own affairs...... What potential problems could this cause?

The Articles of Confederation Continued...

• The idea was to not create a strong central government (they had just fought one of those)

• The British has a Unitary System- central or national government had direct
control over regional divisions

​So... why did they choose this form of government?

Multiple Select

Why did the Continental Congress choose to create a confederation system of government after it declared independence? (3 answers are correct)

• To keep the national government weak

• To keep the states as independent as possible

• To unite the states with the common goal of winning independence

• To make state powers equal to national powers

Organization Under the AOC

• The idea was to have a "firm league of friendship" among the states

• Only one part to the national government and it was Congress

• Each state had one vote regardless of size or population

• They needed 9 votes to pass a measure (create a law) and all states needed to agree (be unanimous) to make an Amendment

• Amendment- an addition to the change the terms of the original document

• Not all the states adopted the Articles of Confederation at once, so it took time for them to become officially ratified

• The Articles were officially ratified in 1781

Why do you
think the
Articles of
Confederation
were set up
this way?

Accomplishments of the AOC

• They were able to pass the Land Ordinance of 1785 which determined what happened to the western land that was to be surveyed

• Northwest Ordinance of 1787- determined how new states would enter the union
• Did not allow slavery to expand into
new territories
• Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota were
formed from these lands

• However, the Articles severely limited what the National Government could do

Limitations Under the AOC

• The Confederation Congress struggled to work under the Articles of Confederation

• Difficult to get 9 representatives in the same session

• Had no authority to raise an army or navy

• Sever restrictions on how to raise money, revenue
(taxes)

•

Limitations Under the AOC

• They could not require states to pay taxes

• They could not regulate trade between the states and foreign countries

• Continental Currency was not always worth what it said, in other words the money was almost worthless
• States made their own money (no national currency like today)

Multiple Select

In which areas was the national government forced to rely on the cooperation of the states under the Articles of Confederation?

• Negotiate peace treaties

• provide money it needed to operate

• print Continental currency

• supply troops for the military

Shay's Rebellion

• Because of the AOC and the aftermath of the War the economy of the 13 independent states was not good
• There was lots of debt, and the trade and commerce were suffering
• Many farmers (most of the population) were very hurt by this
• Danial Shay, a farmer from Massachusetts, led a rebellion against the newly formed government




• Shay's Rebellion- uprising led by Danial Shay from 1786 to 1787

Shay’s Rebellion Continued…

• Massachusetts could not raise an army to confront the rebels

• The national government (Confederation Congress) could not assemble an army

• This highlighted one of the major problems of the Articles of Confederation

• It was also a major reason to start thinking about a new way to organize a government

Essential Question- How did the Articles of Confederation satisfy some of the new nation's needs and fail others?

• The Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation as the first constitution of the United States immediately after it
issued the Declaration of Independence.

• The United States was formed as a confederation in 1781 because the thirteen states wanted to preserve their sovereignty and limit the powers of the central government.

• The national government functioned inefficiently because it needed unanimous approval for many of its actions and relied on the states to fulfill requests for finances and troops, which many states ignored.

• The national government functioned inefficiently because it needed unanimous approval for many of its actions and relied on the states to fulfill requests for finances and troops, which many states ignored.

Think of the Articles
of Confederation as
a Rough Draft to the US Constitution