Articles of the Confederation

Objective: SWBAT evaluate the structure, strengths, and weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation and its aspects that led to the
Constitutional Convention. (SS.8.A.3.9)

Critical Period of American History

The years just after the American Revolution
were critical for the new republic. No group of
colonies had ever declared their independence
before. No large country had ever governed
itself as a representative democracy.

In Europe, every large country was a monarchy
ruled by a king or queen. The United States was
a great experiment. It was unclear whether the
former colonies would survive as free and
independent states. Many historians therefore
refer to the years 1781-1787 as the “critical period”
of American History.

Word Cloud

The United States has just been “born.” What types of problems could arise as each state develops on its own?

Poll

Do you think the American Revolution created the first democracy?

• Yes

• No

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The New State Governments

Once the Declaration of Independence
was signed, each colony became a free
and independent state. A state is an
area with its own government.

A government is an organization that
helps people cooperate, resolve
disputes, defend themselves, punish
criminals, and achieve things they could
not do as individuals.

The Articles of Confederation

The thirteen new states no longer had the British government to hold them together. They needed a new form of association. They required some authority to settle disputes. They also needed a way to cooperate for facing foreign nations or defending themselves against Native Americans.

The same day that the Second Continental Congress appointed Jefferson and others to write the Declaration of Independence, it appointed a separate committee to decide how the thirteen new states would cooperate.

Multiple Select

Select the right reasons why they needed a new form of association was necessary

• facing foreign nations

• defending and attacking against Native Americans.

• sending raw matherials to Great Britain

• settle disputes between states

The Articles of Confederation

This committee wrote the Articles of Confederation. Its
main author was John Dickinson, the same delegate
from Pennsylvania who wrote the Olive Branch Petition
in 1775. After the Second Continental Congress declared
independence and each state adopted its own
constitution, a new central government was formed by
the Articles of Confederation.

After their struggle with Great Britain, many Americans
were afraid of giving too much power to the central
government. But they needed some form of national
government to protect all Americans and to look after
relations between the states.

Multiple Choice

The Articles of the Confederation were written during the...

• The First Continental Congress

• The Second Continental Congress

• Alexander Hamilton

Multiple Choice

True or False: After their struggle with Great Britain, many Americans
loved the idea of giving too much power to the central
government to protect them

• True
• False

The New State Governments

Members of the Second Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation, the blueprint for their national government.

Members of the Continental Congress believed the
best form of national government would be a
confederation, or Confederal system, with a very weak central government. Its members feared that a strong
central government would threaten individual rights.

Americans also chose this system of government
because they were fearful of power being in one
place. They felt it was better for each of the states to have their own power.

Open Ended

What is a Confederation or a Confederal system?

Hypothesising: write on a paper

Imagine this: After the victory of the Patriot armies in the American Revolutionary War, each state decides to go its own way and becomes independent!

Your Mission: Write a short story or diary entry from the perspective of a citizen in one of these independent states.

Here are some fun things to think about:

• What is the name of your state and its capital?

• How does your state govern itself? Who are the leaders?

• What challenges does your state face? Consider conflicts with neighboring states or even a powerful Indigenous tribe that seeks to unite the land under their rule!

• How do you feel about living in an independent state?

Get creative and have fun! Share your stories with the class when you’re done

The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution

Americans’ first attempt at forming a
national government was in the Articles of Confederation. This was considered a
major achievement. The Articles created a simple “league of friendship” to which all thirteen states belonged. Most governmental powers were left in the hands of the states.

It is the United State’s first Constitution, but
it is a bad one. A constitution is a set of
rules that guides how a country, state, or
other political organization works.

The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution

Each state had their own money
Each state had their own laws
Congress hardly had any power. There was only one branch the
“Congress” of the Confederation
The states remained sovereign (holding supreme power) except for those limited powers given to Congress
Congress had a hard time raising and keeping a national army

The Articles of Confederation left most of its governing power with the state governments.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

No president to provide leadership
No way of collecting taxes
Congress had no power to raise its own
troops.
There were no national armed forces
No national money
No regulation of trade
No national court system.
To pass a law that all states had to follow,
9 out of 13 states had to approve.
To amend (change) the Articles of
Confederation, 13 out of 13 states had to
approve.

Multiple Choice

True/False: In the Articles of Confederation the Congress had very few powers

• False
• True

Multiple Select

Select which of the followings are weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation

• Lack of national money

• Established executive branch
• Ability to levy taxes
• Difficulty in passing laws.

• Weak central government

Objective: SWBAT explain the advantages of a federal system of
government over the systems in balancing local sovereignty with national unity and protecting against authoritarianism. (SS.7.C.G.3.2)

Unitary, Federation, or Confederation?

The committee that wrote the Articles
might have proposed a unitary state or federation.

In a unitary system, the central government is all-powerful. It even has the right to replace or eliminate local governments.

Unitary, State, Federation, or Confederation?

In a federation (or federal system), power is
shared between the central and local
government.

Instead of either a unitary system or federation,
the committee members chose to create a
confederation. A confederation (or confederal
system) is an association of separate states that
cooperate together. It is the weakest form of
such association. In a confederation, power
mainly rests with the local governments, not the
central government. A member of the
confederation can leave the confederation at
any time.

Match

Match the following

• Unitary government

• Federal government

• Confederal government

• Centralized government

• Decentralized government

Centralized authority

Division of powers

Loose alliance of states

Strong national government

Local governments have more power

• Centralized authority

• Division of powers

• Loose alliance of states

• Strong national government

• Local governments have more power

Shay’s Rebellion

Many of these farmers had fought as
soldiers in the Revolution. Poor
farmers, led by Daniel Shays,
protested. They shut down courts
trying to collect taxes and debts. They
demanded that Massachusetts print
cheap paper money as Rhode Island
had done. This would have raised
prices and made farmers’ debts
easier to repay.