IXL: Articles of Confederation

How do we finance a war?

Who has the power to negotiate treaties?

What prevents the executive from becoming too powerful?

Which group was responsible for answering these questions?

• settlers creating the Mayflower Compact

• delegates writing the Articles of Confederation

• representatives drafting the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

• colonists negotiating the Albany Plan of Union

*Did not grant a federal power to tax or regulate commerce

*Did not establish a common currency

*Did not establish an executive or judicial branch

What does this list suggest about the drafters of the Articles of Confederation?

• They did not want a judicial system based upon that of Great Britain.

• They feared that a strong central government would abuse its power.

• They were uncertain that democracy would continue to be the best type of government.

• They did not think that state governments could provide for the general welfare.

Why was it difficult for Congress to fulfill its duties under the Articles of Confederation?

• Any congressional action required executive approval

• Congress lacked the power to declare war

• Most congressional decisions required the approval of at least nine states

• Congress lacked the power to regulate foreign trade

Strengths

1. Ability to declare war
2. Ability to make treaties
3. Authority to operate post offices

The information above was included in a slide-show presentation to a high school history class. Which document was the focus of this presentation?

• The Mayflower Compact

• The Articles of Confederation

• The Virginia Declaration of Rights

• The Declaration of Independence

The Articles of Confederation allowed each state only one vote in Congress. Which question reflects a major concern states had about this arrangement?

• Should states attempt to resolve conflicting claims to territory?

• Should states change their procedure for selecting representatives?

• Should unanimous state approval for national laws be required?

• Should more populous states receive greater representation?

How did the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance affect U.S. expansion?

• by funding a transportation network in uninhabited regions

• by establishing a process for territories to govern themselves

• by promoting the growth of southern plantation economies

• by creating a national bank to loan money to land investors

The Northwest Ordinance established guidelines for the orderly expansion of the United States by instituting a

• method to purchase territory from foreign powers

• procedure for military takeovers

• process through which states could be added to the Union

• compromise line that prohibited slavery in the west

The Northwest Ordinance is considered a historical milestone because it

• more than doubled the size of the United States

• established a method for admitting new states to the Union

• encouraged state legislatures to ratify the Constitution

• proposed treaties with American Indians to allow the peaceful settlement of new territories

After the end of the Revolutionary War, states were eager to expand into newly available territory. The states of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia argued over competing claims to land west of the Appalachian Mountains. This conflict was addressed by the-

• Missouri Compromise

• Wilmot Provison

• Northwest Ordinance

• Kansas-Nebraska Act

In 1787 the United States was at a crossroads. Farmers in western Massachusetts had rebelled the year before over property taxes. The state struggled to end the rebellion. Events such as this one contributed to the decision to

• sign the Treaty of Paris

• repeal the Intolerable Acts

• declare an embargo on imported goods

• restructure the federal government