Articles of Confederation Weakness

What was the first constitution of the United States?

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Articles of Confederation

• The U.S. Constitution

• The Bill of Rights

On what date did the United States declare its independence?

• April 1775

• July 4, 1776

• November 15, 1777

• March 1, 1781

Under the Articles of Confederation, which entity held the most power?

• The National Government

• The President

• The States

• The Supreme Court

What was a significant weakness of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation regarding laws?

• It could not declare war.

• It could not issue money.

• It had no power to enforce laws.

• It required only a simple majority to pass laws.

What was a major financial weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation?

• It could only borrow money from foreign countries.

• It had no power to collect taxes.

• States refused to issue their own money.

• It was required to pay all state debts.

What was a primary cause of Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts?

• Farmers demanding higher prices for their goods.

• Business owners refusing to pay farmers for crops.

• Farmers facing arrest and loss of farms due to unpaid debts and high taxes.

• The national government attempting to seize state arsenals.

-Very little power was given to the Federal Government
-States had the majority of power
-Federal government could not tax or raise and army
All of these are examples of 

• Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
• Strengths of the Articles of Confederation
• Weaknesses of the U.S. Constitution
• Strengths of the U.S. Constitution

This picture shows which weakness of the Articles?

• no common currency
• no executive branch
• no power to tax
• one vote for each state

No power to tax citizens was another weakness of the Articles of Confederation, Why do you think it was like that?

• Citizens wanted to protect individual states taxing power

• Fear of being over taxed

In order to change (amend) the Articles of Confederation,  __________ out of 13 states had to agree. 

• 9
• 10
• 13
• 15