Developing the U.S. Constitution/Articles of Confederation

First constitution of the United State

The Articles of Confederation

Who write the Articles of Confederation

The Second Continental Congress

What committee was appointed by the Continental Congress to create a national constitution?

The Committee of Thirteen

What is a republic

A government system in which political power comes from the people, either directly or through representatives

Under the Articles of Confederation, what body made up the central government?

The confederate congress

Features of the Articles of Confederation

• Had a weak federal government and powerful states

• There was only one branch of government

• Each state had one vote, regardless of size or population

• There was no president

• Federal government could not tax people but could ask states for money (which they were not required to pay)

• Federal government could not raise an army *Could not be changed without unanimous vote of all states

How many states had to ratify the Articles of Confederation before it could take effect?

All 13

What was the one good thing that came from the Articles of Confederation?

The Northwest Ordinance

What did the government use the money they gained from selling land in the Northwest Ordinance for?

Paying off war debt from the American Revolution

What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 do

• Set up system for admitting new states

• Required public education in the Northwest Territory (set aside the 16th section for public schools)

• Prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory

• Paid off war debt from American Revolution by selling land in the Northwest Territory

Section set aside for public school

16 section

According to the Northwest Ordinance, what was the process for a territory becoming a state?

Once the population of a territory reached 60,000, the territory could write a constitution and ask Congress for permission to join the United States

How did other countries feel about the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation?

They did not respect the United States

How did Spain take advantage of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation?

Closed the Mississippi River to American farmers and merchants

Under the Articles of Confederation, what could Congress do to solve the problem of Spain closing the Mississippi River?

Nothing because it had no power to pass tariffs

What is a tax on imported goods?

Tariffs

Could states print their own money under the Articles of Confederation?

Yes

What is inflation?

Increased prices for goods and services combined with the reduced value of money

What is a depression?

A period of low economic activity combined with a rise in unemployment

What was Shay’s Rebellion

After the American Revolution, the United States had to pay back war debt, but Under the Articles of Confederation, the government could not tax the people to get that money. Massachusetts started taxing the land of farmers in order to get the needed money. However, the farmers did not have the money, so Massachusetts started seizing the farmers’ land or putting the farmers into debtors’ prisons. Daniel Shays led a rebellion in which they shut down the courts that were taking the land from the farmers. Shays’ Rebellion was quickly put down, but its significance is that it revealed the serious weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, especially the federal government’s inability to raise an army.

Seeing that the Articles of Confederation had serious problems, the states decided to send delegates to Philadelphia to try to change the Articles so that they would work.

True

Know this quote from the Declaration of Independence 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.