Lecture Notes: Introduction and Economic Issues in the Articles of Confederation

Chapter 1: Introduction

  • Introduction by Dr. Ulier, expressing hope for students' survival during COVID-19.
  • Transition to an online format for the remainder of the semester; no new assignments added.
  • Extra credit increased from 50 to 100 points as rewrites for exams are not feasible.
  • Weekly lectures will be organized under the lessons tab on Blackboard.

Chapter 2: Use The Discussion

  • Students should navigate to lessons on Blackboard for weekly organization of lectures and extra credit.
  • Discussion boards will occur twice per week to maintain attendance.
  • Attendance logged through participation in discussion boards rather than grades.
    • First discussion: log on and share survival experiences/questions.

Chapter 3: All Discussion Board

  • Encouragement to engage more than minimally in discussions is welcomed but not required.
  • All discussions monitored by Dr. Ulier for questions and guidance.
  • Queries regarding course specifics should be posted on the discussion board for shared answers.

Chapter 4: The Economic Problems

  • Articles of Confederation faced structural problems due to the unanimous voting nature of the system.
  • Lack of power to tax or maintain a military led to inter-state economic difficulties.
  • Economic issues stemmed from an outdated heavy metal system based economy, leading to instability.

Chapter 5: Worth The Silver

  • Transition from barter to a specie system, where currency (bills and coins) represented real value.
  • The heavy metal standard lasted until Nixon's presidency; speculation on currency values emerged.
  • Issues of currency devaluation arose when states overprinted money beyond their gold reserves.

Chapter 6: Worth Of Massachusetts

  • Example of Virginia and New York managing their currency responsibly vs. others creating inflation by overprinting.
  • Different state currencies led to trade difficulties; examples shared with barriers in tobacco trade between states due to valuation issues.

Chapter 7: The Massachusetts Government

  • Massachusetts tried to address their currency issues through state laws, causing further trade problems.
  • Similarities drawn with pre-revolution grievances against British trade restrictions.
  • Massachusetts government’s fiscal failures led to a breakdown in trade relations with other states.

Chapter 8: The Massachusetts Government

  • Shays' Rebellion: veteran-led uprising against the oppressive state government taxing their debts.
  • Farmers losing land due to banking policies ignited resentment and rebellion.

Chapter 9: Shays' Rebellion

  • Daniel Shays led the rebellion, attacking records offices and banks to relieve debt burdens.

  • Resulted in recognition of the inherent weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation concerning rebellion.*

  • Highlighted the lack of a standing army and capacity to defend against invasion or unrest.

Chapter 10: Conclusion

  • Discussion of the need for a constitutional convention to address governmental weaknesses demonstrated by Shays' Rebellion.
  • Emphasis on secrecy during talks in Philadelphia to protect from potential threats or intervention from foreign governments.
  • Upcoming focus will be on the Constitutional Convention in the next lecture.