Articles Of Confederation

Artie’s Strengths: 

• Simple Republican 

• Unicameral Congress

• No separation of powers 

• Equal representation (Voting Power) for all states 

• Important Powers

• MIlitary 

• Foreign Powers (creating treaties with foreign government)

• Monetary System: a system in which a government provides money in a country’s economy

• Domestic Mediation 

• Support from the States 

• Promises to contribute taxes and troops 

Underlying Health Problems: 

• Lack of tax Revenue 

• Congress could not compel tax contributions 

• States did not pay promised taxes 

• Did not agree on basis for taxation 

• Northern states wanted tax based on total non-native American population 

• Southern states did not want to include slaves 

• This means that central government could not pay debts 

Underlying health problems 2: 

• States worked against each other 

• Trade restrictions 

• Taxed each other’s goods  

• Blocked trade in some goods

• Printed separate trade currencies

“Death By A Thousand Cuts”

• States weakened national government by 

• Refusing to meet tax obligations 

• Making illegal treaties with foreign governments 

• States infighting caused economic chaos 

• Inflation 

• Credit Crunch 

• Debt Defaults (Public and Private) 

Economic Chaos Led to Unrest

• Shays’ Rebellion 

Inability to Adapt 

• Too many decisions required 9/13 majorities or unanimity 

Fatal Blows 

• Virginia and Maryland met to work out trade disputes 

• Going around central government 

• Virginia and Maryland led to call for all-state meeting 

• To sort out trade disputes

Annapolis Meeting 

• Results of Virginia all-state meeting proposal 

• Ony 5 states attended 

• Alexander Hamilton (a vocal critic of the confederation) and James Madison called for another 

Philadelphia Meeting 

• 1789 

• Became Constitutional Convention 

• Though many expected to fix the articles of confederation 

This was the death of the Articles