3.7 Articles of Confederation

10/8/21

Learning Objective: Explain how different forms of government developed and changed as a result of the Revolutionary period

Theme Focus: Politics and Power

State Constitutions

• Put power in the hands of the legislative branch

• Qualifications for voting and citizenship

The Articles

• Served as Americas first constitution

• Adopted in 1777, but not ratified until 1781

• Unified the states in a loose confederation

• Confederation: grouping of states for a common goal

• Gives the states almost too much power that there wasn’t much room for a federal government

• Created a central government with limited power

• Legislative branch

• No exclusive branch (thanks to King George)

• Didn’t want someone to start a monarchy

• The judicial system left to the states

• Were able to make their own laws and criminal punishments

The West

• Discussion over what to do with western lands: who controlled it?

• The Old Northwest: northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi, and south of the Great Lakes

• Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin

• Land Ordinance of 1785: land to be sold off to help pay for debt

• A short term fix to pay off debts to England

• Northwest Ordinance (1787): protocol for admitting new states

• Process for a territory becoming a state

• Could apply with a population of at least 60,000

• Conflict of boundaries for states and had to argue where the borders were in court

• Paused for public education of private property, and a ban on slavery in the Northwest Territory

Problems with the Articles

• Each state got 1 vote

• Gave different weights to each state. Ex. Rhode Island has a smaller population than Virginia but still get the same amount of votes, giving Rhode Island’s vote more weight

• New amendments required 13/13 colonies to vote yes

• The central government was too weak, had very little control over the colonies

• Unable to handle,...

• International trade

• Finance

• Interstate commerce

• Different currency in each state

• Foreign relations

• Internal unrest

• Troubled times needed a more tightly woven country