Articles of Confederation America’s First Plan of Government

Articles of ConfederationAmerica’s First Plan of Government

Prepared by: Jaime Leverington

The Articles of Confederation

• Discussion PreviewDiscussion Preview– The Basics

• What are the Articles of Confederation?

– The Reasons• What beliefs about

government contributed to their form?

– Governing • How did the government

operate under the Articles of Confederation?

– The Legacy• What is the appropriate

way to remember the Articles?

In 1776, Benjamin Franklin designed this

coin for the Continental currency. What is the

message?

1

The Articles of ConfederationBasics

• What are the What are the Articles of Articles of ConfederationConfederation??

• What are the major What are the major features of the features of the document?document?

2

The Articles of ConfederationBasics

• The major features of the document– Each state retains its

sovereignty– In Congress, each state gets

one vote– In Congress, each state sends

2-7 representatives– No executive power, no

judicial power– 13 states to ratify, took 13 to

amend– 9 states (2/3) to pass a law

3a

John Dickinson

Primary Author

The Articles of ConfederationBasics

• The major challenges of governing under the Articles– Unreliable method of tax

collection– No authority to regulate

interstate commerce– No national currency– No power over individual

citizens– No way to enforce treaties in

states, create uniform foreign policy

3b

Samuel HuntingtonPresident of Confederation Congress, 1781

The Articles of ConfederationBasics

• The tax problem– How were taxes How were taxes

to be collected?to be collected?

– What happened What happened when a State did when a State did not pay its tax not pay its tax bill? bill?

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The Articles of ConfederationReasons

• How do the Articles of Confederation reflect the “Spirit of ’76”?

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The Articles of ConfederationReasons

• What beliefs about government are reflected by the Articles of Confederation?

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“They believed that a federal government was one created by equal and independent states who delegated to it sharply limited authority and who remained superior to it in every way.”

From “The Idea of a National Government” by Merrill Jensen, 1943 on page 357

The Articles of ConfederationReasons

• “The price of union was an exaggerated…….solicitude for state’s rights” – Peter S. Onuf (page 91)

• According to Onuf, How did ‘Confederation Politics’ (pg 88) make the Articles of Confederation an essential step toward union?

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The Articles of ConfederationGoverning

• Case Study 1: The Case Study 1: The Impost TaxImpost Tax– Congress proposes a

5% tax on import goods

– Repeated efforts to amend Articles to allow impost tax fail

• Rhode Island blocks initial attempt

• Repeated attempts also fail.

– Tax revenue challenge is the greatest challenge, no solution under Articles

Independence Hall, Philadelphia

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The Articles of ConfederationGoverning

• Case Study 2: Shay’s Case Study 2: Shay’s RebellionRebellion– A farmer rebellion in

Western Massachusetts

– Congress is unable to respond to it, private banks in Boston fund private army to put it down

– A failure of government to deal with internal security threats.

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The Articles of ConfederationGoverning

• Case Study 3: The Case Study 3: The Northwest Northwest OrdinanceOrdinance– 60 Second Civics

describes Northwest Ordinance

– What does the Northwest Ordinance accomplish?

– Audio Source

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The Articles of ConfederationLegacy

• Did Maryland make the difference?

• If Maryland would have ratified the Articles earlier, they could have gone into effect in Feb. 1778, rather than March of 1781.

• Could the Articles have survived if they were given those 2 years of legitimacy?

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The Articles of ConfederationLegacy

• What is the appropriate way to remember the Articles of Confederation?

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“The failures of the Articles, often exaggerated for rhetorical effect, helped shape the new constitutional order that superseded them.”

“Most important, the Articles established a necessary framework for working towards a continental constitutional order.”From “The First Federal Constitution: The Articles of Confederation” by Peter S. Onuf on page 97