The Articles of Confederati on
Dec 29, 2015
The Articles of
Confederation
Life After the War
• During the American Revolutionary War, all 13 colonies had become separate states, and in turn, they had each established their own laws and constitution.
• These state constitutions gave the people the rights to make the laws.
• The people did not want to have a central government because they felt it would take away their power.
• The Continental Congress decided to create a plan for a national government. • This plan was known as the Articles of Confederation.
Articles of Confederation
• Although the states didn’t want a central government, they knew they needed to work together as one country.
• The Articles of Confederation left most of the power to the states and created a weak national government.
• The Articles of Confederation were accepted by the states in 1781.
Articles of Confederation
Separation of Power
Federal Powers
State Powers
• had little power
• power to declare war• make peace
treaties• make
treaties with other nations• print and
borrow money
• had their own laws and constitution• set up an
army• control
trade• create taxes• control the right to bear
arms• printed their own
money
• The Articles of Confederation gave congress little power.
• In turn, congress could not solve the problems that the new nation was facing.
• Examples include:– States printed their own
money, so people disagreed about the worth of each state’s money
– Congress could not pay off the debts from the war and couldn’t raise money because they weren’t allowed to tax the people
Problems with Articles of
Confederation
• Remember states were able to tax their citizens
• In western Massachusetts, farmers were having to pay high state taxes. They also owed money to merchants, but they couldn’t pay their debts. This upset them.
• Daniel Shays, a farmer, led a protest with a group of 1,000 farmers against the taxes. They tried to steal weapons from the national government.
• Congress could not help stop these protesters because they were not allowed to form an army.
• The state militia was able to defeat the farmers.
• This protest is known as Shays’s Rebellion.
• It was another event that showed how weak the national government was.
Shays’s Rebellion
• People began thinking they needed a stronger national government in order to solve the problems their nation was facing.
• Congress decided to invite the states to send delegates to a meeting in order to discuss ways they could change the Articles of Confederation.
Outcome…
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