Download Articles of Confederation

The Northwest Ordinance
Congress immediately took steps to resolve the problem of the disputed land in the west. The
Land Ordinance of 1785 marked off all the land east of the Mississippi into townships and put up
640-acre lots in the townships for sale, at the minimum price of $1 per acre. One section of each
township was reserved for a public schoolhouse. The Land Ordinance of 1787, commonly called
the North- west Ordinance, established the rules for governing the Northwest Territory.
This map shows the borders of the states as of 1787, including the western lands each state
claimed. The Northwest Territory includes the present-day states of Wisconsin, Michigan,
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
Congress believed that the Northwest Territory would eventually be settled and that the settlers
would want to join the United States. Therefore, it established a process by which this would
happen. First, the territory should be divided into three to five smaller parcels of land. Second,
Congress would appoint a governor, a secretary, and three judges for each territory. Third, when
the population of a territory reached 5,000, voters would elect a legislature and send a nonvoting
delegate to Congress. Fourth, a territory would become eligible for statehood when the
population reached 60,000. The territory would draft a state constitution; upon congressional
approval of the constitution by a Yea vote of nine or more states, the territory would become a
state.
The Northwest Ordinance also guaranteed civil rights in the territories and banned slavery.
Opposition to slavery had been growing among the northern delegates, who were uncomfortably
aware of the irony of declaring their own independence while denying it to the African-American
population. However, the southerners refused to give up the system of free labor that had brought
them so much prosperity, and the Articles of Confederation gave Congress no power to do
anything about it. The Northwest Ordinance stated that escaped slaves seeking sanctuary in the
territories must be returned to their owners.
The Economy
It quickly became apparent that the Articles of Confederation were not a sufficiently strong basis
for a national government. Because Congress had no power over the states, it could accomplish
very little. Any new legislation it wanted to pass required the support of nine states, and
delegates within a state often could not agree on how to cast their vote, let alone agreeing with
delegates from other states.
Because Congress had given itself no power to tax the states or the people, it had great difficulty
conducting the Revolutionary War. The troops often went without food, necessary supplies, and
new boots and uniforms because there was no way for Congress to purchase these items. States
frequently put off paying their share of these expenses into the national treasury, and Congress
had no leverage to make them pay more or pay more promptly. George Washington and the
other military commanders were probably more acutely aware than anyone of the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation, since they saw the evidence of these weaknesses every day in their
struggles on the battlefield.
During the war, the United States accumulated a substantial debt. After the war ended, Congress
had no means of raising taxes to pay the debt. Congress printed and began to circulate paper
money, but merchants refused to accept it, claiming that it had no value. Unemployment rose and
business activity fell off, causing an economic depression in 1784. Britain had closed some of its
markets to American imports, then flooded the United States with inexpensive goods. American
merchants could not compete with British prices and quickly began to lose money. The desperate
economic situation led to Shays’s Rebellion.
Daniel Shays was a farmer and a Revolutionary War captain. When Massachusetts began raising
taxes on land to help the economy recover, and seized land for nonpayment of taxes, Shays and
others rebelled. They shut down debtor courts and marched on Springfield, intending to seize an
arsenal of weapons stored there. The governor of Massachusetts called out the militia to stop
them. When the fighting began in late January 1787, four of Shays’s men were killed. By the end
of February, the rebellion had been put down, and political leaders realized that the United States
needed a stronger central government.
Foreign Policy
The Articles of Confederation made no provision for a foreign office, making it impossible to
force Britain to fulfill its obligations as described in the Treaty of Paris. Congress could also do
nothing to prevent the continuing impressment of American sailors into service on British
warships.
James Madison of Virginia published his opinions in “Vices of the Political System of the United
States” in April 1787. First, Madison argued that the states had failed to comply with reasonable
constitutional demands for taxes. Second, some states had trespassed on one another’s rights.
Third, individual states had entered into agreements with Indians in defiance of the Articles of
Confederation. Fourth, the national economic depression made it clear that the states would not
voluntarily work together in defense of their common interests. Madison’s clear, declarative
statements and specific examples impressed many readers. George Washington, who had had
every opportunity to observe the concrete results of Congress’s impotence during the war, agreed
with Madison, writing, “I predict the worst consequences from a half-starved, limping
government, always moving upon crutches and tottering at every step.”
Madison’s arguments, and those of his supporters, convinced the leaders that they would have to
try again. In May 1787, delegates from all the colonies except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia
to write the U.S. Constitution.