Download Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation
America’s Government from
1776-1789
What are the Articles of
Confederation?
• The first government of the United
States of America
• Confederation- a loose alliance of states
or countries, usually for defensive
purposes
• The individual states had most of the
power under this form of government
• People were still wary of a big central
government after being ruled by Great
Britain
What was the purpose?
• It was the first constitution (written plan
of government) for the United States of
America
• Gave the states a government that
could negotiate with foreign powers
• Created an organizational structure for
to coordinate defensive purposes.
Strengths
• Set up a government that negotiated the
Treaty of Paris ending the war
• Organized the western territories
• Created a method for admitting new
states
Any congressional actions needed
approval of 9 of the 13 states
Weaknesses
• Congress was severely limited in its
powers.
• could not raise money by collecting taxes;
• had no control over foreign commerce
(trade)
• could pass laws but could not force the
states to comply with them.
• The government was dependent on the
willingness of the various states to carry
out its measures, and often the states
refused to cooperate.
• The articles were virtually impossible to
amend, so problems could not be corrected
George Washington on the
Articles of Confederation
"little more than the shadow without
the substance."
Think-Pair-Share
• What did George Washington mean
when he said that the Articles of
Confederation were, "little more than
the shadow without the substance.“?
• What did Shay’s Rebellion demonstrate
about the strength of the national
government under the Articles of
Confederation?
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