Bellwork

• In the last lesson, we discussed that the colonies had finally gained independence from Britain. At the time, however, there was no national (federal) government, but rather small governments from each state working independently of one another. What effect do you think all these smaller, independent governments would have on the new nation? How do you think the founders would attempt to solve this issue?

American History

Section 7, Unit 1Articles of Confederation

Objectives• Define a “confederation”• Identify the growth of state constitutions and

how they inspired a national constitution• Describe the framework of the confederation• List out problems that arose under the Articles

Quick Review

• Who won the American Revolution? • What was the effect of the Treaty of Paris of

1783?

Issues Growing

• Within a few years of the American victory in Yorktown, Revolutionary leaders feared for the future.

• Revolutionary leaders– including George Washington– were alarmed by the quarreling among the states.

Issues Growing

• Alexander Hamilton, for example, described the states as “petty”, who were disunited and only operating for their own gain, rather than for the benefit of the whole.

• The revolutionary leaders believed that the goal of the Revolution was to be united and that something had to be done to ensure this.

State Constitutions• The American Revolution

brought an end to monarchial rule in America.

• The colonists open rebellion forced royal governors from office.

• To fill the void, the Second Continental Congress advised the colonies “under the authority of the people” to form new governments.

State Constitutions (cont.)

• Between 1776 and 1780, all the states except for Connecticut and Rhode Island drafted and ratified new constitutions.– Connecticut and Rhode Island simply revised their

royal charters. • Despite differences in economy, geography, and

population, the states adopted similar constitutions which defined (1) executive power, (2) voting rights, and (3) separation of church of state.

Republic

• To form a new government, the state legislatures relied on Republican theory and formed a republic- a form of government in which political leaders receive from the citizens their authority to make and enforce laws (i.e. an absence of a monarchy).

Republic• A republic also means that all people within a

nation are treated equally by the laws. Republic’s also feature a Constitution, which does not exist in pure democracies.

• A republic in this sense is not much different from a representative democracy, in which people vote for a representative to make decisions, rather than the people making decisions directly (direct democracy)

Fun Fact: The Founders criticized democracy, which in their time meant “direct democracy”, hence why they use the term “Republic”.

Self-Government

• The ideas of self-government were not new to the Americans.

• The Mayflower Compact of 1620 had incorporated these ideas and the idea of enlightened thinkers such as John Locke were familiar to them.

American Republicanism

• American Republicanism, however, went further than John Locke’s beliefs in challenging older forms of political and social order.

American Republicanism

• Americans took the radical step of rejecting monarchies and began to participate in politics.

• Americans had took hold of the beliefs of natural rights (life, liberty, property) and self government and they knew they could govern their own communities.

Limited Government

• Many Americans had resented the power of the royal government, who had often abused their power to overturn laws the elected assemblies had passed.

• As a result, most state constitutions had articles/amendments that limited the power of the governors. – For example, nine states limited governors to 1-year terms

and denied them veto power. In other states, governors shared the power with the legislatures.

• Regardless, however, all states had a system that ensured the governors were elected in some way or form.

Separation of Church and State• Aside from curbing the power of the governors,

many state constitutions reduced the influence of the church in government.

• Before the revolution, several New England colonies had collected taxes to support the church.

• New York and some southern colonies used tax money to support the English Church. People had to pay even if they did not belong to the church.

Question; Why would people not want to pay taxes to the churches any longer?

Opposition• Baptist and Presbyterian

dissenters and liberal thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson opposed this close relationship between the government and religion (usually one particular religion).

• Such a bond, they argued, often lead to abuses of political power and to religious wars.

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

• In 1779, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom which began with, “Whereas almighty god has created the mind free;… legislators and rulers… has assumed dominion over the faith of others”.

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

• The document went on to argue that forcing a citizen to give money in support of an opinion they may not agree with is “sinful and tyrannical”.

• Virginia adopted the statute in 1786 and by 1833, all of the states that existed had forbade the establishment of official state churches supported by tax dollars.

Plan for Confederation

• State constitutions set the framework for the government of the former colonies. However, there was no framework on the national level.

• The Continental Congress had been fulfilling the duties of a national government since 1774, but it had no real authority.

• To secure national unity, the Congress knew that it had to create a plan for a centralized government.

The Articles of Confederation

• The states were willing to join a loose union, but were unwilling to give up power to a national government.

• In 1776, a congressional committee began the difficult task of drafting a plan for national unity that the states would accept.

The Articles of Confederation

• On July 12, 1776, the committee presented the Articles of Confederation to the other congressional delegates.

• For 16 months, the delegates debated the plan and finally adopted it on November 15, 1777.

• The Articles created a confederation– or an alliance– of states while guaranteeing each its “sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”

Question: What is “sovereign”

Acting independently without outside interference; being autonomous

The Articles of Confederation (cont.)

• The articles authorized a newly formed Congress to borrow and coin money, conduct foreign affairs, set policy toward Native Americans, and settle disputes between states.

• As well, Congress could ask the states to contribute money to the central government and to provide recruits for the military.

• The articles also allowed each state one vote in Congress, so each state would be able to have a voice in the national affairs.

Land Problem

• For the plan to take effect, all 13 states had to ratify (approve) it. One major issue that blocked ratification was the western lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.

• On the basis of the old royal charters, several states held vast western claims. States without land claims wanted the other states to surrender their new holdings to the federal government.

The yellow area is what the states without land claims wanted the other states to surrender to the national government.

Land Problem (cont.)

• Part of the problem was money. Each state was expected to help pay the war debt. States with western lands had additional resources of revenue.

• Those states without a surplus of land faced the prospect of raising taxes– which was not a popular course of action.

New York and Virginia

• To promote national unity, New York and Virginia– the states with the largest land holdings– yielded their land claims to Congress. Other states began to follow suit.

• By 1781, all of the states had agreed to enter the confederation, marking the beginning of “The United States of America.”

Land Ordinance of 1785

• The Confederation knew, however, that the problem of western lands remained.

• To regulate the disposal of the land, Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785, which marked off the land into townships and divided each township into 640-acre sections.

Land Ordinance of 1785

• The ordinance permitted the cash sale of 640-acre tracts for no less than a dollar per acre and reserved one section of each tract for the establishment of a school.– So, to buy a township, one

would need $640 (at the time).

– This ordinance also marked the first government aid given to public education.

Northwest Ordinance

• Two years later, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which established a system of governing the Northwest territory (present-day Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin).

• Congress intended that new states would be carved out of the northwest territory. All the states listed above would begin to form during the early 19th century.

Northwest Territory

Northwest Ordinance

• The Northwest Ordinance ensured eventual self-rule in the territory and guaranteed basic civil rights and banned slavery in the territory.

• The ban reflected a growing anti-slavery sentiment in the northern states. – However, while the ban only prevented slavery

from being instituted, the ordinance required escaped slaves be returned to their owners.

Weaknesses of the Confederation

• The land ordinances established a pattern of land settlement for the next 75 years and marked an important achievement for the confederation.

• However, Congress would achieve little else. • Issues plagued the confederation such as: (1)

lack of a central government, (2) tax issues, (3) money issues, and (4) honoring the Treaty of Paris.

Central Government

• On paper, the Confederation government enjoyed broad powers, but in reality was quite weak.

• Proposed changes to the Articles needed the consent of all 13 states and new legislation needed the approval of at least 9 states.

Question: why would getting the approval of 9 states be difficult?

Central Government

• Since there were only 13 states, it was difficult reaching an agreement with 9 of them because the northern and southern states rarely agreed with one another.

• The fragile bonds that united the states during the war was weak during peacetime.

Question

• Congress could ask the states for funds. They could not force them. What do you think the states would say if Congress asked them for money? How could this cause financial issues for the national government?

Financial Issues• Because Congress could not tax the people directly

or force states to pay for the war debt (because states hid behind their independent status to avoid paying), Congress was forced to print more money.

Workers minting new coins.

Continentals• Congress began to print

dollars– called “Continentals”– which were not backed by gold or silver.

• Because they had no valuable resources backing them, merchants and lenders refused to accept them. – Unlike today, money back

then was only considered valuable if there was gold or silver backing it.

Financial Issues (cont.)

• In 1779, it took 38 Continentals to buy any product that was worth a dollar in gold. By 1781, the price rose to 100 Continentals. – The market became overfilled with these

worthless dollars, making them less valuable for every extra one that was printed. Because their value fell, inflation rose.

• The widespread inflation frustrated many Americans.

Depression• The Confederations economic worries were

increased by an economic depression– sharp drop in economic activity and rising unemployment– in 1786.

• The primary cause of the depression was the loss of British markets. Prior to the war, Americans traded with Britain and the Empire.

• After the war, Britain closed many of its colonial markets to American markets, meaning that less money and resources were coming into the American economy.

Depression (cont.)• To make matters worse,

Britain and France were also flooding the United States with inexpensive goods. American merchants could not compete.

• Congress was powerless to do anything because the Articles did not give them power to intervene in international trade. Each state was essentially on its own.

Diplomatic Issues

• The U.S. also faced diplomatic issues. • Britain refused to abandon its’ forts in North

America on the grounds that Americans were not honoring the Treaty of Paris.

• Under the Articles, the national government could not force the states to honor the treaty and, as a result, few Americans paid their debts to the British. – As well, few states complied to return property to the

Loyalists who had their property seized during the war.

Question

• With all of these issues facing the new nation, how do you think the citizens are going to react? Do you think they’re going to attempt to do anything? What would you do if you were in their shoes?

Beginning of a Rebellion

• The weak Confederation also proved unable to help farmers, who had been particularly hard hit by the war and its aftermath. The depression and widespread inflation left farmers with fewer markets to sell their goods and little money to pay their debts.

• Many farmers could not afford to use gold or silver to buy equipment and other goods.

Issues in Massachusetts

• In Massachusetts, the legislature passed a law that imposed a heavy tax on land.

• If a landowner did not pay the tax, the state would seize the property. Outraged farmers sent petitions to the legislature, complaining of “taxation without representation”.

• Farmers asked the legislature to print more paper money and to stop foreclosures.

Shay’s Rebellion

• When the Massachusetts legislature adjourned in July in 1786 without addressing the tax issue, the farmers rebelled.

Shays’ Rebellion

• Under the leadership of Daniel Shays, a former Revolutionary War captain, angry farmers took up arms and defended their property rights and political representation.

• In what became known as Shays’ Rebellion, mobs of farmers shut down debtor courts and stopped auctions of property.

Shays’ Rebellion

• The most serious threat to peace began in late 1786.

• Shays and some 1,200 farmers set out for Springfield, Mass., intent on seizing the federal arsenal. Worried that Shays forces would overrun the militiamen guarding the arsenal, the governor quickly called for more than 4,000 additional recruits.

Attack on the Arsenal

• Shays and his men launched their attack in late January. However, when cannon fire killed four of the farmers, Shays’ men fled. By the beginning of 1787, the militia had crushed the rebellion.

Springfield Armory

Consequences

• Despite Shays defeat, the rebellion helped the farmers.

• The Massachusetts legislature did away with direct taxes and passed a debtor-relief program that prevented creditors from seizing household goods and tools.

Effects of the Rebellion

• Other than tax issues, Shays’ rebellion had several other consequences:– It highlighted the weaknesses of the Confederation to

help bring an end to the rebellion– It made people question whether or not there truly

was national unity– those who initially opposed a national government now believed it to be necessary

– It reminded many Americans that the people have the right to rebel against unfavorable government laws

Post-Shays’ Rebellion

• After Shays’ Rebellion, national leaders began to realize that a new form of government would be necessary to create true national unity. In the same year Shays’ Rebellion ended, Congress requested that all 13 states come together for a new convention.

• This convention would be the beginning of one of the most radical changes in American history.

Review Objectives

• Define a “confederation”• Identify the growth of state constitutions and

how they inspired a national constitution• Describe the framework of the confederation• List out problems that arose under the Articles

Questions

• If you have any questions, please ask now.

Next Lesson

• In the next lesson, we are going to be discussing the drafting of the Constitution.

Review1. Why do you think the creators of the Articles made the

federal government so weak while giving the states so much power? What would have inspired them to do so?

2. What factors helped cause a major depression in the United States?

3. List and describe at least 4 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that you saw in this lesson.

4. What were the three effects of Shays’ Rebellion on the Confederation? Explain each.

5. What two concepts were in the early state constitutions that we still have today?

6. Why did the Continental Congress feel it was necessary to form the Articles of Confederation? What were they trying to achieve?