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Formation of American Government: Articles of Confederation. Bellwork :. Journal- If you were creating a new government, what are the five most important rules that you would include? List and explain. Class work. Read pages 222-227 in your text book - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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FORMATION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT:
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Bellwork:
Journal- If you were creating a new government, what are the five most important rules that you would include? List and explain.
Class work
Read pages 222-227 in your text book Answer the 4 read to discover questions
on page 222 Define the 5 key terms on page 227.
Also define the term Social Contract Put in your NOTES section of your binder
Read to Discover What ideas and documents shaped
American beliefs about government? How did state constitutions contribute to
the development of representative government?
What powers did the central government have under the Articles of Confederation?
What did the Northwest Ordinance accomplish?
Read to Discover What ideas and documents shaped American beliefs
about government?
English Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, Enlightenment How did state constitutions contribute to the
development of representative government? They all believed in the idea of representation and limited
government power What powers did the central government have under the
Articles of Confederation? Make coins/borrow money Negotiate and make treaties Settle conflicts between states
What did the Northwest Ordinance accomplish? Helped to form a political system of the region north of the
Ohio River Created the Northwest Territory
Included present day Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Also created a system for bringing new states to the union
Define Constitution
A set of basic principles that determines the powers and duties of a government.
Republicanism Support for a system of representative government known as a republic.
limited government A political principle which holds that government should be bound by
laws that limit its power. Suffrage
Voting Rights Ratification
Formal approval Social Contract
Agreement between the government and the people
FORMATION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Early Influences
English Influences England limited the power of its king and
queens in two documents Magna Carta: “Great Charter”
Required king to follow the rule of law English Bill of Rights
Kept the king or queen from passing new taxes or laws without Parliament’ approval
Enlightenment People used reason to explain things logically Belief in human goodness John Locke- belief in social contract: the government
had a duty to protect the people’s rights
During the Enlightenment, philosophers often discussed their ideas at elegant social gatherings.
How does the painting suggest the interest that the wealthy had in Enlightenment ideas?
State Constitutions
Constitution- set of basic principles and laws that state the powers and duties of the government During/After the American Revolution, almost every
colony wrote a new state constitution Constitutions showed belief in republicanism
Republicanism- support for a system of gov’t called a republic, where citizens elect representatives
Limited Government- kept leaders from gaining too much power, all leaders have to obey the law and no one has total control.
State Constitutions Cont’d
Most state constitutions protected the individual rights of citizens
Some rights included Trial by jury, freedom of the press, private
ownership of property Separation of church and state Suffrage – voting rights
Varied from state to state
Articles of Confederation
For some colonial leaders, individual state governments were not enough
Other leaders feared that a central government would gain too much power, like in Britain
The Second Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Thirteen, one from each colony This group was to create a national constitution
Met for a month and created the Articles of Confederation
Ratification – official approval
Under the Articles of Confederation
A new Confederation Congress would become the central national government
Each state would have one vote in the congress
No president or court system Confederation had limited powers
Make coins/borrow money Negotiate and make treaties Settle conflicts between states Could ASK for money and troops from states
Northwest Territory
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Helped to form a political system of the region
north of the Ohio River Created the Northwest Territory
Included present day Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Also created a system for bringing new states to the union
Also included a bill of rights Required public education for all citizens of the
region Outlawed slavery in the territory
Bellwork
What makes a government weak? List as many things as possible.
Problems in the New Nation
Congress could do little to protect citizens against foreign threats Could not force states to provide soldiers
for an army No controlled army = difficulty enforcing
treaties Britain and Spain took advantage of the
weakness of the U.S.; didn’t follow all the rules and agreements
Economic Problems
U.S. faced problems with G.B. Britain closed many of its ports to American
ships U.S. merchants had to pay high duties on
U.S. exports British goods flowed freely into the U.S.
British merchants could sell products cheaper than locally made goods
Loss of trade with the British shook the U.S. economyGood
plus tax
$U.S.
U.S.
G.B.
G.B.
Goods
for
free!
Continental Congress could not fix the problem because they did not have the power to pass tariffs-taxes on imports/exports
If one state passed a tariff, British could sell to another state who didn’t have any
No strong government hurt the U.S. economically
Economic Problems at home Interstate commerce – trade between states Congress had no power to regulate this trade Trade laws differed between states, made trade
difficult
Printing Money States printed their own money In order to pay off debts after the Revolution, states
printed large amounts of money, resulting in inflation Inflation - increased prices for goods and services
combined with the reduced value of money
Inflation continues
Debtors- people who owe money Creditors- people who lend money Depression- period of low economic activity
combined with a rise in unemployment
Each state handled its problems differently some refused to print paper $ Some taxed land to raise money
When people could not pay the tax, courts began selling their property.
Some had to spend time in debtors’ prison Some sold themselves as indentured servants
Shays’ Rebellion
September 1786, farmers in 3 Massachusetts counties began a revolt
Angry citizens w/pitchforks and other tools closed down courts in the western part of the state With the courts shut down, no one’s property could be
taken Known as Shays’ Rebellion
Farmer and war veteran Daniel Shays was the main leader At a later uprising , the rebels were eventually
defeated and arrested 14 leaders were sentenced to death State freed most of the rebels, including Shays due to
popular opinion
Results of the rebellion
The rebellion helped to reveal the weakness of the Confederation government
Drew attention to the Articles of Confederation- they weren’t working
The national government could offer little help to the states when they asked
Citizens were calling for a stronger central gov’t
Many felt a change was needed
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No President or court system Could not FORCE the states to provide
money or troops Couldn’t create an army
Could not protect citizens from foreign threats
Difficult to enforce terms of international treaties