ARTICLES OF Confederation

The first constitution of the United States

The next few slides are informationYou do not have to take notes on these

When we last left our Founding Fathers….

• Declaration just signed (July 4, 1776)

• American Revolution kicks into full swing

After winning its independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, our new country needed to fashion some form of governmental system.

The Articles of Confederation represent the first constitutional agreement made between the 13 American states.

So…What happened next?

• Worked on it for 17 months (OMG!)

• Not ratified until March of 1781• Required all 13 states for

ratification (approval)

• 11 agreed right away• Delaware: 1779

• Maryland: 1781

Can you image talking about the same thing for that

long!?

So what did it say?

Article II:

“Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”

…which pretty much means each state got to do their own thing and kept the

power

That means “power”

Th

at

means

“abili

ty t

o

make

law

s”

So what did it say?

Article III

They would have

“…a firm league of friendship with each other…”

…which pretty much means they’d “try” to get along.

But states kept fighting with each other and didn’t respect each others laws and system of

governing

So, it created a “Confederation: a union of persons, parties, or

states; a league”So pretty much this document, written by the Second Continental Congress, set up a WEAK central government with only a

legislative branch (Congress).

The A of C had good things and bad things

Troubles with the Articles

• Congress had NO POWER to collect taxes

• Congress had NO POWER to regulate trade

…but we needed taxes to pay of our debt from the war

…so people were being “ripped off” and states started to fight over crops and prices

of items

So…pretty much…it wasn’t working

Shay’s Rebellion

Because Daniel Shay’s had fought in the Revolutionary War, but not been paid for his military service, he was in a lot of DEBT and was about to have his farm foreclosed.

So him and other farmers decided to revolt against our newly formed government.

and then something happened to get EVERYONES attention

Shays, with an army of about 2,200 men, took their guns, swords and pitchforks to the capital of Massachusetts in PROTEST!

What happened next?In the words of George Washington, the

government created by the Articles of the Confederation was "little more than the shadow without the substance.“ (pretty much…it wasn’t working!!)

As the need for a stronger federal government began to be realized, leaders from throughout the states got together to decide how to create it. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was responsible for drafting the Constitution of the United States, which replaced the A of C.

Read Together – page 74

1. Read the passage on the “Articles of Confederation” .

2. You can do it as a “bump” activity with your partners.

3. Highlight key information in the passage.

4. Answer questions #7-8.

RATIFY   To vote to approve 

 AMEND 

 To change 

 DELEGATE Representatives/elected officials at a meeting 

 CONFEDERATION A group of individuals or states who band together for a common purpose

 AFFIRM To verify that something is true

 REPEAL To cancel a law 

 RESIDE To stay in a place

 CONSTITUTION A written plan of government 

Vocabulary Check

A. Ratify B. Amend C. delegate D. confederation

E. Affirm F. repeal G. reside H. constitution

___ 1. To cancel a law

___ 2. To stay in a place

___ 3. Representatives/elected officials at a meeting

___ 4. A written plan of government

___ 5. To change

___ 6. To verify that something is true

___ 7. To vote to approve

___ 8. A group of individuals or states who band together for a common purpose

F

G

C

H

B

E

A

D

Articles of Confederation Take the Notes- page 88

• Essential Question- Identify what the Articles of Confederation is and explain how the weaknesses in the document led to writing a new Constitution.

Notes

• Date: 1777 – ratified 1781 by all 13 states

• Authors: delegates at the 2nd Continental Congress

• Purpose: to create the first form of national government ( a constitution) for the new independent states

Did you know?

George Washington might had been our first president, but he did not start until 1789. We had no president under the Articles of Confederation!

Notes (continued)

• Problems with the Articles:1) most power resided (stayed)

with the states2) Created a weak central/national gov’t

No power to tax the states No power to enforce laws on the

states Needed all 13 states to agree to

amend any laws

•

Notes

Influence on the Constitution:

• weaknesses in the Articles was causing the country to fall apart

• led to the writing of our current constitution

Fundamental Principles

• Democracy

• Limited government

• Representative government

Review Together

• Click on the link below to review the Articles of Confederation.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7FQsCcbD8

Study the cartoon below and answer the questions together.

• Identify the problems of the Articles of Confederation.

• Who does the artist imply has no power under the Articles?

• Using your background knowledge, what does it mean by “rough sailing ahead”?

Congratulations!!! You are finished the lesson but you have to complete the activities below too…

•Write a summary for the lesson.

• Did you highlight new vocabulary in your notes?

• Complete the assignment on the bottom of page 87.