• Essential Question:–What were the long-term problems with

the Articles of Confederation?

• CPUSH Agenda for Unit 3.1: –Clicker Preview Questions–Articles of Confederation notes–Today’s HW: 5.1–Unit 3 Test: September 24

When Americans declared independence in 1776,

they needed to form a new government

They wanted to form a republic where citizens vote for elected leaders

to represent them

They wanted to protect citizens & individual states from a powerful

national government

King George III

The American republic would be a more “enlightened”

version of the Roman Senate

When independence was declared, the 13 colonies became independent states

Each state had its own constitution, legislature, & an elected governor;

8 states had Bills of Rights But, the USA needed a national gov’t to do

things that states could not, like sign treaties

& form a military

America’s 1st national gov’t was the

Articles of Confederation (1777-1789)

This “confederation” style gov’t loosely connected the states under a weak national government

Confederation Government in New York City

Each state could send between 2-7 representatives to the national congress, but each state had only 1 voteTo pass a law,

9 of the 13 states had to agree

The national congress could make laws, settle disputes between

states, negotiate treaties, handle Indian affairs, oversee a military

But all other powers were left up to the states

Confederation Government in New York City

Americans did not want to re-create a powerful gov’t like the one they just fought the Revolutionary War

to break away from

So, the national gov’t had

no president & could not tax the states or citizens

Western Lands, 1783Western Land Claims, 1783

The lands between the Appalachian

Mountains & Mississippi River that were acquired from the British in 1783 were claimed by numerous states.

Many of these land claims overlap.

How should we solve this problem?

The United States, 1783Areas of Settlement, 1783

The Articles established a good system of settling

western lands

Western Land

Claims Ceded by the States

First, states had to cede (give up) their

claims to lands in the west to the national

gov’t

Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 to create an orderly way

to divide the west into townships & farms

Selling western lands was the only way the national

gov’t could generate money since it did not have the power to tax

Land Ordinance of 1785Section 16 of the each township was set aside for a public school

Northwest Ordinance of 1787The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 gave government to the territories

When a territory had

5,000 residents, it could create a self-governing

legislatureWhen a territory

had 60,000 residents,

it could apply to become a

U.S. stateSlavery was outlawed in the NW

Closure Questions The Articles of Confederation

were created intentionally weak– What powers does the

national government have?

– What powers do the individual state governments have?

– What problems do you predict will occur because of these political weaknesses?