The Articles of Confederation

The 1st Constitutionfor

The United States

Each state had 1 vote in Congress

No federal courts

No executive branch and no President

Unicameral Congress

Government Under the Articles

• Representatives had no set term.

• Only powers given to Congress were– Make war and peace– Send and receive ambassadors– Enter into treaties– Raise and equip a navy– Maintain an army

Weaknesses of Articles• No power to levy or collect taxes. Had

to borrow or request money from states.

• No power to regulate trade.

• No power to force anyone to obey the laws.

• Needed 9 of 13 states to pass laws.

• Every state, regardless of population, had equal vote.

• Amendments required consent from all states. (No amendments ever passed!!!)

• No executive branch and no President.

• No national court system.

Weaknesses of Articles

Need for Stronger Government

• Quarrels among the states.– Boundaries– Taxes

• Some states began to deal directly with foreign nations.

• Money problems– Unpaid debt to foreign lenders– Unpaid soldiers

Need for Stronger Government

The Breaking PointSHAY’S

REBELLION• Economic

depression• Armed group of

farmers• Attacked federal

arsenal

The Impact !!!

• Scared American leaders

• Demonstrated how weak the central government really was.

• Caused general public to support the idea of a stronger central government.

The Annapolis Convention

• 1786• Delegates were invited to discuss

commerce.• Meeting successfully resolved some

problems between states.• So another meeting was called in 1787

in Philadelphia to propose changes to make the central government more effective.

1787Some of America’s most brilliant

leaders gathered in Philadelphia.

They immediately skipped any attempt to improve the Articles of Confederation.

They began to write an entirely new Constitution.