Transcript A-C Weaknesses - Montgomery County Schools

Objective: To
examine the
weaknesses of the
Articles of
Confederation.
United States of America
Articles of
Confederation
The Articles of Confederation
Established a confederation—
an association of independent
sovereign states with certain
common goals
Adopted the Articles of
Confederation in November 1777
The states retained most of their
powers and we had a weak
national government.
Why do you think the federal
government was intentionally
made weak?
The Articles of Confederation - the first
central government of the United States
- The main power of Congress involved foreign affairs.
- All 13 states had to agree on all amendments.
- 9 of the 13 states had to agree on all federal laws.
* Under the Articles of Confederation, the states had more
power than the federal government.
Examples: taxation and law enforcement
* The Articles of Confederation had a weak federal
government on purpose because they were afraid of
their experiences with the British monarchy and
Parliament.
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
I. Currency Issues
• The United States did not have a common currency.
• Americans carried money from
the federal government, state
government, and foreign nations.
• Merchants stopped accepting money from outside of their
own state, causing a lot of money to become worthless.
• This caused an increase in inflation.
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
II. Debt
• Congress could not tax the people and depended on
money from the states.
• Therefore, the U.S. was unable to pay its debts!
Examples:
- The U.S. owed money to France, Holland, and Spain for
loans made during the Revolutionary War.
- The U.S. had not paid many of their own soldiers!
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
III. International and Domestic Problems
• The U.S. lacked the
military power to defend
itself against Great
Britain and Spain.
• States acted as
individual countries and
seldom agreed.
Example:
- Connecticut and Virginia
almost went to war over
land claims!
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
Courts (Judicial Branch)
The nation
lacked a
national
court system.
•
Supreme Court
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
President (Executive Branch)
The nation did
not have a
President, or
Chief Executive.
•
White House
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
Congress (Legislative Branch)
• Congress had one house. (unicameral)
• Laws were difficult to pass, needing the
approval of nine states.
• Congress was responsible to the states, not
the people.
Capitol Building
• Congress had no power to collect taxes,
regulate trade, coin money, or establish a
military.
Objective: To examine the settlement of the Northwest
Territory
The Northwest Territory
• Was a need to organize the settlement of the
vast Northwest Territory—present-day
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan
Land Ordinance of 1785
• Land would be surveyed and divided into a neat
grid of townships, each 6 miles square.
• Each township had 36 sections, each 1 mile square.
• Government owned four of the sections.
• One section would be sold to support public schools.
• This same regular grid was used in other territories.
It ended many boundary disputes.
Land
Ordinance
of 1785
• Congress
surveyed the
land into
squares 6
miles on
each side.
(townships)
Land
Ordinance
of 1785
• Each town
was divided
into 36
smaller
sections, 640
acres each.
(the cost was
a minimum
of $1 per
acre)
Land
Ordinance
of 1785
• People
pooled their
money in
order to be
able to
afford a
piece of
land.
Theoretical
township
diagram
showing
method of
numbering
sections with
adjoining
sections.
Township Map
Sargent County, North Dakota
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
• When 5,000 free
males of voting age
settled an area, it
became selfgoverning.
• When the
population reached
60,000 free citizens,
the area could apply
for statehood. Ex.)
OH, IN, IL, MI, WI
• Slavery was outlawed.
Shays’ Rebellion
• Farmer’s income
decreased while taxes
increased.
• Farmers who could not
pay their debts had their
farms taken away by the
courts.
Massachusetts farmer
Daniel Shays and his
supporters occupy a
Massachusetts courthouse.
• Therefore, in 1786, Daniel Shays led a group of farmers in
an attempt to capture a federal arsenal.
Men Fighting
During Shays'
Rebellion
• The U.S., without an organized army, was powerless.
Massachusetts sent a militia to stop the rebellion.
• Shays’ Rebellion convinced many people that the U.S.
needed a new, stronger government.
• The Articles of Confederation needed to be replaced!
This is a picture of Daniel Shays grave in Scottsburg, NY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23vQjYzyx9Q