Transcript Impact of the War and the Articles of Confederation

Revolution Aftermath and the
Articles of Confederation
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Essential Idea
• As the United States formed its identity, the
Articles of Confederation attempted to
provide a new government.
Impact of War on Society
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Impact of War:
The ideals of equality and
freedom became more popular
These ideals were limited for
women, blacks, and loyalists
Impact of War on Women:
Women took care of farms and
businesses while men fought,
and a few fought themselves
Women felt more empowered
and pushed for more equality
with men
Abigail Adams- wife of future
President John Adams, asked
him to “remember the ladies”
during the revolution
Women’s Role in America?
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Impact on Blacks
Impact of War on Blacks:
Before the war, slavery existed in all colonies
Many people felt slavery did not fit the ideals of equality and freedom
After the war, slavery was eliminated in all northern states, but discrimination
continued
Slavery continued in southern states, where it was vital to the agricultural
economy
The Loyalist Exodus
• Impact of War on
Loyalists:
• Loyalists were
discriminated against
• Loyalist Exodus- around
100,000 loyalists left
America, mostly to
Canada
New Political Ideas
• 1. America created a republic, where power came from people through
elections
• 2. Many states created written constitutions that included branches of
government and lists of rights
• 3. Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom- first law that separated church
and state government and allowed religious freedom
Articles of
Confederation
• Articles of Confederation:
• Created during first year of
American Revolution
• First written plan of
government for the United
States
• Government Structure:
• One branch of government,
the legislative branch
Government under
the Articles
• Congress was unicameral
(one house) and each state
had one representative
• No executive branch to
enforce laws, no judicial
branch to interpret laws
• Laws and amendments
were almost impossible to
pass
• The federal (central)
government was VERY
WEAK, giving most power
to states
Why Weak Federal Government?
• Why weak?
• Many Americans did
not want a strong
federal government
• They worried a strong
federal government
could become
oppressive and give
rise to another king
• Americans wanted as
much freedom as
possible
Strengths and Successes of AOC
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Strength:
Power to declare war and raise an army
Success:
America was able to win the American Revolution and become independent
Strengths and Success of the AOC
• Strength:
• Congress could
control the western
territories
• Success:
• Northwest Ordinance
of 1787- set up a
system for settling the
Northwest Territory
and turning it into
states
• Northwest Ordinance
A Country of Slavery or Freedom?
• This law banned slavery in the Northwest Territory
• This meant the country would be divided between slave and free states as
it expanded
• Slavery’s role in westward expansion caused tension and contributed to
the Civil War
Weaknesses and Failures of the AOC
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Weakness:
Weak federal government
Failures:
Foreign countries did not
respect the United States
• Britain continued to occupy
forts in the Northwest
Territory
• Spain disputed borders with
America and claimed the
Mississippi River, which
southerners needed for
trade
• Congress was too weak to fix
either situation
Weaknesses and
Failures of the AOC
• Weakness:
• No power to regulate trade
or print money
• Failures:
• States printed their own
money
• States competed with each
other and taxed each
others’ trade (tariffs)
• States did not cooperate
economically, creating
disunion
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Weaknesses and Failures of the AOC
Weakness:
No power to tax
Failures:
Could not afford to pay back war debts
Could not afford an army to deal with other countries or rebellions
Could not afford to build infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) to help states trade
States took care of themselves, often with high taxes
Shays’ Rebellion
• Causes:
• Massachusetts
raised taxes to a
high rate to pay its
debts
• Western
backcountry
farmers were hurt
by the tax and
many lost their
farms
Shays’ Rebellion
• Shays’ Rebellion:
• Farmers wanted lower
taxes and an end to
farm foreclosures and
attacked courts
• Daniel Shays led 1,200
farmers to a federal
arsenal to steal
weapons and march to
Boston
• The Massachusetts
militia stopped the
rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion
• Consequences:
• Shays’ Rebellion exposed
the WEAKNESS of the
Articles of Confederation
• There was a threat of
rebellions all over the
country
• Congress could not raise
an army to address this
threat
• Congress could not stop
the financial problems
that led to rebellions
• Problems Under the
Articles
Revise the Articles?
• Revision?
• The Articles of Confederation were TOO WEAK
• Congress authorized the Philadelphia Convention, later called the Constitutional
Convention, to REVISE the Articles
• The convention ended up REPLACING the Articles with the Constitution