United States under the Articles of Confederation
Discuss the following in class:
1. Describe the government under the A of C.
 Unicameral (One House) Legislature
 2-7 delegates per state with one vote per state
 2/3 majority needed to pass legislation
 Unanimous vote needed to amend Articles
2. What powers was the national government granted (listed in Article IX)?
 Make war and peace
 Send and receive ambassadors
 Enter into treaties
 Raise and equip navy
 Maintain an army by requesting troops from the states
 Appoint senior military officers
 Fix standards of weights and measures
 Regulate Indian affairs
 Establish post offices
 Decide certain disputes among states
3. What weaknesses can you identify in the A of C?
 No national executive
 No national court system
 National government could not collect taxes
 National government could not raise an army
 National government could not regulate trade
4. What problems could arise based on the identified weaknesses?
 Domestic affairs: The inability of the national government to raise an army left the US
vulnerable to rebellion. Shay’s rebellion showed the states how ill equipped they were to
respond to control the people if they rebelled.
 Foreign affairs: The inability of the national government to raise an army left the US vulnerable.
For example, key provisions of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, were
not enforced. As a result, the British continued to occupy forts in the Northwest Territory—
land that had technically been ceded to the U.S.
 Currency problems: Many states printed their own money. The national currency, meanwhile,
became almost worthless
 Intrastate commerce: States placed tariffs on each other’s goods. This, combined with currency
problems, led to a sharp decline in intrastate commerce.
 Foreign trade: Other countries placed tariffs and trade restrictions on US goods; the US was not
able to reciprocate. The absence of a strong navy also left US merchant ships vulnerable to
pirates.

Amendment process: It was nearly impossible to fix problems with the A of C because changes
to the document required the approval of every state!