Articles of Confederation and
the Northwest Territory
_______________________
•  During the American Revolution, the
new U.S. needed to create a permanent
government.
•  Problems:
–  1) Fear of _________________,
–  2) states did not want to give up
__________________________
________________________
Created
•  Second Continental Congress set up a
new government called the
_______________________________
–  confederation: alliance of the 13 states
•  Created a national _______________
(Congress)
–  Each state had one (1) vote
–  Power divided between national and state
governments
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Powers Under AoC
•  National Powers:
–  Make peace with other countries
–  ____________________
–  Sign treaties
–  ________________________ money
–  Mediate boundary disputes
–  Manage _________________________
–  Administer Indian affairs outside state boundaries
•  State Powers: _______________________
AoC Approved! However
•  _____ of 13 had to vote to pass a law.
•  _____ states needed to amend Articles
•  Approved 11/1777, __________ 3/1781
___________________
•  Land gained with Treaty
of Paris of 1763
•  Some of original 13
states tried to claim this
land
–  Good farm land
–  They gave up claims
when
____________________
was approved
•  Thousands moving to
this area after
Revolution
2
______________________
•  Divided up the land into
__________________
–  Made it more
affordable for people to
buy land
–  Each township was 36
square miles
–  Then each township
was divided again in to
36 sections that was 1
square mile
–  At least 1 of 36 had to
be for ____________
________________________
•  Congress provided the procedure for
dividing up the territory _____________
–  Set the procedures for becoming a _____
–  Congress would allow them to come into
US on an equal footing with original states
•  Basic rights of _________were assured
–  Set precedent for the _______________
–  Guaranteed ________ form of government
•  No ___________ in Northwest Territory
Problems with AoC
•  National gov t __________________
–  States wanted to keep sovereignty
•  Didn’t want to give up power
•  States constantly fighting
–  National government did not have power to
________________ laws or solve disputes
•  No Executive or Judicial Branches
3
Even More Problems
•  No ___________________ economy
–  Country in major ______ due to Revolution
•  Treaty of Paris required Britain to leave
forts in U.S.
–  Britain refused to leave
–  Our military ______________to force them
•  Spain closed the __________________
–  Farmers couldn’t get goods to market
•  _______________ were always fighting
__________Rebellion (1786)
•  Impoverished
______ losing farms
•  Demand
Massachusetts
reform __________
and suspend
property takeovers
•  When Mass refused,
Shays raises an
army and closed
down courts
Shays Rebellion
•  Massachusetts state militia squashed
the rebellion
•  Rich believed this was the beginning of
a _______________ of common people
•  Showed _______________________
–  Many believed national govt should
______________________________
–  Could have prevented this
•  Need for national _________________
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Constitutional Convention
• 
• 
• 
• 
May, 1787
55 delegates meet to ____________ Articles
Realized __________ national gov t needed
Could not get all 13 states to attend (R.I. did
not attend)
•  Decide to write new document
•  New rule: only ______ needed for ratification
•  Meeting in secret
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