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Terms to Know:
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation
A document, adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and finally approved
by the states in 1781, that outlined the form of government of the new United States
Confederation
An alliance permitting states or nations to act together on matters of mutual concern
Land Ordinance of 1785
A law that established a plan for surveying and selling the federally owned lands west of
the Appalachian Mountains
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
A laws that established a procedure for the admission of new states to the Union
Republic
A government in which the citizens rule through elected representatives
Republicanism
The belief that government should be based on the consent of the people
Building a Government for the Newly Created States of America
Now that the Second Continental Congress had separated the colonies from England, by
default, it had become the new government of the United States. It needed a document that
would guide the new government for making political, economic, and social decisions for the new
nation. Coming to an agreement about what this government should look like was extremely
difficult. Most of the men in Philadelphia wanted to avoid another “King George III” or absolute
monarchy like is most European countries.
The only political unit that had connected these thirteen individual, and unique colonies
was the British government. Well, after feeling the British system of government had abused
them, the newly formed states were reluctant to join a strong central government again.
Instead, they wanted to create a government that balanced the needs of each individual state, as
well as the needs of a nation. The question then became, what should this new government look
like?
What Should the New Government Be?
One of the first things that the men in Philadelphia agreed upon was the inability of the
people to be involved in the government. They didn’t trust them! Our Founding Fathers believed
that since most of the farmers and merchants of America did not have a strong education in
politics and economics, then they should leave it to the “professionals” (well, sort of). The idea of
Athenian (direct) democracy would not work for them, because in this form of government,
everyone is expected to participate in all government decisions (similar to the town meetings in
New England).
Instead, they wanted to form a republic, or a government in which the citizens rule
through elected representatives. But this idea of republicanism, the belief that the government
should be based on the consent of the governed), had different meanings to many different
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Americans. John Dickinson believed that republicanism only works if everyone works towards
the good of a whole nation. Others Americans, who read the philosophy of Adam Smith
(Remember this guy from World History? He is considered the “father of modern capitalism”),
believed that republicanism works best if each state looks out for its own self-interests.
States were struggling with a similar dilemma. Although the colonies had chartered
governments, they needed to draft their own constitutions, now that they were separate from
the British government. Most of the states drafted constitutions based on liberties, such as
freedom of religion, speech, and the press. Also, many of the states included principles about
limited government, to prevent a strong centralized power. Generally, equality was not a theme
in the new state constitutions. Most states denied the right to vote to African Americans and
women; in Maryland, it was a still a requirement to own property.
The Debate Begins and Ends with the Articles of Confederation
While the states were drafting their individual constitutions, the Continental Congress
began to draft a constitution that would work over all thirteen states. (Remember, the
Americans are in the midst of a war with the world’s strongest military power!)
Although the men in Philadelphia agreed that each state was an equal political body, the
states were very unequal when it came to population, geographic, and economic size. So, should
the new government represent the states or the people? This means, either the new national
government has equal representation from each state, or each state sends a number of
representatives based on their population. The final decision from the Continental Congress was
that each state would send an equal number of representatives to Philadelphia, because they saw
each state as independent and each should have the same voice.
Another question that needed to be answered was the problem of the power. Who should
have the power, and how much? The Continental Congress came up with a new type of
government, in which the nation and individual states would share the basic powers. This meant
that states would be supreme for some issues, and the national government would be supreme
for others. This type of government is called a confederation, which works like an alliance. The
constitution they drafted in 1777, based on these principles became known as the Articles of
Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation built a powerful legislative branch (law-making portion of
government), with the power to…
− declare war
− establish a postal service
− make peace
− deal with Native American peoples.
− sign treaties
− set standards for coins and for
− borrow money
weights and measures
The Articles of Confederation did not create an executive (enforces the laws that Congress
makes) or judicial (national court that could interpret the meaning of Congress’ laws) branch for
the national level of government. The American leaders believed that all the executive and
judicial matters could, and should, be handled on a state-by-state basis.
By 1779, 12 of the 13 states had agreed to the Articles, but Maryland refused to sign.
Maryland’s concern was state sizes. Some states claimed land west of the Appalachian
Mountains, making their state sizes much larger than those who did not (such as Maryland).
Maryland refused to agree to the new government, until all the states turned over their western
lands. The states gave into the demand, and the Articles of Confederation went into effect in
March 1781.
What to Do with the Western Lands
Since the land west of the Appalachian Mountains became American soil after the
Revolutionary War, but not officially apart of any state jurisdiction, the Confederation Congress
needed to figure out what to do with this territory. This territory provided a lot of opportunity
for a new, although poor, national government.
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The plan for this territory, and how to sell it, was the Land Ordinance of 1785. First, the
Congress needed to survey, or review, the land. The Land Ordinance of 1785 sent surveyors to
the territory, to draw geographic maps (where are the mountains, rivers, etc?). Second, they
put grids on the maps to create townships (usually 36 square miles), and then parcels (or
blocks) of land to sell to individuals. Most of these parcels that an individual or family would buy
were a square mile, or 640 acres, in size. It was common that these parcels would be broken
down into smaller farms, usually 160 acres. The government sold each of these plots of land, for
a minimum of one dollar per acre. It was a large fundraiser for the Confederation.
So many people took advantage of this opportunity to move west and manage a farm that
the townships quickly began to form around the Great Lakes (this region became known as the
Northwest, because it was northwest of the original thirteen states). As the population
increased, these townships wanted to apply for admission into the Confederation as official
territories, or even as their own state. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 outlined the
procedures for dividing a territory, and then applying to become a state. The basic rules
included:
1. Congress picked the new territory’s governor and judges.
2. Once the territory reached a population of 5,000 voting residents, then it could draft its
own temporary constitution and elect government officials.
3. Once the territory reached a population of 60,000 free residents, then it could draft its
own state constitution, which would have to be approved by Congress.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 were the biggest and
best achievements of the Confederation, and they laid a blueprint for future admissions to the
growing nation.
That’s All Fine and Dandy, Except… (The Problems of the Articles of Confederation)
The Articles of Confederation addressed the political concerns of the Founding Fathers,
but there were a lot of problems with it, too. The most obvious and serious problem with the
Articles of Confederation is that it did not create a national unity. There was no incentive for the
thirteen states to work together. Furthermore, the states were equal within the Congress, but
were extremely unequal in population size. For example, Georgia (population of 23, 375) had an
equal say in matters to Massachusetts (population of 235, 308). This infuriated the larger
states.
Let’s pretend that the problem of representation was so bad, the national leaders decided
to change the Articles of Confederation to accommodate both the large and small states. Well,
the Congress had tied their hands, because it was extremely difficult to amend (or change) the
Articles. To amend the Articles, it required every state to agree to the change. You might as well
consider the Articles to be written in stone, because it was near impossible to get all thirteen
states to agree to a fundamental change in the national government.
It was not any better economically for the Confederation. The newly formed nation was in
debt, more than $190 million dollars (which is an extremely high amount for the 18th century)
due to the Revolutionary War. To fight, the Continental Congress had printed its own money and
borrowed from foreign countries. After the war, it was time to start paying back those debts.
But inflation from printing so much money had made the American dollar worthless.
To make matters worse, the Articles did not give the national government the power to
tax the states or their citizens. So, the Congress asked the states’ permission to impose a tariff
(a tax on imported goods) for interstate trade. Every state but Rhode Island agreed to the tariff,
but since one state said “no”, the Congress could not levy the tariff. This also highlighted the
issue that Congress had no control interstate trade, economically or politically.
Since the economy was so bad after the Revolutionary War, there was a struggle between
the creditors (those who lend money) and debtors (those who borrow money). Those wealthy
Americans who lent money to their states wanted the states to raise high taxes, so they could be
paid back. Moreover, creditors began going to the poor farmers who borrowed money from
them. They expected payment, and if the debtor couldn’t repay the loan, the creditors took them
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to court. The courts would often take away land and animals to give to the creditor in exchange
for cash.
One of basic reasons to form a national government is so that the American states have a
single voice in the international community. However, the states did not support the national
government, economically or politically. The British government was upset with the
Confederacy for not paying back debts to British merchants, and because Loyalist farmers were
not paying for the land the British had given them. In exchange, the British refused to leave
their forts around the Great Lakes. Also, Spain, our new neighbor, controlled the Mississippi
River and refused to let Americans use it for trade. However, the Congress was too weak to
resolve their issues with the British or Spanish governments.
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
− Congress could not levy taxes
− Articles could be amended only if all states
approved
− Congress could not regulate interstate or
foreign trade
− There was no executive branch to enforce
the laws of Congress
− Regardless of population, each state had
only one vote in Congress
− There was no national court system to settle
legal disputes
− Two-thirds majority—9 out of 13 states
needed to agree to pass important laws
− There were 13 separate states that lacked
national unity
Just Remember that Tennessee Joins Later:
L egislative Branch didn’t exist
A ll thirteen colonies had to change the Articles
T axes weren’t allowed at the national level
E executive Branch didn’t exist
T rade couldn’t be regulated
E qual representation, regardless of population
N ine out of thirteen states to pass a law
N o unity between the states
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