Chapter 2 Section 3
The Nation’s First Governments
Vocabulary
• Constitution – A written plan of government
• Bicameral – a legislature that consists of 2
parts or houses
• Interpret – to decide what something means
• Bill of rights – a list guaranteeing basic freedoms
and legal protections to the citizens
• Articles of Confederation – 1st constitution of the
United States of America
• Confederation – a group of individuals who band
together for a common purpose
• Ratified- approved
• Amend - Change
• Treaty of Paris (1783) – They treaty that ended the
Revolutionary war and gave the United Stated their
independence from England
The Articles of Confederation
• United all 13 States under one national government
• Set up a one house legislature
• Each state had 1 vote in legislature
• Only powers the national government had were to
control the military and deal with foreign trade
• Did not have the power to tax or enforce laws!!!
Shays Rebellion
• 1786, a farmer named Daniel Shays lead an
uprising against the Massachusetts
government claiming that the farmers in the
western part of the state were being taxed
without being represented
• The uprising quickly became more than the
state authorities could control, the national
government was called upon to intervine
• The national government was so weak under the
Articles of Confederation that they could not stop
the uprising successfully
• This was a wake up call that something needed to
be done to create a stronger central government
• A meeting was then called in 1787 in Philadelphia
to restructure the Articles of Confederation