Articles of Confederation
America’s 1st written plan for
government
What is a confederation?
• Loose union of independent states
• Why did they want to stay independent?
Articles of Confederation
• Written by Second Continental Congress
• Took effect in 1781, after all 13 states had
ratified it
Set up of the Government under
the Articles of Confederation
• Legislative
– Unicameral – one house in legislature
– States could each send 2-7 delegates
– Each state had one vote
• No Executive Branch or President
• No Judicial Branch
– No federal/national court system (only a state
system)
Powers of Congress
• Make war and peace
• Send and receive ambassadors
• Enter into alliances/treaties with other
countries
• Manage Indian affairs
• Establish a post office
• Coin & Borrow money
• Regulate trade with other countries
• Ask the states to pay taxes
More Powers of Congress
• Raise and equip an army and navy
• Maintain an army by requesting troops
from the states
• Fix standard weights & measures
• Decide some disputes between states
• Pass new laws with approval of 9/13
states
• Set up courts to hear cases involving
piracy
Powers of States
• Retain (keep) all powers and rights not
given to congress
• This included
– Collecting taxes
– Maintaining a militia
– Enforce laws
– Punish criminals
National Weaknesses of Articles of
Confederation
1. Only one branch
- No executive branch or president
- No national courts to interpret national laws
2. One vote per state
3. Congress could REQUEST payment of
taxes, but couldn’t force it
4. Could not force anyone to obey laws
5. 9/13 states had to approve laws
6. Amendments had to be unanimous (13/13)
7. Could not control trade between the states
8. Could only REQUEST soldiers from the states
State Weaknesses in Articles of
Confederation
• Could have their own militias
• Could print their own money
• Made treaties with Indians, other states,
and foreign countries.
Problems Begin
1. Boundary disputes
2. Tariffs (tax of goods
sold in other states)
3. Could not force tax
collection
a.
b.
Couldn’t pay war
debt
Couldn’t pay for
army
Shays’ Rebellion - 1787
• Massachusetts farmers were in debt and
were losing their farms and/or being jailed
for not paying debts
• Daniel Shays (former captain in Revolutionary War)
led about 2000 farmers
• attacked courthouses
– marched to the Springfield arsenal with pitchforks
to get weapons
• Congress had no army to stop them,
so state militia had to be used
Effect of the Rebellion
• Scared American leaders
• Desire for a stronger national government
grew
• James Madison organized a national
meeting in Annapolis Maryland
–
–
Only 5 of the 13 states came
James Hamilton persuades other delegates
to meet again in Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Convention
•
•
May 1787
Purposes
“For the sole and express purpose of revising
the Articles of Confederation”
This would become the Constitutional
Convention