USCH 1.4-A New Nation
Opening:
What are some things
the writers of the AOC
would have wanted to
avoid based upon their
past experiences?
Work Period:
•USHC 1.4 Articles of
Confederation Notes
•AOC Case Studies (if
time)
Closing
Quiz on 1.4
Objectives
• Analyze the problems with the
Articles of Confederation.
• Explain why the Constitution of
1787 was written.
Essential Question
• How did the economic crisis of
the 1780’s lead to the
Constitutional Convention and
ratification?
It’s greatest
problem:
Why this type of government?
•Experiences in the American Revolution
•Fought to preserve the rights of their colonial legislature
so believed power should be given to the states
•Decided that a confederation of 13 states would join to
fight the war
Authority rests in the states, not the federal government
Successes Under the
Articles
Controversy between large states (Virginia and New York)
and small states (Maryland) over claims in the West were
ceded to the Confederation
Land Ordinance of 1785: orderly system of distribution of
land in the Northwest region
Northwest Ordinance of 1787: sets a precedent for new
states in the Northwest territories and made slavery illegal in
this territory
Gave states the power to write their own
constitutions and create their own legislatures
Effective in the Revolutionary War when
states had a common cause
Effective in getting the Treaty of Paris signed
which ended the Revolutionary War
Problems with the Confederation
•No executive branch
•No judicial branch
•No army
•Cannot levy taxes
•Confederation Congress consisted of one house
(unicameral) with all states receiving equal votes no
matter their population
•Delegates to the Confederation Congress were selected
by the state legislature, not the people
•Could not force the British troops to leave America
soil after the Revolutionary War
•Could not get Spain to grant Americans access to
America through New Orleans
•Had to have all states in agreement to amend
•First test of the Articles of Confederation
•Farmers rebelled because of high taxes
•Needed an army to stop them, but there was no army!
Statistics From the 1790 Census
State
Population
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
NEW ENGLAND
141,885
378,787
237,946
68,825
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
MIDDLE
STATES
184,139
340,120
434,373
Percentage
of Total
4%
10%
7%
2%
23%
Regional
Population
Number of
Slaves
Percentage of
Population
158
0
2,759
152
0%
0%
1%
0%
11,423
21,324
3,737
6%
6%
1%
1,786,075
39,853
6%
1,851,806
8,887
103,036
293,427
100,572
107,094
29,264
642,280
15%
32%
39%
26%
43%
35%
94%
681,833
15%
827,443
5%
9%
12%
958,632
NORTH OF MASON/DIXON
49%
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
THE SOUTH
2%
9%
20%
11%
7%
2%
51%
59,096
319,728
747,610
393,751
249,073
82,548
TOTAL POPULATION
3,637,881
SLAVE
POPULATION
Why?
Fear the will of the uneducated people,
so they created it to buffer the popular
vote for the president
Other Nominations
House of Representatives had the right to
initiate tax measures and were able to be
elected directly
Senators were elected indirectly
Supreme Court justices were appointed by
the President