APUSH 03.07 The Articles of Confederation PDF

**Period 3 \|** 1754-1800 **Topic 3.7 \| The Articles of Confederation** **AP Learning Objective H:** Explain how different forms of government developed and changed as a result of the Revolutionary Period. **Google Slides Version Linked [HERE](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17Pe-qC1s9TBS...

**Period 3 \|** 1754-1800 **Topic 3.7 \| The Articles of Confederation** **AP Learning Objective H:** Explain how different forms of government developed and changed as a result of the Revolutionary Period. **Google Slides Version Linked [HERE](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17Pe-qC1s9TBS3idGAxcWqVyu3VKO0QA9M5xv0-ibofg/edit?usp=sharing)** 1. **State Constitutions** a. Americans agreed their new governments would be **republican** (power stemming from the *people\**) b. Their new state constitutions were written down, severely limited executive branches, and gave most power to the legislative branches. Still, most new constitutions did not embrace direct popular rule. Property requirements remained for voters in *all* states. c. Moreover, over the course of the 1780s and 1790s, Americans were growing increasingly concerned about the apparent instability of their new state governments. In fact, by the late 1780s, almost every state had either revised its constitution or drawn up a new one with expanded powers for governors. 2. **Articles of Confederation** d. Next, came the task of creating a *national* government. At first, most believed the central government should remain relatively *weak.* It was in response to such ideas that the Articles of Confederation emerged. This document was adopted in 1777 (during the Revolutionary War) and provided Congress with central authority. e. The **Articles of Confederation** *intentionally* created a very weak central government: i. no executive ii. no judicial branch iii. Two major weaknesses: 1. Needed a unanimous vote to change the rules, so it proved to be impossible to fix 2. No power to levy taxes directly on the people, so all they could do was borrow, beg the states, or print money f. Thus, within just nine years, the nation faced a postwar recession, failure to pay debts, interstate squabbles, and a lack of respect from foreign nations. 3. **Northwest Ordinance** g. The Confederation's most important accomplishment: organizing western lands with the **Land Ordinance of 1785** and **Northwest Ordinance of 1787.** These ordinances: iv. Set the pattern and precedent for settlement of the NW Territory v. Provided guidelines for territories to become states vi. Guaranteed citizenship vii. Contained a bill of rights with religious freedom protections viii. Prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory ix. Allowed for the return of fugitive slaves h. This territory, of course, was Native American land. Violence ensued as white settlers moved into the region, reaching a peak in the early 1790s. 4. **Shays' Rebellion** i. After more than a century of dependence on Great Britain, the American economy found itself suddenly on its own. While rebuilding, a postwar depression took hold from 1784-1787. Both the national government and state governments faced mounting debt. States, with the power to tax, increased taxes. j. Thousands of farmers, unable to pay debts, lost their farms. Many rioted, particularly in New England. The most famous took place in Massachusetts from 1786-1787, and was called **Shays' Rebellion.** Led by Daniel Shay, a former captain during the Revolutionary War, farmers in Massachusetts rebelled, closing down several courthouses. k. Because of the Articles of Confederation did *not* allow for a standing army, only the state militia acted as a defense, severely prolonging efforts to put down the rebellion. l. In the end, Shay and 18 others were sentenced to death (only two were hanged and the others were pardoned). m. As a movement, the rebellion failed...*But* it added urgency to the movement to produce a new, *strengthened* constitution 5. **[Key Takeaways]** n. Many new state constitutions placed power in the hands of the legislative branch and maintained property qualifications for voting and citizenship. o. The Articles of Confederation unified the newly independent states, creating a central government with limited power. After the Revolution, difficulties over international trade, finances, interstate commerce, foreign relations, and internal unrest led to calls for a stronger central government. p. As settlers moved westward during the 1780s, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance for admitting new states; the ordinance promoted public education, the protection of private property, and a ban on slavery in the Northwest Territory +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Key | | | | | Vocabulary** | | | | | \[highlighted | | | | | throughout | | | | | PowerPoint and | | | | | Lecture\] | | | | +=================+=================+=================+=================+ | **Pink:** | **Green:** Very | **Yellow:** | | | fundamentally | important | Somewhat | | | important | | important | | | | | *("nice to | | | | | know")* | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **\[1\] State | **\[2\] | **\[3\] | **\[4\] Shays' | | Constitutions** | Articles of | Northwest | Rebellion** | | | Confederation** | Ordinance** | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | republicanism | Articles of | Northwest | Shays' | | | Confederation | Ordinance of | Rebellion | | | | 1787 | | | | | | | | | | Land Ordinance | | | | | of 1785 | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+