Chapter 7 a More Perfect Union (1777-1790) Section 1 the Articles of Confederation

NAME______Planning a New Government Chapter 7 A More Perfect Union (1777-1790) Section 1 • 1776- Congress appointed a committee to draw The Articles of Confederation a constitution Second Continental Congress • November ______- The Articles of • Needed a plan of government that met the needs Confederation was adopted of all ______states • Was America’s first ______• The states joined to fight against the British, but • Central government in which the would they be able to work together and maintain their ______kept most of their power independence? • Under the Articles Congress had the power to • The states’ first task was to establish their own conduct foreign affairs, maintain armed forces, borrow ______institutions money, and issue ______State Constitutions Weaknesses of the Articles • May 1776, Congress asked the states to organize • Congress could not regulate their ______• Each state adopted a constitution (Plan of • Or force citizens to join the government) ______• Each learned from British rule and did not want • Or impose ______too much power on a single ______• If Congress needed money they had to ask the • Each had ______power on the state legislatures- but they were ______required to governor contribute • Pennsylvania even had an elected council with • Congress lacked a chief ______members More of the Articles Limiting Power • The Articles were not fully supported by the • States also divided government functions states between the governor and the ______• Each state got ______vote, regardless of • Most states established bicameral (two-house) population legislatures to ______power even • ______states had to approve the articles further and any amendments • The writers of the constitutions wanted to keep • Larger states believed they should have more the power in the hands of the ______• ______were frequent • Some states claimed land in the West • In order to vote (in most states) you had to be a • ______refused to approve the white male, 21 years old or older, and own property Articles until these states abandoned these land claims • Some states allowed ______• The states did and all 13 states approved the African Americans to vote Articles on March 1, 1781 Forming a Republic The Confederation Government • Americans agreed that they should be a • 1781-1789 republic • Did not provide a ______enough • Citizens ______through elected government representatives • To pass a law _____ states had to agree • Disagreements arose on organization of the • Despite ______it made some ______important achievements • Most Americans wanted a • Under the Confederation government, ______central government Americans won independence and expanded foreign • Each state would be like independent trade ______• Also helped with the governing if • States would act independently on most issues ______territories • The central government would only wage war Moving West and handle relations with other ______• Before the Revolutionary War, on a few • ______could not be collected so thousand lived west of the Appalachian Mountains Congress and the states printed their own paper money • 1790- About ______• Not backed in silver or ______, • Settlers hoped to organize lands as so it had no real value ______and join the union • “Not worth a ______”- worthless • Land claims were given up and Congress took • War for independence left Congress with a huge control of these lands ______• 1784- Congress divided the western territory • Congress owned ______to into self-governing ______American citizens and foreign nations • When the number of people in a district reached • Still owed money to ______the population of the smallest existing state, that district • ______did not send money could petition for statehood Robert Morris’s Import Tax The Ordinance of 1785 • 1781- The ______were • 1785- Congress passed an ordinance (law) that collapsing established a procedure for surveying and selling • Congress created a department of western lands north of the ______River ______led by Philadelphia merchant • Divided the massive territory into 6 miles by 6 Robert Morris miles ______• Morris proposed a ______tax • Townships were divided into ______sections on imported goods to help pay the debt (640 acres) • The plan called for the Articles to be changed to • Each would be sold at public give Congress the power to ______• Rhode Island ______so it did • To govern the territory, a new ordinance was not pass needed • The financial crisis continued to The Northwest Ordinance ______• 1787- Created a single Northwest Territory Problems With Britain • The British didn’t leave the • North of the Ohio River and east of the ______they were supposed to according Mississippi River to the Treaty of Paris (1783) • Divided into ______smaller • Americans complained that the British were territories keeping them out of the West Indies and other British • When the population reached markets ______the people could petition for • 1785- John Adams was sent to statehood ______to discuss the problems • The British responded that the United States • Each new state would have the same didn’t live up to their ______of the ______as the original 13 states Treaty More of the Northwest Ordinance • The states never paid the ______• Had a bill of ______for settlers that lost their land and property • Guaranteed freedom of ______Problems With Spain and trial by jury • Spain wanted to stop American • ______was outlawed ______into its territory • This clause (condition added to a document) • Spain closed the lower ______marked the first attempt to stop the spread of slavery in River to American shipping in 1784 the US • Westerners no longer had this • The Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest ______route Ordinance opened the way for settlement of the • The Confederation could not deal with these Northwest Territory in a stable and orderly manner problems Financial Problems • These problems worried many leaders and they • By 1781- The ______printed saw that there was a need for a ______during the Revolutionary War depreciated (fell in government value) so far that it was almost worthless Essential Question • How effective was government under the articles of confederation? -Ineffective because the Congress lacked important economic and diplomatic powers.