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ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What powers were granted & denied to the national govt under the Articles of Confederation?
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Chapter 8 Section 1 Pt I
EARLY DISAGREEMENTS When the Continental
Congress met in 1776, they began to plan the new national govt.
The delegates agreed that the govt. should be a republic
However, disagreements btwn large & small states were common Small states claimed each
state should have one vote Large states argued that
voting should be based on population
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY Delegates also argued over
claims in the lands west of the Appalachians This largely unsettled land
was known, at the time, as the “Northwest Territory”
Several states that bordered this unsettled land claimed it as their own including:
VA, NC, SC, GA Even states that DID NOT
share a border also claimed western lands including:
NY, CT, MA These claims caused major
controversy amongst the states
APPROVAL The Cont. Congress,
after much debate, finally approved the first plan for the new govt. in 1781 The Articles of
Confederation would be run by a “Confederation Congress”
The Congress would be made up of freely elected representatives from each of the 13 states
Each state received one vote
POWERS GRANTED The states left the following
powers to the Congress:1. Conduct foreign affairs2. Declare war & make
peace3. Issue or borrow money4. Control Western territories5. Manage Native American
affairs6. Run the postal service
POWERS DENIED The Confed. Congress, however, was severely
limited b/c it lacked the power to:1. Establish an Executive Branch (No President)2. Enforce national laws3. Enact and collect taxes4. Regulate trade5. Establish federal courts6. Amend the Articles of Confed.
All these powers were reserved for the states & their govts This left the CC w/o sufficient power to govern
effectively In essence, the states mirrored Europe (small
nation-states that all competed with one another)
LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785 The Confederation Congress
adeptly wrote laws on the division & governing of the newly acquired territories known as the Land Ordinance of 1785
This law stipulated that surveyors would stake out six square-mile plots, called townships, in these lands
Each township would be split into 36 square-mile plots, which could be purchased for $640/ plot
NORTHWEST ORDINANCE The law passed by the Confed.
Congress that set up the governing of the NW Territory became known as the NW Ordinance The law possessed many
democratic features:1. When each territory had
5,000 adult males, men who owned 50 acres of land could elect an assembly
2. When the pop. reached 60,000 people, the territory could apply to become a state- Slavery was outlawed- River travel was open to
all- Freedom of religion & trial
by jury were guaranteed
SHAYS' REBELLION One major issue the Confed.
Congress had was an inability to levy taxes The national govt. relied on the
states for $, often which the states were not willing to send
This issue came to a head in a major way in Jan 1787 in MA
MA’s refusal to grant debt relief to its citizens led to an uprising known as Shays’ Rebellion Led by former CA soldier, Daniel
Shays, his followers marched on a federal arsenal, or weapons warehouse
Shays & his men were quickly met and dispersed by 1000 state militia
SUMMARY/TEST QUESTION Which of the following had the most
power under the Articles of Confederation?a. National Govtb. State Govtsc. Federalistsd. Anti-Federalists
SUMMARY/TEST QUESTION Under the A of C, Congress could not
tax. How did this weaken the national govt?a. Congress could not borrow $b. Congress could not settle disputes btwn the
statesc. Congress could not issue $d. It made Congress dependent on the states for $