Lesson 1-Struggles

of a New Nation

Essential question: What is

the purpose of government?

Make a list with your table of

all the important reasons we

make plans.

Make a list with your table of

the things governments do.

A Plan for Government

The purpose of a government is to

provide laws.

Laws help avoid conflicts and settle

disputes.

Governments provide security for it’s

people. (Police officers, armed forces, etc.)

Governments provide services and

supplies. (Building and repairing roads,

delivering mail, etc.)

Governments manage the economy.

A Plan for Government

There is a special word for a plan

consisting of a set of laws……Constitution!

Creating a New

Government

❖During the Second

Continental Congress in 1776,

the Founders had to make a

rough plan of what to do if and

when they would break away

from Great Britain.

❖How would they ever be able

to govern the 13 colonies on

their own?!

❖It is impossible to please

everyone and each of the

colonies had their own ideas!

The Articles of Confederation

✓A confederation is a group of separate governments that agree to help each other.✓At first, everyone thought it would be a good idea to have a group of separate friendly states that governed themselves individually as opposed to having one united nation.✓The Articles of Confederation became the first constitution of the United States.✓The 13 states had to ratify, or approve it.✓The articles were ratified by all 13 states in 1781.

✓Why did the colonies not want the government to have too much power?

A Small Government

oThe government set up

by the Articles of

Confederation was small

and limited in its power.

oMade up of Congress.

oCongress- a law

making body.

oEach state sent at least

2 representatives to

Congress.

Weakness of the Articles of Confederation

Why was the lack of national currency a

problem?

Troubles for the New Government

➢After the Revolutionary War, the country found itself in big

debt.

➢Congress had borrowed a lot of money and could not pay it

back.

➢State governments also had debt.

➢As a result, state governments raised taxes that people

could not afford to pay.

➢Businesses went under and citizens went into debt!

➢Everyone owes money! Money, that they don’t have!

Violence Erupts

▪When people could not pay their

debt, they were thrown in jail.

▪Daniel Shay (military officer) was

in deep, deep, deep….debt.

▪He convinced others to rebel.

▪Him and his men broke into jails

to free debtors.

▪Shay’s Rebellion was quickly

stopped by the state militia.

▪However, Shay’s Rebellion

showed that the Articles of

Confederation had failed!

Why did people want a new government

after Shay’s Rebellion?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw2-

NV7AyIE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw2-NV7AyIE

The Northwest Ordinance

✓It was clear that the Articles were not

working.

✓However, they did have one

success.

✓Americans wanted to move west of

the Appalachian Mountains.

✓Congress passed the Northwest

Ordinance of 1787 which created the

“Northwest Territory.”

✓Americans poured into Ohio,

Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and

Wisconsin!

Calls for Change

▪Most Americans agreed that the Articles of

Confederation needed to be changed.

▪A few members of Congress held a special

meeting to decide what to do…..The

Constitutional Convention!

The Constitutional Convention

•In May 1787, leaders met in Philadelphia.

•The delegates discussed the future of the government.

•A delegate is a person who represents others at an

important meeting.

•The delegates decided that they would have to write an

entirely new constitution to replace the Articles of

Confederation…..

What was the Northwest

Ordinance?