1 / 10

Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation. Background 13 states were starting to write their own constitutions Congress was drawing up its own blueprint for a national government In 1776, people felt more loyalty to their own states than to a nation

anne
Télécharger la présentation

Articles of Confederation

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Articles of Confederation • Background • 13 states were starting to write their own constitutions • Congress was drawing up its own blueprint for a national government • In 1776, people felt more loyalty to their own states than to a nation • The states seemed unwilling to turn power over to the national government

  2. Articles of Confederation • November 15, 1777 – Continental Congress completed and passed the Articles • Proposed that it go into effect after every state had approved it • 1781 – All states finally ratify the Articles

  3. Land Claim Issues • However, there were again land disputes based upon colonial charters • Claims often overlapped • 6 States (Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland) without western claims argued it should be public land belonging to the national government

  4. Ratified???? • Most states ratified the Articles • Maryland - would not ratify it until all lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River became public land • Virginia – (huge land claims) present-day states of Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin – refused to comply • Too powerful????

  5. Ratified • 1778 – Virginia (the only state to ratify by the deadline • 1781 – Maryland (the last state) ratify the Articles • Articles become the first constitution of the United States • Main author – John Dickinson • Loose alliance of states rather than a strong, central government • Writers feared a strong central government – why????

  6. Powers/Rights • Each state had one vote • Powers included: • Declaring war • Raising an army and navy • Making treaties • Borrowing Money • Establishing a postal system • Conducting business with Native Americans and other countries

  7. Weaknesses of the Articles • National government was much weaker than the state governments • Had no authority over individual citizens and very little control over state governments • Could make laws, but the writers provided no measures to carry out those laws (Articles left it to the states to enforce laws passed by Congress) • Made no provision for a court system (if the states disagreed, they had no place to resolve their differences)

  8. Weaknesses (cont.) • Every state could send delegates to Congress, but each state (whatever its size) had only one vote • Larger states viewed this as unfair • Congress held powers to war and peace, however, they didn’t have the power to collect taxes……..so…….. • No requirement of the states to send money • Known as a “shadow without substance”

  9. 3-2-1 • 3 – Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation • 2 – last two states to ratify the Articles of Confederation • 1 – Power of the Articles of Confederation

More Related