Confederation Era Why were the Articles of Confederation

Confederation Era Why were the Articles of Confederation too weak to govern the nation?

Where did American settlement expand in the late 1700 s? • Trail led into Kentucky • Daniel Boone helped build trail called Wilderness Road • Settlers drawn to rich river valleys where few Native Americans lived • Tensions rise between settlers and Shawnee who lived there

What kind of government did the new states create? • Each state created its own government • Some experimented with different branches of gov’t, giving different power to each branch • Hoped to prevent the gov’t from becoming too powerful • Some included a bill of rights to keep gov’t under control • Idea came from the English Bill of Rights

• All states had a republican form of gov’t • In a republic, people choose representatives to govern them

What issues divided Congress as it developed a plan for the national government? • All agreed it should be a republic • Disagreed on number of votes each state should have (one or based on population) • Disagreed on who should control western lands (national government or states)

What were the structures and powers of the national government? • Had few powers (fear that a strong government would lead to tyranny, or oppressive rule) • Run by a Confederation Congress • Each state had one vote in Congress • Had the power to wage war, make peace, sign treaties, and issue money • Left most important powers to the states

How did western lands affect acceptance of the Articles? • States with no claims to western lands felt there were at a disadvantage • Those with claims could sell off the land to pay off war debts • States without land would have difficulty paying off the high debts • All states gave up their claims; Articles were ratified

What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? • Lacked power to enforce laws • Lacked power to levy taxes • Lacked power to regulate trade among the states • Required all 13 states to approve changes in the Articles