III Articles of Confederation A Articles Articles of

III. Articles of Confederation

A. Articles • Articles of Confederation – First governmental system in the U. S. adopted in 1781 • Confederation – A loose association of states • Intended to create a “league of friendship”

Primary Source - Articles of Confederation, Article II, 1781

B. Government Under the Articles • Each state acted like its own separate country • Weak central government – Results from memory of British government • Unicameral – One house branch called Congress

• Each state was given one vote regardless of population – Rhode Island – 2% of pop. – Virginia – 19% of pop. • No executive branch • No judicial branch

C. Problems Following Revolutionary War • Thousands of dollars of personal property had been destroyed • Foreign trade was slowed • Most urgent problem was raising money to pay back huge war debts

D. Weakness of Articles • Laws were hard to pass – needed a super majority (9 of 13 states) • Almost impossible to amend Articles – needed all 13 states – Major flaw • Congress could not tax people – had to beg for money – 1785 – Asked states for 12 million and received 9 million – 1786 – Forced to sell entire navy to raise money

• No power to regulate trade • No power to raise an army – 1786 – Less than 1000 soldiers in uniform • No power to coin money • No executive branch made it impossible to enforce laws • No judicial branch made it impossible to settle disputes

E. Shays’s Rebellion • Daniel Shays – Revolutionary War hero leads 1200 Massachusetts farmers to a courthouse • Farmers with pitchforks take over courthouse • Federal government couldn’t end crisis for 3 months – Militia finally ends rebellion • Caused Americans to agree to a stronger government - Wake up call for Americans

Shays’s Rebellion

F. Confederation Fails • Main Success – Established a new government • States refused to give federal government any power • People from different states did not feel connected to each other

• Unable to pay back huge war debt • Annapolis Convention (1786) – Leaders (Alexander Hamilton) who favored a stronger government persuaded Congress to call a convention to revise the Articles • “Something has to be done” – Alexander Hamilton