The Articles of Confederation Life After the War

The Articles of Confederation

Life After the War • During the American Revolutionary War, all 13 colonies had become separate states, and in turn, they had each established their own laws and constitution. • These state constitutions gave the people the rights to make the laws. • The people did not want to have a central government because they felt it would take away their power.

Articles of Confederation • Although the states didn’t want a central government, they knew they needed to work together as one country. • The Continental Congress decided to create a plan for a national government. • This plan was known as the Articles of Confederation.

Articles of Confederation • The Articles of Confederation left most of the power to the states and created a weak national government. • The Articles of Confederation were accepted by the states in 1781.

Separation of Power Federal Powers State Powers • had little power • power to declare war • make peace treaties • make treaties with other nations • print and borrow money • had their own laws and constitution • set up an army • control trade • create taxes • control the right to bear arms • printed their own money

Problems with Articles of Confederation • The Articles of Confederation gave congress little power. • In turn, congress could not solve the problems that the new nation was facing. • Examples include: – States printed their own money, so people disagreed about the worth of each state’s money – Congress could not pay off the debts from the war and couldn’t raise money because they weren’t allowed to tax the people

Shays’s Rebellion • Remember states were able to tax their citizens • In western Massachusetts, farmers were having to pay high state taxes. They also owed money to merchants, but they couldn’t pay their debts. This upset them. • Daniel Shays, a farmer, led a protest with a group of 1, 100 farmers against the taxes. They tried to steal weapons from the national government. • Congress could not help stop these protesters because they were not allowed to form an army. • The state militia was able to defeat the farmers. • This protest is known as Shays’s Rebellion. • It was another event that showed how weak the national government was.

Outcome… • People began thinking they needed a stronger national government in order to solve the problems their nation was facing. • Congress decided to invite the states to send delegates to a meeting in order to discuss ways they could change the Articles of Confederation.

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