The Articles of Confederation 1781 to 1789

 

Created a league of 13 independent states with a weak central government

 

Why was it so weak?

 

Had a one house legislature, one vote per state

 

Difficulty in passing laws because:

       9 out of 13 had to approve a law

       delegates were never all present at the same time

 

No chief executive, all law enforcement was left up to the states

 

No central court system to handle interstate disputes

 

An amendment to the Articles required a unanimous vote

 

No power to collect taxes, they could only request funds from the states

 

Could issue currency, but states often printed their own currency

 

No power to raise an army (see Shay’s Rebellion)

 

No power to regulate interstate commerce: each state did this for itself

 

No power to control foreign commerce or tariffs: Britain refused to sign commercial treaties because Congress couldn’t enforce them

 

Was not respected by foreign nations ineffective dealing with them

What did the Articles of Confederation achieve?

 

Concluded the American Revolution

 

Negotiated the Treaty of Paris 1783

 

Kept the states united (at least nominally) during the Critical Period

 

Passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

 

Land Ordinance 1785 provided a plan for dividing western lands into square townships and for the sale of those lands

 

     36 sections per town, each section being

           one square mile

     Income from one section to be devoted to

           public education

     Land to be sold at no less than $1 per

           section (640 acres of land)

 

 

 

 

Northwest Ordinance 1787: provided for democratic treatment of new territories and a method for admission to the Union

 

     1. Northwest Territory was to be divided

           into 3 to 5 territories

    

     2. When a territory reached 5000 male

           adults, it could elect a legislature;

           Congress would appoint a governor

           and judges

    

     3. When the territory reached 60,000 total

           people, it could adopt a constitution

           and apply for statehood on an equal

           footing with all other states

    

     4. No slavery to be allowed in NW territory

    

     5. Bill of rights guaranteed basic civil

           liberties to people in the territory

    

     6. Encouraged public education in the NW

           territory