history test 2 - ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 1 Created by the...

A
RTICLES OF
C
ONFEDERATION
1. Created by the first U.S. government in 1781 – first constitution
2. Did not create a strong federal government – weak national Congress
3. Created a “league of friendship” between the 13 states
a. States retained sovereignty
b. Freedoms, etc.
4. States pretty much thought of themselves as independent nations
5. The national government’s powers:
a. Each state possessed a single vote in Congress (regardless of size, pop., etc.)
b. Amendments to change the articles had to be approved by all states (problematic)
c. No independent executive - no veto over legislative decisions
d. Cannot regulate trade or impose taxes
e. Foreign relations (treaties, war, peace)
f. Coin money
g. Issue loans
h. Indian affairs
i. Interstate disputes
j. Maintain Army and Navy (very weak – about 100 men)
k. Govern western territories for benefit of all states
6. No revenue for the central government – very weak
7. Viewed the new government as powerless and many liked it
8. Newberg Conspiracy (1783)
a. To raise revenue and reduce the national debt, govt. wanted to impose a tax on imported
goods
b. Rhode Island refused to pass amendment
c. Extreme nationalists held meetings and planned a military coup to convince need for strong
national govt. – attempted to overthrow weak government
d. George Washington confronted the officials at Newberg and gave an inspirational speech and
broke the mutiny movement and suppressed the conspiracy

P
ROBLEMS FACING THE
N
EW
N
ATION
1. British in the Northwest Territory
a. Refused to abandon ports
b. They controlled the fur trade
c. British justified this because US did not pay British citizens debts acquired before the
Revolution
2. Spain in the southwest
a. Refused to accept southern boundary of the United States and claimed sovereignty over large
chunk of the southwest
b. Many feared if this wasn’t resolved, the US would lose all western territories
3. Economic Problems
a. Inflation
L
AND
O
RDINANCE OF
1785
1. Provided for the surveying of western territories
2. Created townships – 6 mi 2 – divided into thirty-six square-mile portions
3. Two of the portions were guaranteed to go to a school
4. Allows orderly settlement of the west
N
ORTHWEST
O
RDINANCE OF
1787
1. Organizes the land north of the Ohio River into territories
a. Banned slavery north of the Ohio river
2. Rules for admitting new states into the Union (3-step process)
a. 5000 men of voting age lived in a territory and a governor appointed by Congress ruled it
b. When you have 5000 men of voting age, they can elect a legislature – send non-voting
delegates to Congress (self-governing territory)
c. When a territory has 60000 people, it can be a state – drafts a constitution and operates in any
way it wants as long as it is a republic – gets all rights that the original 13 states had
S
HAY
’
S
R
EBELLION
1. Problems leading to the rebellion
a. Congress met irregularly
b. Many states stopped sending delegates

c. Congress lacked a permanent capital
d.