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Articles of Confederation. Aim: What was accomplished during the Articles of Confederation government?. Articles of Confederation . Weaknesses Congress cannot levy taxes or collect tax revenues. Congress could not regulate interstate trade or foreign trade. 1 State – 1 Vote. Weaknesses.
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Articles of Confederation Aim: What was accomplished during the Articles of Confederation government?
Articles of Confederation • Weaknesses • Congress cannot levy taxes or collect tax revenues. • Congress could not regulate interstate trade or foreign trade. • 1 State – 1 Vote
Weaknesses • Articles of Confederation could be amended/changed only with all 13 states voting in favor. • 9 of 13 states were needed to pass important laws. • No executive branch • No national court system
Accomplishments • Land Ordinance of 1785 – Established a plan for surveying the land of the Northwest territory. • The land is divided into townships, each containing 36 square miles. • Read textbook pages 138-139 • How did the Land Ordinance of 1785 affect ordinary Americans and our growth as a nation?
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – Biggest Accomplishment • Congress appoints a territorial governor and judges • Once a territory had 5,000 adult male residents, the settlers were allowed to write a temporary constitution and elect their own territorial legislature. • Once the population reached 60,000 free settlers (men and women), they could write a state constitution and apply to Congress to be approved for statehood.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 • Congress proclaimed “fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty” were the foundation for the new states to be created. • Provision for government funding of elementary education through the sale of land. • Ordinance rejected slavery for the new states to be carved out of the Northwest Territories.
Shays’sRebellion 1786-1787 Rebellion is put down • Debt-ridden farmers – Western Massachusetts • Revolutionary war veterans march on the town of Northampton to shut down courts – prevent further foreclosures. • Later march to the Springfield arsenal, defeated.
Shays’sRebellion • What did Shays’sRebellion mean for the country? • What did some leaders begin to call for? • May - 1787
Calls for Reform • 1786 – Delegates from five states meet in Maryland to discuss the problems of the Articles of Confederation • May of 1787 – Delegates from 12 states (not Rhode Island), gather in Philadelphia. • News of Shays’s Rebellion convinces them that a meeting is necessary to reform the Articles of Confederation
Constitutional Convention • George Washington is elected to be the presiding officer. • James Madison and George Mason represent Virginia • Alexander Hamilton represents New York • Windows nailed shut. Sweltering heat
Bold Proposal • The Virginia delegation proposes a new plan: • Completely abandons the Articles of Confederation for a new form of national government • What was in it?
The Virginia Plan • Congress: Two houses, both would be determined by population • Taxation: Congress would have the power to tax • There would be a federal judiciary • Single executive chosen by a national legislature • What states opposed this idea?
New Jersey Plan • Proposes to keep the Articles • Single legislature • One house, one state, one vote • Power to tax • Federal Judiciary
Strong Central Government • Central government should be stronger than the states. • Delegates to Congress assigned according to population.
Roger Sherman – Great Compromise • What was it?
