The Articles of Confederation Americas First Attempt at
Government Slide 2 In 1776, the Continental Congress begins working
on Americas first form of government, the Articles of
Confederation! Slide 3 Americans Yes, United Not Exactly The
Americas were divided both in regions and in states. It was 13
different countries with 13 different agendas. Slide 4 Government
Under the Articles Unicameral legislature (That means that there
was only one lawmaking body, in this case, the Continental
Congress). Each state was only allowed one vote, no matter how
populous the state was. 2/3 majority vote needed to pass laws.
Unanimous vote needed to amend the Articles. Slide 5 But There were
additional problems with the Articles. Slide 6 Why did the Articles
of Confederation fail? I. Currency Issues The United States did not
have a common currency. Americans carried money from the federal
government, state government, and foreign nations. Slide 7
Merchants stopped accepting money from outside of their own state,
causing a lot of money to become worthless. This caused an increase
in inflation. Slide 8 Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
II. Debt Congress could not tax the people and depended on money
from the states. Therefore, the U.S. was unable to pay its debts!
Examples: - The U.S. owed money to France, Holland, and Spain for
loans made during the Revolutionary War. - The U.S. had not paid
many of their own soldiers! Slide 9 Difficulty Passing Laws Under
the Articles, 9 of 13 states needed to agree to pass laws. There
was often only 10 standing members of Congress at any time and each
state had only one vote. Making it further difficult, there became
a rift between the 5 small states and the 8 larger states. Finally,
to amend the Articles, all states had to approve the change. Slide
10 The Articles created no Executive or Judicial Branch for the
National Government The lack of a national executive and judiciary
branch to enforce and interpret laws the laws that Congress enacted
leaves the federal government at the mercy of the states to decide
whether or not they wanted to enforce the federal governments law.
This ensured Americans that there would be NO MORE KINGS! Slide 11
The lack of power by the national government to tax the states or
the people directly. Why does the federal government need money? A
high war debt that the federal government had incurred, as well as
funding the few federal agencies that the Articles had allowed made
taxing necessary. However, the federal government did not have this
ability and were therefore dependent upon the states to gain any
type of revenue. Also, the national dollar was worthless. Slide 12
No power granted to the national government to make a uniform
currency. The federal government was given the right to create its
own currency, but the national currency was only one of 14
currencies in the Americas. Each state had its own currency as
well, and none of the states recognized the national currency as a
legitimate monetary unit. This left the federal government with no
recognizable currency. Slide 13 The lack of power to control
National or International trade The governments lack of power to
regulate trade resulted in chaos throughout America because states
could not agree on currency value. International trade was nearly
impossible due to the lack of a national currency. States continued
to work independently. Slide 14 Why did the Articles of
Confederation fail? III. International and Domestic Problems The
U.S. lacked the military power to defend itself against Great
Britain and Spain. States acted as individual countries and seldom
agreed. Example: - Connecticut and Virginia almost went to war over
land claims! Slide 15 Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
Courts (Judicial Branch) The nation lacked a national court system.
Supreme Court Slide 16 The lack of power by the federal government
to organize a national army. The federal government was dependent
on the states to send troops when and how they chose to do so. This
led to a national army that was so weak that it could not send
enough troops to quash such minor uprisings as Shays Rebellion.
Slide 17 Americans vs. Americans Poor Massachusetts farmers,
angered over losing their lands, began an uprising in Western Mass.
Gov. James Bowdoin asked the federal govt for troops, but the feds
could not help. Ultimately, outgunned, Shays rebellion was ended,
but not without consequences. Slide 18 Why did the Articles of
Confederation fail? President (Executive Branch) The nation did not
have a President, or Chief Executive. White House Slide 19 Someone
Steps Up! Why couldnt the states come up with an amicable solution?
Recognizing the problems with the Articles was not the problem. The
states would only listen to someone they trusted and did not think
they were trying to take over. What person in the Americas would
everyone listen to and recognized the problems? The Revolutionary
hero, George Washington. Slide 20 Why did the Articles of
Confederation fail? Congress (Legislative Branch) Laws were
difficult to pass, needing the approval of nine states. Congress
was responsible to the states, not the people. Congress had no
power to collect taxes, regulate trade, coin money, or establish a
military. Congress had one house. (unicameral) Capitol Building
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