The Articles of Confederation (College Board AP® US History): Study Guide

Timeline & Summary

The Articles of Confederation were designed to create a weak central government. It made sense at the time because the states wanted to rule themselves, and nobody wanted a repeat of Parliament and King George III. However, it did not take long for Americans to work out that a legislative body that had to beg states for money and soldiers was not effective.

The major problems with the Articles of Confederation included that they had no powers to:

• issue currency or levy taxes

• handle international or domestic commerce

• raise an army or handle threats of violence

• decisively deal with foreign affairs

Additionally all 13 states had to ratify changes to the articles

The one thing the confederated Congress did well was to determine what to do with open territories. Its biggest success was 1787’s Northwest Ordinance, which established townships and rules for statehood around the Great Lakes. That same year, the violence of Shays’ Rebellion made Americans realize they needed a government that could do more than just give directions and lay out a plan. It needed to take action and have more authority.

Federal Government Structure

• As state governments formed, political leaders also had to create a central government that brought the states together into one federal unit

  • People agreed that this new federal government should secure the rights of the people

  • Most Americans preferred strong state governments and a weaker federal government

• The Articles of Confederation created the first federal government of the United States

  • The articles were adopted on November 15, 1777

  • They only provided for a legislative branch (no executive branch or judicial branch)

  • Congress could:

    • Conduct foreign affairs

    • Maintain armed forces

    • Borrow money

  • Congress could not:

    • Issue currency

    • Raise money (pass tax laws)

    • Draft troops

      • It had to ask the states for money and troops. The states did not have to cooperate

• The lack of an executive branch meant there was no one to carry out the laws Congress made

  • All 13 states had to approve the Articles and any amendments

  • New laws needed approval from nine out of 13 states

    • This made it very hard to pass laws

Successes of the Articles of Confederation

• One of the only successful laws passed while the Articles of Confederation were in place was the Northwest Ordinance (1787)

• It created a single Northwest Territory east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River

  • The ordinance:

    • described how the Northwest Territory should be divided into smaller territories

    • set a minimum requirement of 60 000 residents for any territory seeking to become a state

    • banned slavery in the Northwest Territory

    • provided a bill of rights for American settlers

    • included language that encouraged education

      • It also set aside land in each township for public schools

    • protected private property by outlining property rights within the territory and explaining how people would be compensated if their property was unlawfully taken

Challenges of the Articles of Confederation

• The Articles of Confederation created a government that was too weak to be helpful

Congress and money

• Congress did not have the authority to issue or raise money

• Congress could not exchange existing paper money for gold or silver

  • That became a serious issue when the value of the money the Continental Congress printed during the Revolutionary War plummeted

    • In 1779, 40 continentals = 1 Spanish silver dollar

    • In 1781, 146 continentals = 1 Spanish silver dollar

• The Continental Congress built up huge debts to Americans and foreign governments during the Revolutionary War

• Under the Articles of Confederation, the new Congress could not tax citizens

  • It did not have a way to pay its debts

  • The states could not agree on amendments to the articles that would give Congress the right to levy taxes

Congress and trade

• Congress did not have the authority to be involved in international trade

• The British were blocking Americans from trading in the West Indies and other areas controlled by the British Empire

  • This hurt American businesses and customers

• Congress did not have the authority to be involved in domestic trade

  • This also hurt American businesses and customers

Congress and foreign countries

• Congress did not have the power to handle issues with foreign countries

  • Great Britain refused to leave North America after the Revolutionary War

    • The British were still occupying forts in the Great Lakes region even though the Treaty of Paris 1783 said they had to leave all lands east of the Mississippi River

    • Congress did not have an army and could not force them to leave

• The British also demanded that Americans repay Loyalists for Loyalist property that had been seized during the war

  • Congress told the states they had to pay for the damages, but the states refused

• Spain tried to stop American expansion into its North American territory

  • It closed the southern part of the Mississippi River to American shipping

  • Southern states blocked an agreement between the countries two years later

Congress and domestic issues

• Congress could not intervene in domestic conflicts

• American farmers faced economic problems after the Revolutionary War

  • They could not afford to pay their taxes and debts

  • State officials began taking land and putting farmers in jail

  • Farmers asked the federal government to help, but, under the Articles of Confederation, it could not

Shay’s Rebellion

• Massachusetts farmers staged a revolt known as Shays’ Rebellion

  • They forced the closure of courts in the western part of the state in 1786

  • They did not want judges taking any more of their land

  • In 1787, the farmers tried to take weapons and ammunition from a storehouse

    • They were stopped by state militia

    • Four farmers were killed

  • This was the event that made many Americans realize they wanted a stronger central government

    • Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government could not handle unrest or prevent violence from occurring