9/18 bellringer what was the biggest advantage the american colonists had during the revolutionary...
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9/18 Bellringer
•What was the biggest advantage the American colonists had during the Revolutionary War?
•What was the biggest advantage that Great Britain had during the Revolutionary War?
•Based on this chart, who should win the war?
North America 1754North America 1763North America 1783
When Americans declared independence in 1776,
they needed to form a new government
They wanted to form a republic where citizens vote for elected leaders
to represent them
They wanted to protect citizens & individual states from a powerful
national government
King George III
The American republic would be a more “enlightened”
version of the Roman Senate
When independence was declared, the 13 colonies became independent states
Each state had its own constitution, legislature, & an elected governor;
8 states had Bills of Rights
But, the USA needed a national gov’t to do
things that states could not, like sign treaties
& form a military
America’s 1st national gov’t was the
Articles of Confederation (1777-1789)
This “confederation” style gov’t loosely connected the states under a weak national government
Confederation Government in New York City
Each state could send between 2-7 representatives to the national congress, but each state had only 1 voteTo pass a law,
9 of the 13 states had to agree
The national congress could make laws, settle disputes between
states, negotiate treaties, handle Indian affairs, oversee a military
But all other powers were left up to the states
Confederation Government in New York City
Americans did not want to re-create a powerful gov’t like the one they just fought the Revolutionary War
to break away from
So, the national gov’t had
no president & could not tax the states or citizens
Western Lands, 1783Western Land Claims, 1783
The lands between the Appalachian
Mountains & Mississippi River that were acquired from the British in 1783 were claimed by numerous states.
Many of these land claims overlap.
The United States, 1783Areas of Settlement, 1783
The Articles established a good system of settling
western lands
Western Land
Claims Ceded by the States
First, states had cede
(give up) their claims to lands in the west to the national gov’t
Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 to create an orderly way
to divide the west into townships & farms
Selling western lands was the only way the national
gov’t could generate money since it did not have the power to tax
Land Ordinance of 1785Section 16 of the each township was set aside for a public school
Northwest Ordinance of 1787The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 gave government to the territories
When a territory had
5,000 residents, it could create a self-governing
legislature
When a territory
had 60,000 residents,
it could apply to become a
U.S. stateSlavery was outlawed in the NW
Confederation Government in New York City
The Articles of Confederation was America’s 1st form of gov’t
The weakness the national gov’t was originally seen as good because it
eliminated tyranny
Later, these same weaknesses kept the gov’t from solving serious national problems
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
Handout
Confederation Government in New York City
The inability of the government to collect taxes led to problems
U.S. Trade with Britain, 1783-1789
Debt
America could not pay off debts from
the Revolutionary War
Congress had no power to lay or collect taxes
Government is always short of money
Congress had no power to enforce its laws (no chief
executive or executive branch)
The government depended on the
states to enforce law. There was no
effective way to coordinate the work of the government
Congress was made up of one house (unicameral).
One vote per state = unequal representation
There was no national judicial
system.
There was no easy way to settle disputes
between states.
Amendments to the Articles required the consent of all
thirteen states.
There was no practical way to
change the Articles.
Congress had no power to regulate
interstate or foreign trade
Economic quarrels among the states broke out often
over interstate tariffs. There was difficulty in
arranging for trade with other countries.
Approval of nine states was needed to enact
laws.
It was difficult to enact laws.
The government did not have the power to maintain an army
There was no national defense. States had
local militias.
Government was dominated by states
There was no easy way to settle disputes
between states.
Property foreclosures led an uprising among Massachusetts farmers called Shays’ Rebellion
in 1787 but the gov’t could not pay
for an army to stop it
Poor farmers in western MA were angered over high taxes & prospect
of debtors jail
Daniel Shays led an uprising & closed debt courts & threatened a
federal arsenal
Shays’ Rebellion proved to be the
convincing event that led to the Constitutional
Convention of 1787
America’s First National Government: The Articles of Confederation
After Shays’ Rebellion, people like Hamilton & Madison began calling for a stronger national gov’t
In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to
discuss ways to improve the Articles
Instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, the delegates replaced it
with the Constitution
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