articles of confederation

1. Paris Peace Treaty and the
Articles of Confederation

2. ∗ One year after Yorktown –
French and rebel forces &
French navy fought off
British army & navy
∗ Cornwallis surrendered
∗ Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams & John Jay went to
Paris – Treaty – 1783
∗ U.S. received recognition
∗ U.S. claimed all land to the
Mississippi River & up to
Canada
∗ Land returned to Loyalists,
persecution forbidden
Paris Peace
Treaty
By Benjamin West -
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002651,
Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86813
8

3. ∗ Each state wrote their own constitution
∗ Connecticut & Rhode Island touched up their originals
charters
∗ Massachusetts drafted one → gave to people for
ratification
∗ Similarities:
∗ Contracts
∗ Weak executive, judicial branches
∗ Strong legislative branch
∗ Relocation of capitals west
Constitution Writing

4. ∗ Equality
∗ Released indentured servants
∗ Established trade organizations
∗ Separation of church & state
∗ Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
∗ Growth of abolition movement
∗ Northern states immediate and gradual abolition
∗ Inequality
∗ Freed blacks barred from buying property, certain jobs,
education, interracial marriage
∗ Women not equal
∗ ”Civic Virtue” – Democracy depended on unselfish
commitment to public good – “Republican Motherhood”
– power of educating children
= & ≠

5. ∗ Western lands
∗ Land hungry states
wanted to pay off war
debts with sale of
land (not fair to those
states without claims)
∗ Northwest Ordinance
of 1787 – lands ceded
to central
government → unity
Articles of Confederation
Drafted 1777 – Ratified 1781
CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1255
728

6. AOC
∗ Loose confederation – 13
states linked together for
joint action
∗ No executive branch
∗ Judicial branch left to each
state
∗ Each state had 1 vote
∗ To pass a federal bill – 9
states required, to add an
amendment – all
∗ Congress had no power to:
∗ Regulate commerce
∗ Enforce tax-collection
(voluntary)
- ++ Clearly outlined the
general powers of the
central government
(making treaties, postal
service)
+ Was a stepping stone
for the Constitution

7. ∗ Equality
∗ Released indentured servants
∗ Established trade organizations
∗ Separation of church & state
∗ Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
∗ Growth of abolition movement
∗ Northern states immediate and gradual abolition
∗ Inequality
∗ Freed blacks barred from buying property, certain jobs,
education, interracial marriage
∗ Women not equal
∗ ”Civic Virtue” – Democracy depended on unselfish
commitment to public good – “Republican Motherhood”
– power of educating children
= & ≠

8. ∗ Loyalist property sold
into small parcels
∗ Americans began
making manufactured
goods and developed
a distinct American
culture
∗ Increase in education
∗ Growth of nationalism
Social Changes
http://www.colonialsense.com/Antiques/GlassPitt/glasscylind
erpic.jpg

9. ∗ International trade increased
∗ No commercial treaty with England
∗ No trade allowed with the British West Indies
(smuggling)
∗ Redcoats littered the north and dominated fur
trade
∗ Failed to uphold Loyalist treatment agreement
∗ Congress inability to restrict trade or levy tariffs
America & England

10. ∗Navigation laws restricted trade with the
West Indies and other British ports
∗End of the war decreased America’s
manufacturing industry
∗Individual states levied tariffs on
importations from neighboring states
∗Economic depression continued through
1786
Economic Problems

11. ∗British ships sold their goods in the states
with the lowest duties and at prices that
local merchants could not meet.
∗National debt mounted
∗High inflation
∗Unfavorable balance of trade
Economic Problems

12. ∗Northwest lands sold to pay off national
debt
∗6 square miles divided into 36 sections –
1 section for public schools
∗60,000 people → statehood
∗Forbade slavery
Land Ordinance of 1785 & The
Northwest Ordinance of 1787

13. http://image.slidesharecdn.com/landordinance-140109125447-phpapp01/95/land-ordinance-northwest-ordinance-4-
638.jpg?cb=1389272143

14. ∗ Farmers were in debt → banks
foreclosed on land & farmers
couldn’t pay taxes
∗ Farmers demanded states issue
paper money, lighten taxes and
suspend property foreclosure
∗ Wealthy raised an army to crush
Shays and his men
∗ Debtor relief laws passed
∗ Fear of mobocracy
∗ Debtors feared forced payment of
taxes
Shay’s Rebellion

15. ∗States didn’t pay taxes
∗Boundary disputes between states
∗Separate state tariffs
∗Depreciated paper money
Problems with the Articles of
Confederation

16. ∗ Control of commerce was
the chief topic
∗ Convention @ Annapolis →
only 5 states were
represented
∗ Alexander Hamilton
summoned a convention in
Philadelphia to “revise” the
Articles
∗ 55 delegated showed up
from 12 states
∗ In attendance – Washington,
Madison
Constitutional Convention
By Howard Chandler Christy - The Indian Reporter, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=662340