U.S. History IFrom Confederation to Constitution (1781 to 1800)D2.Civ.3.9-12

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles (in force 1781) set up a weak national government: one vote per state in Congress, no executive or national courts, no power to tax, nine states to pass key laws and all thirteen to amend.

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In what the Revolution changed you saw the new states write constitutions of their own. They also needed a government for all thirteen together. Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation in 1777, and they took effect on March 1, 1781, once Maryland, the last state, ratified them. They were the country's first constitution.

Key idea

The Articles made a league of states, not a strong nation. There was one body, Congress, where each state had one vote. There was no president and no national courts. Congress could not tax: it could only ask the states for money. Key laws needed nine of the thirteen states, and changing the Articles needed all thirteen.

Why it works

The weakness was on purpose. Americans had just fought a war against a distant government that taxed them without their consent. They feared any central power that could do the same, so they kept power in the states, closer to the people. The Articles say so plainly: each state "retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence."
Tap the marked phrases.

What Congress could and could not do

Sort each power. Then press Check.

Worked example: Reading a weakness from the rules

In 1781 and again in 1783, Congress asked the states to let it collect a 5 percent tax on imports. Twelve states agreed to the first plan; Rhode Island alone said no. Why did one state's "no" kill it?
  1. A tax power would change the Articles, so it was an amendment.
  2. Amendments needed the approval of every state legislature: all thirteen.
  3. Rhode Island refused in 1782, so the plan died; the second plan failed the same way.
  4. Without a tax, Congress depended on what the states chose to send, and most sent far less than they were asked.

Answer: Changing the Articles needed all thirteen states, so a single state could block it.

Common mistake

It is easy to think the Articles did nothing. Under them Congress won the war, made the Treaty of Paris (1783), and organized the western lands with the Land and Northwest Ordinances. The trouble was narrower: a Congress that could not tax or enforce its laws. Quick check: if a claim says "the Articles failed at everything," ask how the war was won and the West organized.

By the mid-1780s those limits hurt. Congress could not pay its war debts or its soldiers. States taxed one another's goods. Britain kept forts on American soil, and Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to American trade. Leaders began to ask for a stronger union.

Practice

Pass with 3 right answers, the last 2 in a row. Each right answer earns 2 XP.

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Sources and further reading

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