The Articles of Confederation

The first government of the United States was based on this, which was created in 1777.

Articles of Confederation

This is the form of government with one ruler, such as a king or queen

Monarchy

This is a form of government in which citizens elect leaders to run the government.

Republic

The unicameral legislative branch created by the Articles of Confederation was MOST LIKELY changed to a bicameral branch in the United States Constitution because people

A bicameral legislature was adopted because people wanted more of a separation of government power. The two houses would create more of a separation of power.

The first government of the United States was the

The Articles of Confederation was the first government in the United States. It failed to be strong enough to establish a strong, federal government, so it was scrapped and replaced by the Constitution we still use today. While the Mayflower Compact was the first instance of European-styled self government in North America, it predates the United States by over 150 years.

Which is the BEST description of the main weakness of the Articles of Confederation in relation to the American Revolution?

The BEST description of the main weakness of the Articles of Confederation in relation to the American Revolution is that Because the Articles of Confederation gave the federal government no way to force the states to supply troops or funds, Washington's army was often without supplies or food. The government's efforts to organize and fund the Continental Army during the Revolution can pretty much be considered a failure.

Who was responsible for creating the Articles of Confederation?

The Second Continental Congress was responsible for creating the Articles of Confederation. It also created The Declaration of Independence.

The Articles of Confederation represented the Americans' distrust of

The very reason the Articles of Confederation were made with a weak federal government was because the framers of it feared a strong central government. This enabled to states to have so much authority that the safety of the country was put at risk.

( "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated." Articles of Confederation, 1781) Which is the BEST conclusion that can be drawn from this quote from the Articles of Confederation?

This quote from the Articles of Confederation established that state governments were more powerful than the federal government after the American Revolution. With strong, independent state governments and no central power to guide their actions, the early American government struggled to achieve its goals. This fact led to the Articles being replaced by the United States Constitution in 1789.

Which sentence describes the power to tax given to the U.S. Congress by the Articles of Confederation?

A major weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress could not tax. Congress could only request that taxes be submitted. This is a big weakness because tax money IS needed to do things like fund a military and provide much-needed services for the country.

Suppose that Americans in 1786 had wanted to amend national law to include slavery. Which situation BEST describes how this might have been achieved?

A major weakness of the Articles of Confederation was the difficulty in amending it: all of the states would have to agree to the amendment. This kind of agreement is extremely hard in a democracy. Even the passage of laws was hard: 9 out of 13 states had to agree, rather than just a simple majority as under the U.S. Constitution.

In this role, the President acts at the head of the branch of government that is responsible for enforcing laws passed by Congress.

Chief Executive

After the American Revolution, early state constitutions allowed for which principle that can also be found in the U.S. Constitution?

Early state constitutions included many principles found in the US Constitution, one of which was a separation of powers with checks and balances built in. The states wanted to ensure that power did not centralize in fear of the monarchy they recently broke away from.

Which statement BEST describes the power of government provided by the Articles of Confederation?

In an attempt to be unlike the British government, the Second Continental Congress created a government in which there was no one person 'in charge' (no King or President). This fear of a national government caused them to create a nation in which the states had more power than the national government. It was doomed to fail.

This was an Act of Continental Congress which initially organized the first United States territory and was to be the basis for governing how the United States would expand westward

Northwest Ordinance

This is the name given to the lands that would eventually become all or parts of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Northwest Territory

Which of these was one of the few successes of the United States Government under the Articles of Confederation?

One of the main accomplishments of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation was passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 organizing the settlement of the Northwest Territories. The United States Government succeeded in settling conflicts associated with the settlement of western lands.

One reason why the Constitution was adopted over the Articles of Confederation was

One reason why the Constitution was adopted over the Articles of Confederation was that Shay's Rebellion revealed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The new government would have greater national power to deal with such disturbances.

Why was it hard to get laws passed under the Articles of Confederation?

Passing a law under the Articles of Confederation was extremely difficult. To do so required 9 of 13 states needed to agree., meaning that very few laws ever got passed. But remember a few things: 1) the founders of the Articles of Confederation did not want Congress to have much power and 2) there was no President and no Judicial Branch under the Articles.

The post-colonial distrust of strong, national governmental power can most clearly be seen in the creation of the

The Articles of Confederation created such a weak national government that some critics wondered if the United States really consisted of 13 countries instead of one. This was not without reason, though, for the men who drafted this first government of the United States did not want to create a system that would be like the one they had just rebelled against.

A major failing of the United States Government under the Articles of Confederation was its

The correct answer is the inability to regulate commerce among the states. The Articles left unclear the role of the federal government in trade between the sovereign states, which could have led to tariffs, trade wars, etc between the states. It did, however, regulate the expansion of the country (into the Great Lakes region) and allow the government to establish embassies in foreign countries.

("States often refused to cooperate with one another. They also refused to financially support the national government. The national government was powerless to enforce any taxation acts it passed. Some states began making agreements with foreign governments. Most states had their own, independent militias which were unable to work as a unified unit. Each state printed its own money and the national economy was very unstable.") This statement is referring to

This statement is referring to the problems faced by the American government under the Articles of Confederation. Each of the issues listed in the statement is referring to a weakness of the American government that led to the Articles of Confederation being replaced by the United States Constitution in 1789.

This is the practice of having only one chamber in a legislature or a parliament.

Unicameral