Establishing a Government

The provisions of the Articles of Confederation were these:

-Each state would retain its sovereignty, freedom, and independence and would have those powers not granted to the confederation government. -Each state would be represented in Congress by two to seven members, who would be paid; however, each state would have only one vote in Congress regardless of its size and population. -Congress could not regulate commerce or trade or interfere with the states or their citizens. -Congress could not levy any taxes to raise money to keep the federal government operating; the states had to give money to Congress. -No state, without the consent of Congress, could enter into diplomatic relations or make treaties with other states or foreign countries, or engage in war, except when actually invaded. -Congress could declare war and make peace, conduct foreign affairs, settle disputes between states, regulate --Native American trade, maintain post offices, make appropriations, borrow money, emit bills of credit, and establish an army and navy; however, nine states had to agree before Congress could take any important action.

Under the new constitution called the Articles of Confederation, the young government consisted of a loose confederation of the thirteen states. Each state acted as an individual nation and often ignored the government and the constitution. During this "critical period," the federal government was weak and rather inefficient, because it lacked certain basic powers necessary to make it strong:

-The equal voting power of the states in Congress led to jealousies and fights between the large states and the small states. The large states (like Virginia, with some 750,000 people) wanted more voting power than the small states (like Rhode Island, with only 65,000) because they were larger, richer, and more heavily populated. -The Congress could not levy taxes. Each state contributed as it pleased to help finance the government. -The Congress did not have the power to control commerce and trade among the states or between the U.S. and other countries. -No system of national courts was begun to try violators of the federal laws. All of these cases were tried in state courts, where the judges were often more friendly toward such violators. -There was no national executive (president) to see that the laws were obeyed. It was left up to the states to enforce the laws, and they were not in favor of giving too much power to the federal government. -To pass laws, the vote of nine states was also necessary. These nine votes were not easy to get, particularly since a number of states would not even send representatives to the Congress. A unanimous vote of all the thirteen states was necessary to change the Articles of Confederation. A unanimous vote was almost impossible to obtain, because at least one state always would object to an increase in power of the Congress.

summary

After the Revolutionary War ended, the soldiers hurried home to loved ones and jobs of a more peaceful nature. It was hoped that, with peace, the nation would prosper. However, conditions began to sour. Between 1777 and 1781, all states had their own constitutions that carefully specified the powers and limits of government. They wrote bills of rights that protected freedom of speech and press, guaranteed trial by jury, forbade search without a warrant, and prohibited taxation without consent. Most of these constitutions adopted two-house legislatures. Jobs were hard to find, the paper money printed by Congress and the states became less valuable, and taxes began to rise. People who had fought against the harsh taxes of King George III became bitter at the nation's own high taxes. Talk began of fighting another revolution, only, this time, against the American government. Each state ran its own affairs, printed its own money, made its own laws, and had its own army. Friction and suspicion grew between the states. During the crisis, George Washington and other great men once again provided good leadership. In this section, you will see how the liberties won in the war were finally made secure by a nationwide Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Ordinances of 1785 and 1787

After the U.S. defeated Britain in the American Revolution, the government of the new nation encouraged development even more than the British had. This encouragement can be seen in two of its earliest laws, the Ordinances of 1785 and 1787. In the early years of the American republic, national leaders wanted to sell the land to make money for the government. At the same time, many private citizens believed that vacant land belonged to the person who occupied and cleared it. Conflicts often arose between those who held legal claim to land and those who occupied it. The Land Ordinance of 1785 allowed a city (especially in the new Northwest Territory, which now makes up the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota) to reserve a section of land for future use, like for a library or school. Beginning with Yellowstone National Park in 1872, many of the national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges were created from public land. The Ordinance of 1787, called the Northwest Ordinance, outlawed slavery in the Old Northwest, guaranteed English common law there, and set up a system of government that outlined how the territories could become states. The new U.S. government also paid Revolutionary War veterans by giving them the right to take land for free in the Old Northwest. Some took up the offer. Some sold their right to land speculators, who in turn did all they could to encourage westward migration.

Inflation

Another problem in the U.S. at this time was inflation. Inflation occurs when money becomes less valuable, and prices rise higher and higher. During the war, the Continental Congress printed large amounts of paper money, which continued to lose value. After the war, there was no central bank of America. States printed their own money. There was little regulation in the production of money. States printed too much money that was, largely, unusable in other parts of the new country. For example, money printed in South Carolina was not usable in Massachusetts. If someone were to travel from South Carolina to Massachusetts, the person would use nine different forms of currency. These factors led to a decrease in the value of money. When the value of money decreases, it takes more money to buy items. For example, in Maryland, the price for a bushel of wheat was $1 in 1777. Due to inflation, this same bushel of wheat cost $5,000 by 1780 To make the money even more worthless, the British printed large amounts of counterfeit money and scattered it widely throughout the states. This action began before the war, and continued both during and afterward. It caused Americans to lose faith in the money, and currency dropped in value. For example, in 1779, it took $8 of paper money to exchange for $1 in gold or silver money. By 1780, $1 in gold or silver was worth $38 in paper. This problem of inflation continued after the war and helped cause some serious tax revolts.

The Second Continental Congress formed a new set of laws to govern the U.S. called the:

Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation

During the war, many members of the Second Continental Congress saw the need for a stronger central government. It was difficult at times for the thirteen colonies to work together, since they had no basic laws to guide them. Before the war was over, Congress took time to draw up a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation based on these state constitutions. When the states all agreed to these articles in 1781, a new form of government began for the U.S. While the Articles were an improvement, they still failed to form a strong confederation among the states. The federal government was still weak, and the states took care of their own affairs.

How did one become a landowner in the new territories of the U.S.?

Land was sold to earn money for the new government or awarded to certain people.

Why did the European nations think they did not need to deal with the U.S. during the Articles of Confederation period?

The country was loosely organized, with little power to act as a sovereign nation.

Confederation

a group of countries or states that have joined together for a special purpose

Constitution

a written document that contains the basic laws and rules of an organization or nation

Federal

describes a system of government in which groups agree to have a central organization administer common affairs, and the groups will administer their local affairs

Money losing its value and prices rising is called

inflation

Under this new form of government, each state had:

one vote

How did the British attempt to impact the economy of the colonies?

printed counterfeit money