Main idea:

The leaders of the United States worked to define the powers of the government.

Will Heher

Violet Mileva

Lora James

Tedsi Tavarez

Americans needed to establish their own government and gain Britain’s respect. This brought new challenges. The British believed the new government was weak and ineffective.

Thirteen Independent States

• States organized their government and adopted their own state constitutions. The writers wanted to prevent abuses of power and also wanted to keep power in the hands of the people.

• State constitutions limited the power of the government to avoid giving one ruler too much power. Pennsylvania replaced the office of governor with an elected council of twelve members.

Thirteen Independent States State constitutions limited the power of thegovernment to avoid giving one ruler too much power. Pennsylvania replaced the office of governor with an elected council of twelve members. States divided functions between the governor (Pennsylvania's council) and the legislature.

Thirteen Independent States

• In most states only white males who were 21 years of age could vote. They also had to either be property owners or pay a certain amount of taxes. In some states free African American males could vote.

Each state was operated independently, so the British saw this as weak and ineffective. Since it was a confederate government, it was hard for the government to rule over the states.

• Americans agreed that the country should be a republic, which is a government with elected representatives. What they could not agree on was the origin and powers of the new republic.

• At first most Americans favored a weak central government with the powers being given to the states to function independently except for the power to wage war and handle relations with other countries.

Forming a Republic

Forming a Republic

• In 1777 the articles of confederation were adopted to provide for a central government. At the time the country needed a central government to fight the war against Britain.

• Under the Articles of Confederation ,the government, which was the Confederation

Congress, had the authority to 1.Conduct foreign affairs2.Maintain armed forces3.Borrow money4.Issue currency

The government did not have the authority to

1. Regulate trade

2. Force citizens to join the army

3. Impose taxes

Congress needed to ask state legislatures to raise money and provide troops.

The government did not a chief executive.

Forming a Republic

Each State had one vote in Congress. State population did not matter, although larger, more populated states believed that they should have more votes.

Forming a Republic

States also argued about whether or not

They claimed land in the west. Maryland

Refused to ratify the articles of

Confederation until states abandoned their

Land claims. Finally all 13 states approved

The articles on march 1, 1781. The

Confederacy formally became the

Government of the united states.

Forming a RepublicThe Confederation had its weaknesses, but it won Americans their independence, expanded foreign trade, and provided for new states in the West.1. It had limited authority.2. It couldn’t pass a law unless nine states voted for it.3. To change the Articles of Confederation, all 13 states had to give consent. It was difficult, therefore, for Congress to pass laws when there was any opposition.

The Articles of Confederation had no provision

for adding new states. Congress realized it had

to extend authority over the frontier and bring

order and stability to the territory were western

settlers reached almost 120,000 by the 1790.

The Western ordinances had a large impact on

Western expansion and development of land in

the United States.

In 1784 Congress divided the Western territory into

self governing districts. When the number of people in a

district reached the population of the smallest existing

state, it could apply for statehood.

!n 1784 the Confederation Congress established a new law

that divided the Western territories into larger townships

and smaller sections. The smaller sections were sold at

auction for at least $1 an acre. This was called the

Ordinance of 1785. Land owners bought large pieces of

land cheaply.

New Land Policies

Another ordinance passed in 1787 was the Northwest Ordinance.1. It created a Northwest Territory out of the lands north

of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.2. It divided lands into three to five smaller territories.3. It stated that when a territories population reached

60,000 citizens, it could apply for statehood. Each new state would enter as an equal to the original 13 states.

4. It included a bill of rights to protect the settlers that guaranteed freedom of religion and trail by jury. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude were permitted in the new territories.

New Land Policies

The Confederate government had troubles with finances, and with Britain and Spain over landholding and trade. Many Americans felt the country needed a stronger government to better deal with the problems.• The government had a large debt from fighting the

war. Congress had borrowed money from American citizens and foreign governments. It owed soldiers their wages. But since Congress had no power to tax, it didn’t have a way to raise revenue and pay off it’s debt.

Trouble on Two FrontsTrouble on Two Fronts

Money was almost worthless. Paper money printed

during the Revolutionary War had fallen in value,

while the prices of food and other goods soared. In

Boston, high prices often let to riots. Since Congress

had no power to tax, it and the states issued paper

money, and the value of money fell. No gold or

silver backed these bills.

Trouble on Two Fronts• To solve these problems, the Confederacy

created a department of finance. Robert Morris, a Philadelphia merchant, headed the department.

•Morris proposed a plan that called for collecting a 5 percent tax rate on imported goods to help pay off the national debt. Because of Rhode Island’s opposition, the measure did not pass. The second time, it also failed. The country’s finance situation

worsened.

Trouble on Two FrontsThe problems with Britain concerned landholdings and trade.

1. British British troop remained in several strategic forts in the Great Lakes Region even though Britain had promised to withdraw all troops under the Treaty of Paris.

2. British merchants closed Americans out of the West Indies and other profitable British markets.

3. John Adams went to London in 1785 to discuss the issues. British said that since the Americans hadn’t paid Loyalist for the property taken from them during the war, like agreed under the Treaty of Paris, they weren’t willing to talk. Congress recommended pay, but the states refused.

Trouble on Two FrontsProblems with Spain were worst the the ones with England.

1. Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to American shipping in 1784 in hopes of halting American expansion into their territory of Spanish Florida and lands west of the Mississippi River.

2. A compromise was reached with an agreement in 1786 that limited American shipping on the Mississippi River. In return, the Spanish promised to accept the border between Georgia and Spanish Florida proposed by the Americans. Representatives from the South rejected this since it didn’t include the right to use the Mississippi River.