USI.6



media type="custom" key="29545963" align="right" =**Explain the reasons for the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1781, including why its drafters created a weak central government; analyze the shortcomings of the national government under the Articles; and describe the crucial events (e.g., Shays rebellion) leading to the Constitutional Convention.**=


 * === **For more** **information on the Articles of Confederation, see USG2.1** ===
 * ===**See also, AP United States History 4**===

** Topics on the Page **

 * Articles of Confederation **
 * Northwest Ordinance of 1787 **
 * Shays' Rebellion **
 * Weakness of the Federal Government Under the Articles **
 * **The Virginia Plan**
 * **The New Jersey Plan**
 * Lesson Plans and Primary Documents **

Articles of Confederation

 * This [|link] provides a great deal of information on the creation of the Articles of Confederation.
 * This is a kid-friendly [|website] that provides information and interactive tools to learn about the Articles of Confederation.
 * Lesson plans and kid friendly resources for the Articles of Confederation http://government.mrdonn.org/articles.html
 * Articles of Confederation virtual game http://www.history.org/history/teaching/eft/sample_more_perfect/activity1/index.cfm
 * [|Timeline] of events preceding the Articles, and leading up to the Constitutional Convention.


 * New Hampshire adopted the nation's first constitution in 1776.


 * ==== The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union ====
 * [|JSTOR article] on the importance of the Articles of Confederation. Some high level theory, but could be suitable for high school students.
 * Video from Education Portal about the Articles of Confederation and Northwest Ordinance of 1787
 * Click here for John Green's Crash Course on the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
 * Go to Khan Academy for their video on the Articles of Confederation.
 * Another short [|video] overview of the Articles of Confederation

[|Podcast] on the Articles of Confederation from Mike Duncan's Revolutions.

This website contains a [|lesson plan] for using documents such as the Articles of Confederation.
 * This [|page] has a number of good learning questions and resources on The Articles of Confederation.



[|John Dickinson] wrote the first draft of the Articles of Confederation.


 * Primary Source letters from John Dickinson**

See the biographies and details of various women who lived during the tumultuous time period of the Rebellion:
 * Abigail Adams, the wife of future president John Adams.
 * Elizabeth Porter Phelps, a resident of Hadley, Massachusetts.
 * Mary Harvey, a Deerfield resident whose husband refused the draft during the Revolutionary War.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 establ ished that all new territory in the western part of the continent would be admitted as equal states into the union, not to be held as colonies by existing states--one of the greatest successes under the Articles of Confederation.
 * For more see, [|The Northwest Ordinance]
 * The Northwest Ordinance on Natives https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/241.html

This website provides information on land ordinances and the [|Northwest territory], while highlighting the impact this would have on the spread of slavery

**Shays' Rebellion**

 * [[image:rotating gif.gif width="66" height="66"]]For more on Shays' Rebellion, see Grade 5.2 **

The rebellion occurred in and near Springfield, MA between 1786 and 1787, and involved Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays and his followers known as "Shaysites" fighting against taxation.

To some, the revolt was framed as following in the American revolutionary tradition, while others perceived it as the actions of dangerous rebels.

The **Shaysites** were angered at Massachusetts's manner of dealing with their high debt; namely, many farmers were suffering under debt and high taxes during an economic downturn.

In response to what they saw as the apathy of the new government, Daniel Shays and his followers revolted. They began by shutting down several Massachusetts court systems. One of their first objectives was to capture the Federal Armory in Springfield, which they failed in attaining.

The rebels were eventually stopped by armies organized by the state and Governor James Bowdoin. The important takeaway for the nascent Confederation was that there was a clear need for a stronger central authority in order to prevent and put down rebellions like this in the future.

This proved effective in the later Whiskey Rebellion under the new Constitution.

A helpful timeline of Shay's Rebellion can be found [|here.]

A biography of Daniel Shays himself can be found at [|this website.]

This video provides excellent insight into what drove Daniel Shays and his supporters to oppose the government, courtesy of [|the History Channel] This [|website] provides a variety of links and information related to Shay's Rebellion.

This is a [|primary document]written by George Washington in response to Shay’s Rebellion.

[|Abigail Adams letter on Shays' Rebellion]

Shays' Rebellion and the Making of a Nation is a great website. Interactive and fun! [|Podcast] on Shays' Rebellion from "Ben Franklin's World: A Podcast About Early American History"

Shays' Rebellion: A Massachusetts Farmer's Account from the Constitutional Rights Foundation.

[|Good article] entitled "Blacks in Massachusetts and in Shays' Rebellion" on the role of blacks in the Rebellion and in the time period.

**Shays' Rebellion (1786) was important because it:** a) led many people to believe that the central government was too weak b) led to the end of public support for the First Bank of the United States c) made many people fear the tyranny of the president more than the tyranny of England d) convinced many people in the North that slavery should be expanded to new territories

Correct Answer: A (National Assessment of Education Progress; 59 percent of 12th graders got this question correct)

**Weaknesses of the Original Government**
The newly created Articles of Confederation purposefully created a weak central government. The country had just broken away from England's monarchical rule and the founders wanted no part in recreating such a government. In short, the government under the Articles of Confederation was not really a direct government of the people. The members of Congress represented the states, not the people, and each state (regardless of population) got one vote. Additionally, any single state could practically veto any important measure, making it extremely difficult to act unless all were in agreement.

The Congress had no power to raise troops or to tax. It depended on the states, and hoped that the states would contribute both money and men. Additionally, the central government was powerless to handles disputes between states since either of them involved could prevent an unfavorable resolutions.

Education Portal has a great video that summarizes the weaknesses of the Articles as well as the events leading up to Shay's Rebellion.

Click here for a lesson plan on the weakness of the Articles of Confederation from iCivics

This link is a [|powerpoint] that contains information on the impact of the Articles of Confederation and makes sure to highlight the impact they had on slaves and women:

This website depicts the [|social impact of the Articles of Confederation] on both slavery and the role of women:


 * ===For more on founding documents, see USG.2.2===





Additional notes on Problems with the Articles of Confederation:
Faltering: Found in The American Pageant 13th Edition. 20 March 2011.
 * Each state had a single vote, so that some 68,000 Rhode Islanders had the same voice as more than ten times that many Virginians
 * All bills dealing with subjects of importance required the support of nine states; any amendment of the Articles themselves required unanimous ratification
 * Unanimity was almost impossible, thus making the amending process unworkable
 * Need at the time was not for a **loose** confederation, but a **tightly knit** federation
 * This would mean the yielding by the states of their sovereignty to a completely recast federal government, which in turn would leave them free to control their local affairs
 * A time to revise the Articles of Confederation – a stronger central government
 * The Constitutional Convention began in 1787 with 55 delegates from all states
 * The delegates gave up trying to revise the Articles of Confederation and decided to form a whole new government
 * Major debates over national power and state representation took place
 * __Virginia Plan__ – two house legislature with representation based on state population


 * __New Jersey Plan__ – Congress has all the power with equal representation

A comparison the Virginia and New Jersey Plans of the http://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/1787-virginia-and-new-jersey-plans

A comparison of the Articles of Confederation versus the Constitution can be found [|here.]

This website provides links to a multitude of [|primary documents] from the Constitutional Convention. The Federalist Papers were an effort by the Federalist delegates at the Convention to convince all states to vote for a stronger federal government.
 * Federalist #10 deals with the suppression of future rebellion, a direct response to Shays' Rebellion and others like it.

[|A lesson plan] on the Federalist Papers.

[|Non-Stop] from the musical Hamilton, describing some of the circumstances around the Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention.


 * Click here for a youtube video "What Were the Articles of Confederation: Fact vs. Fiction"


 * "Peanuts" at the Constitutional Congress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjuXYxTrGt8


 * Click [|here] for a link that contains videos pertaining to the creation of the United States Government around the time of the Constitutional Convention.

[|**http://www.historywiz.com/secondcontcongress.htm**] [|**http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/judicial/marcus.html**] http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/index.html [|**http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/education/life/life7.html**] Souza, Christopher A. Lesson: //The New Nation’s Start//, Johnston, RI, October 11, 2005. Souza, Christopher A. Lesson: //The New Nation Starts and Expands,// Johnston, RI, October 13, 2005. [] Articles of Confederation Picture
 * Sources:**
 * http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=3