Articles of Confederation Review Key

Articles of Confederation Review KEY Directions: Check your answers on your review sheet using the information on this page. Answers do not need to be word-for-word exactly the same, but the content and details should match. ADD ANY MISSING INFORMATION TO YOUR REVIEW SHEET. 1. Following the American Revolution, what fears did the framers of the Articles of Confederation have about government? (2 things) They were afraid of giving too much power to a central government; they also feared that some states would have more power than others 2. Describe the way that the national government was set up under the Articles of Confederation. Describe the legislature: Each state had 1 vote, no matter how large its population It had only one house Every action by Congress needed the consent and approval of 9 of the 13 states before it became law. Also, in order amend/change the AOC, all 13 states had to agree. Describe the powers given to the national government: (6 things) The national government had the power to: ▪ Conduct foreign affairs ▪ Declare War/make peace ▪ Issue or borrow money (but NOT to pass taxes to raise money) ▪ Control Western Territories ▪ Control Indian Affairs ▪ Run postal service Describe the powers given to the states: All other powers were given to the states. Describe what was needed for the Articles of Confederation to be ratified and amended. It had to be ratified (accepted by the state legislatures) by all 13 states to take effect. It took 5 years to be ratified and put in place. 3. Describe the achievements of the Articles of Confederation (3 things): Under the AOC, the US government: (1) successfully waged the war/negotiated peace, (2) got states to recognize each other’s laws and the right of citizens to travel freely, and (3) passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (which organized the new lands in the northwest). 4. Describe the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation (6 things): 1) Congress had no money and no power to get it, so it had to rely on voluntary contributions; some states refused. 2) There was no executive branch to carry out laws, so there was no way to make states obey national laws. 3) The country was run by congressional committees, so it was hard to make decisions of any importance. 4) Congress could not enforce foreign trade agreements, so foreign countries were unwilling to trade with the United States. 5) Congress could not control taxes passed in each state, so states taxed each other’s goods, which impacted trade. 6) Congress could not interfere with local/state issues, so if a state seized a citizen’s property, Congress couldn’t do anything about it. 5. Explain why Shays’ Rebellion was an important event in American history. (What was it? What caused it? What impact did it have?) After the war, soldiers from the Revolution still had not been paid so they couldn’t pay their debts or state taxes. They often had their property seized, could be put in prison, and lose their right to vote. Former Army Captain Daniel Shays led a rebellion of farmers in MA that tried to close down courthouses in order to prevent their property from being seized. When the National gov’t couldn’t respond (because it had no army), Massachusetts had to raise an army to stop the rebellion. As a result, people became concerned about law and order. They recognized the problems of the Articles of Confederation (listed above, especially that the central government was too weak to uphold its laws). People began to call for a new constitution.