Starter

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Starter

• What does freedom mean to you?
• What did freedom mean to Americans in 1776?
• How has the definition of freedom changed since
  9/11?

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The American republic would be a more
enlightened version of the Roman Senate
When Americans declared independence in 1776,
they needed to form a new government
They wanted to form a republic where citizens
vote for elected leaders to represent them
They wanted to protect citizens individual
states from a powerful national government
King George III
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When independence was declared, the 13 colonies
became independent states
Each state had its own constitution, legislature,
an elected governor 8 states had Bills of
Rights
But, the USA needed a national govt to do
things that states could not, like sign treaties
form a military
Americas 1st national govt was the Articles
of Confederation (1777-1789)
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This confederation style govt loosely
connected the states under a weak national
government
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Each state could send between 2-7 representatives
to the national congress, but each state had only
1 vote
To pass a law, 9 of the 13 states had to agree
Confederation Government in New York City
The national congress could make laws, settle
disputes between states, negotiate treaties,
handle Indian affairs, oversee a military
But all other powers were left up to the states
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Americans did not want to re-create a powerful
govt like the one they just fought the
Revolutionary War to break away from
So, the national govt had no president could
not tax the states or citizens
Confederation Government in New York City
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Western Lands, 1783
Western Land Claims, 1783
The lands between the Appalachian Mountains
Mississippi River that were acquired from the
British in 1783 were claimed by numerous states.
Many of these land claims overlap. How should we
solve this problem?
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The United States, 1783
Areas of Settlement, 1783
The Articles established a good system of
settling western lands
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Western Land Claims Ceded
by the States
First, states had cede (give up) their claims to
lands in the west to the national govt
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Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 to
create an orderly way to divide the west into
townships farms
Selling western lands was the only way the
national govt could generate money since it did
not have the power to tax
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Land Ordinance of 1785
Section 16 of the each township was set aside for
a public school
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Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 gave government
to the territories
When a territory had 5,000 residents, it could
create a self-governing legislature
When a territory had 60,000 residents, it
could apply to become a U.S. state
Slavery was outlawed in the NW
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Closure Questions

• The Articles of Confederation were created
  intentionally weak
• What powers does the national government have?
• What powers do the individual state governments
  have?
• What problems do you predict will occur because
  of these political weaknesses?

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The Articles of Confederation was Americas 1st
form of govt
The weakness the national govt was originally
seen as good because it eliminated tyranny
Confederation Government in New York City
Later, these same weaknesses kept the govt from
solving serious national problems
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The inability of the government to collect taxes
led to problems
Confederation Government in New York City
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U.S. Trade with Britain, 1783-1789
America could not pay off debts from the
Revolutionary War
Debt
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Property foreclosures led an uprising among
Massachusetts farmers called Shays Rebellion in
1787 but the govt could not pay for an army to
stop it
Shays Rebellion proved to be the convincing
event that led to the Constitutional Convention
of 1787
Poor farmers in western MA were angered over high
taxes prospect of debtors jail
Daniel Shays led an uprising closed debt courts
threatened a federal arsenal
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Americas First National Government The
Articles of Confederation
After Shays Rebellion, people like Hamilton
Madison began calling for a stronger national
govt
Instead of revising the Articles of
Confederation, the delegates replaced it with the
Constitution
In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss
ways to improve the Articles