The Articles of Confederation Questions

Directions - Read the text below and answer the questions in your notebook using complete sentences. The first answer is in the first paragraph. The questions are in order of the reading.Answer the following questions using complete sentences in your notebook.
1. What did all the states have four years after the Revolutionary War ended?
2. Why did the colonists want the powers of government written down?
3. What are the natural rights?
4. What did most state constitutions include?
5. What did state constitutions restrict?
6. Why were the Articles of Confederation written?
7. How many states had to approve important decisions?
8. What powers did the Articles of Confederation give the government?
9. What powers did the Ariticles of Confederation deny to the government?
10. The government under the Articles didn't have the power to tax. Why do you think this would become a problem?
11. Why do you think the Articles did not have an executive? An executive is one person who is in charge and makes major decisions.
12. What did the Articles of Confederation establish?

Part 1: The Basic Rights
The American colonies were in the middle of a war when they declared themselves independent from Great Britain. By the end of 1776, just a few short months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 10 of the 13 colonies had their own constitutions. Four years later, all the states had their own constitutions.

The colonists who wrote these constitutions thought it was very important that they have written documents. The British constitution wasn't written down, so British laws could be interpreted any way the judges wanted to. The American colonists wanted the powers of the government to be in writing, so everyone would know what they were.

They thought that the British government didn't respect what they saw as natural rights (such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"). To this end. The colonists wanted their individual and natural rights protected. Most state constitutions included a bill of rights to protect these natural and individual rights. This bill of rights included many of the rights guaranteed by the current Bill of Rights, including:
• freedom of speech
• freedom of religion
• freedom of the press
• trial by jury
• search warrant for property searches

These constitutions also restricted the power of government. Fearful of another king, the American colonists wanted a government that would serve them, not the other way around. One state, Pennsylvania, didn't even have a governor.

Part 2: The Power of the States
This distrust of the power of the government made for very weak colonial governments. And as the war went on, the Americans realized that they needed some form of central government to deal with things like paying soldiers and negotiating with other countries. The result was the Articles of Confederation.

Approved in 1777, the Articles established a Confederation government, which was a fancy way of saying that the central government didn't have a whole lot of power. The national legislature was the Confederation Congress. Each state could send from two to seven delegates, but each state also had only one vote. Even if New York sent seven delegates, they all together had only one vote. (So they had to agree on what they were voting for or against.)

Any important decision had to be approved by 9 of the 13 states. This included laws, treaties, and payment for soldiers. Here is a breakdown of the powers granted and denied the Confederation government:

Part 3: The First National Government
To us today, viewed through the looking glass of the Constitution, these look like trouble. How can a central government hope to survive if it can't raise taxes or doesn't even have a court system? The answer is, it can't.

The Articles of Confederation established the first national government for the United States of America. In light of the terrible treatment the American people had received so very recently, this new government was a welcome sight indeed.