#1: Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
Summary
TLDRIn this lesson, students are introduced to the Articles of Confederation, the first failed attempt at forming a government in the newly independent United States after the Revolutionary War. The video covers the critical period from 1783 to 1788 when the country faced instability and the founding fathers struggled to create a federal government that balanced power between states and the nation. The lesson emphasizes federalism and the challenges of uniting the states under one constitution. The Articles of Confederation ultimately failed and were replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which is still in use today.
Takeaways
- 📜 The new unit focuses on the failed government attempt known as The Articles of Confederation.
- 🇺🇸 The American Revolution ended in 1783, and the United States gained independence from England.
- ⏳ The five-year period after the Revolution, until 1788, is called the Confederation Period.
- ❗ This period is also known as the Critical Period due to the instability and uncertainty of the new nation.
- 👨⚖️ The 13 colonies are now 13 states, and the Founding Fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, led the government.
- 📖 A constitution is a written set of rules for how a government operates, outlining the process for laws, leadership, and government powers.
- ⚖️ The Founding Fathers had to create a powerful federal government to unite the states but avoid making it too strong.
- 🏛️ Federalism was established, meaning power is shared between the federal and state governments.
- 🛠️ The Articles of Confederation was the first attempt at federalism but failed to create a proper balance between federal and state power.
- 📚 The Articles of Confederation was replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which is still in use today.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the lesson?
-The lesson focuses on the Articles of Confederation, the first failed attempt at government in the United States, and its impact during the Confederation period.
What was the historical context at the start of this unit?
-The unit begins in 1783, after the American Revolution, when the Patriots had won independence from England and the United States was a new country.
What was the Confederation period?
-The Confederation period was a five-year period following the American Revolution, during which the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation.
Why is this period also called the 'critical period'?
-It is called the 'critical period' because the new United States lacked stability and it was uncertain if the country would remain intact.
What challenge did the Founding Fathers face after the American Revolution?
-The Founding Fathers had to create a constitution that could unite the 13 newly independent states, despite their differences.
What is a federal government?
-A federal government is a government that has power over the entire country, and its laws apply to all states equally.
What is federalism and why was it important?
-Federalism is a system where power is shared between the federal government and state governments. It was important because it balanced the need for a strong central government with the fear of giving it too much power.
What was one of the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
-The Articles of Confederation failed to create a strong balance between federal and state powers, leading to instability and problems in governing the new nation.
What happened after the Articles of Confederation failed?
-After the Articles of Confederation failed, the Founding Fathers replaced it with a new constitution—the U.S. Constitution, which is still in use today.
What is one example of a federal power and a state power under federalism?
-An example of a federal power is declaring war, while an example of a state power is controlling public schools and deciding the curriculum.
Outlines
📜 Introduction to the Articles of Confederation and Critical Period
The video begins with an introduction to a new unit focused on the Articles of Confederation, the first attempt at creating a government in the newly formed United States. After the American Revolution ended in 1783, the Patriots had won independence, and the United States entered the Confederation Period (1783-1788), when the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This time is also referred to as the 'Critical Period' due to the instability and uncertainty surrounding the country’s survival. The Patriots, now called the Founding Fathers, took on the challenge of creating a functioning government for the newly independent 13 states.
📜 The Founding Fathers’ Task: Writing a Constitution
This paragraph introduces the Founding Fathers, such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, and their task of creating a constitution for the new country. A constitution is a written set of rules that dictate how a government operates, including how laws are made, how leaders are chosen, and the limits of their power. The challenge for the Founders was creating a constitution that could unite the 13 diverse states, each with distinct needs, such as plantation owners in Georgia and factory owners in Massachusetts.
⚖️ Understanding Federal Government and Federalism
The concept of a federal government is introduced, which refers to a government that holds authority over the entire country. The Founding Fathers faced the dilemma of creating a federal government strong enough to unite the states while avoiding a concentration of power reminiscent of a monarchy. The compromise was the creation of federalism, where power is shared between federal and state governments. Federal powers, such as declaring war, apply to all states, while states retain control over local matters, like education.
⚖️ The Balance of Power: Federalism in Action
This paragraph emphasizes the importance of federalism as a balancing act between federal and state powers, which has caused numerous conflicts throughout U.S. history. The paragraph introduces the next topic: the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Fathers' first attempt at federalism. However, the Articles failed to strike a proper balance of power, leading to the decision to replace them with the U.S. Constitution after only five years. The paragraph closes by reminding students to differentiate between the Articles of Confederation and the later U.S. Constitution, which is still in use today.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Articles of Confederation
💡Confederation Period
💡Founding Fathers
💡Federalism
💡Federal Government
💡Critical Period
💡U.S. Constitution
💡Ratification
💡State Powers
💡Framers
Highlights
Introduction of the lesson focusing on the Articles of Confederation as a failed attempt at government.
Students are instructed to review objectives and prepare to take notes.
The unit begins after the American Revolution in 1783, covering the period until the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788.
The period is referred to as the Confederation period, characterized by instability in the new United States.
The 13 colonies have now become the 13 states of the United States.
Introduction of the Founding Fathers or Framers, including notable figures like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson.
A constitution is described as a set of rules for how a government operates, including how laws are made and powers are distributed.
The challenge for the Founding Fathers was creating a constitution that could unite all 13 states with their various differences.
Introduction of the term 'federal government,' referring to the central government that has authority over the entire country.
The dilemma faced by the Founders: creating a strong federal government without making it too powerful.
Introduction of the concept of federalism, which means power is shared between federal and state governments.
Federal powers, such as declaring war, are reserved for the federal government, while states control local matters like public schools.
Federalism is a balancing act, and disagreements between state and federal powers have caused significant conflicts throughout U.S. history.
The Articles of Confederation, the first attempt at federalism, ultimately failed due to an imbalance of power between federal and state governments.
The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which remains in use today.
Transcripts
hi students welcome to another Mr Ness
greencast today we are starting a new
unit and our first aim is about a failed
attempt at government called The
Articles of Confederation
and here are your objectives please
pause the video look them over
get ready to copy some vocab terms and
take some notes
we ended our last unit with the American
Revolution the year was 1783 and the
Patriots had just won the Revolutionary
War
gained independence from England and
started a new country the United States
in this unit we'll be looking at the
short
five-year period that started right
after the American Revolution
and lasted until the ratification of the
US Constitution
in 1788.
we call this period the Confederation
period because it was the time when the
United States was governed by something
called The Articles of Confederation
which I'll come back to later
you can also call this time period the
critical period
because the brand new United States lack
stability
and it was unclear if the country would
remain intact
this was a critical time for the
country's survival
we will not be referring to the 13
colonies anymore
they are now the 13 states of a new
country called the United States
we use the term founding fathers or the
founders or the framers
either of those terms
to refer to the Patriot leaders who were
in charge of the United States
government during this period
this picture shows some of the founding
fathers men like George Washington
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
After the revolution
the founding fathers faced the task of
creating a constitution for the new
country
Constitution is a written set of rules
that a country's government follows
kind of like a manual for how the
government will operate
it says how laws are made
how the leader is chosen what leaders
can do and what they cannot do
it's the rules of government
for the founding fathers or the framers
the difficulty was creating a
constitution that could successfully
unite all 13 states
you probably remember that the 13
colonies had many differences during the
colonial era
and the states after Independence were
also very different from one another
could plantation owners in Georgia agree
to the same Constitution as Factory
owners in Massachusetts
before I tell you how the founders solve
this problem let's get a term out of the
way
the term is federal government
and it means the government that has
power over the entire country
that means that a law passed by the
federal government has to be followed by
people in every single state it's a law
for the entire country
in the United States the headquarters of
the federal government are in Washington
D.C
so here's the Dilemma the founding
fathers faced when they tried to make a
constitution
they needed to create a powerful federal
government because without one
the United States wouldn't be United it
would just be a bunch of different
states with each state acting like its
own country
at the same time
they didn't want to create a federal
government that was too powerful
they had just fought a war to be free of
a king and many were suspicious of a
powerful government with its
headquarters far away from where they
live telling them what to do
and so as a compromise
the framers established a system of
government called federalism
federalism means that power is shared
between federal and state governments
there are some things that only the
federal government can do
and those things affect every citizen no
matter which state they live in
an example of a federal power is
declaring war
New York State cannot declare war on
another country only the federal
government can decide to do that
on the other hand there are some things
that each state gets to decide for
itself
and those things affect only the people
living in that state
for example a state power is having
control over Public Schools
each state gets to decide what
curriculum is taught in its Public
Schools
how students will be tested for
achievement
Etc
take a look at this image Federalism is
about sharing power it's a balancing act
but it's never an easy one and as we'll
see
disagreements between the federal
government and the state governments
have caused a ton of conflict in U.S
history
that's why Federalism is an important
idea
in the rest of this video I'm going to
tell you about the first Constitution
that the founding fathers made
it was called The Articles of
Confederation and it was the founding
father's first attempt at federalism
unfortunately in terms of creating a
balance between federal and state power
the Articles of Confederation failed
it caused a lot of problems
and just five years after it was written
the framers decided that it needed to be
replaced by a different Constitution
try not to confuse the Articles of
Confederation which is our country's
first constitution with the U.S
Constitution which is what replaced the
Articles and is the Constitution we
still use today
you'll learn more about that second
Constitution soon
okay that's all for today's lesson
please review these objectives answer
them on loose sleeves so that you have a
reference for the tomorrow's do now
if you don't know the answer to any or
aren't sure just rewind the video and
review them
see you in class
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