The ARTICLES of CONFEDERATION [APUSH Review Unit 3 Topic 7 (3.7)] Period 3: 1754-1800
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of Heimler's History, we explore the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, ratified in 1781. It was heavily influenced by state constitutions, focusing power in the legislative branch to ensure government accountability to the people. The Articles lacked an executive branch and a national supreme court, making it rigid and difficult to amend. Key legislation under the Articles included the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory and provided a path to statehood. However, economic struggles and events like Shays's Rebellion highlighted the need for a stronger federal government, leading to discussions about drafting a new Constitution.
Takeaways
- 📜 The United States' first Constitution was the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781.
- 🏛️ The Articles of Confederation was heavily influenced by state constitutions, emphasizing legislative power.
- 🌐 There was no executive branch or president, and no national supreme court under the Articles of Confederation.
- ⚖️ Each state had one vote in the legislature and veto power over changes to the Articles, requiring a super-majority for amendments.
- 🚫 The Articles were rigid and difficult to change, reflecting a fear of centralized power post-independence.
- 🌳 The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a significant law under the Articles, promoting public education and abolishing slavery in the Northwest Territory.
- 🏘️ The Northwest Ordinance provided a process for western territories to gain population and apply for statehood.
- 💸 Economic hardships, particularly for farmers, led to issues like Shays's Rebellion, highlighting the Articles' inadequacies.
- 🛡️ Shays's Rebellion underscored the lack of a strong federal government to respond to crises, as there was no president or federal army.
- 🔄 The realization of the Articles' flaws led to discussions about drafting a new Constitution to replace it.
Q & A
What was the first constitution of the United States known as?
-The first constitution of the United States was known as the Articles of Confederation.
Why was a new constitution needed after the Declaration of Independence from Britain?
-A new constitution was needed to organize political authority in the newly independent states.
How did the Articles of Confederation influence the distribution of power within the government?
-The Articles of Confederation placed power primarily in the legislative branch, reflecting the influence of state constitutions that focused political power in the legislature.
What was the role of the legislative branch in the government under the Articles of Confederation?
-The legislative branch was responsible for making laws, and it was directly answerable to the states and the people.
Why did the framers of the Articles of Confederation avoid creating a strong executive branch?
-They wanted to avoid the concentration of power in one person, reminiscent of the monarchy they had just separated from.
What was significant about the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 under the Articles of Confederation?
-The Northwest Ordinance promoted public education, protected private property, abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory, and provided a process for unorganized territories to achieve statehood.
What economic issues faced American farmers after the Revolutionary War, leading to discontent?
-Many farmers had fallen into debt during the war and struggled to repay it due to inflation and new taxes, leading to widespread discontent.
Who was Daniel Shays and why is he significant in the context of the Articles of Confederation?
-Daniel Shays was a farmer who led a rebellion of angry farmers in Massachusetts. His rebellion highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, as there was no federal government or army to respond effectively.
What was the immediate response of the Massachusetts government to the threat posed by Shays' Rebellion?
-The Massachusetts government sought federal assistance to quell the rebellion, but due to the lack of a strong federal government under the Articles, they had to rely on their own militia.
What was the ultimate outcome of Shays' Rebellion and its impact on the Articles of Confederation?
-Shays' Rebellion was suppressed, but it demonstrated the need for a stronger central government, leading to discussions about drafting a new Constitution.
Outlines
📜 Introduction to the Articles of Confederation
This paragraph introduces the topic of the first Constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation. It clarifies a common misconception that the current U.S. Constitution is the original one, highlighting that the Articles of Confederation preceded it. The need for a constitution arose after the Declaration of Independence in 1776, leading to the ratification of the Articles in 1781. The paragraph also explains the influence of state constitutions on the Articles, emphasizing the concentration of political power in the legislative branch to ensure government accountability to the people.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Articles of Confederation
💡Legislative Branch
💡Super-majority
💡Northwest Ordinance of 1787
💡Shays's Rebellion
💡Monarchy Hangover
💡State Constitutions
💡Westward Migration
💡Federal Government
💡Economic Hardship
💡Rebellion
Highlights
The United States had a first Constitution known as the Articles of Confederation before the current Constitution.
The Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781 to organize political authority in the newly independent states.
The Articles were influenced by existing state constitutions that focused power in the legislative branch.
The legislative branch was chosen to hold power to ensure government accountability to the people.
The Articles did not provide for an executive branch or a president, reflecting a wariness of centralized power.
Each state in the legislature had one vote and veto power over changes to the Articles.
A super-majority of 9 out of 13 states was required for any amendments to the Articles, making changes difficult.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a significant law under the Articles, promoting public education and private property rights.
The Northwest Ordinance abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory.
It provided a process for unorganized western territories to achieve statehood.
Shays's Rebellion highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a stronger federal government.
Economic hardships, particularly for farmers, led to the rebellion and calls for government assistance.
The lack of a president and federal army under the Articles was exposed during Shays's Rebellion.
The rebellion and the potential for similar uprisings prompted discussions about drafting a new Constitution.
The video concludes with an invitation to subscribe for more educational content on AP U.S. History.
Transcripts
Well hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s History. We’ve been going through Unit 3 of the
AP U.S. History curriculum, and in this video we’re going to look at the first Constitution
of the United States. What you talking about, first Constitution? This is America,
we only got one Constitution, son. I’m afraid that’s not true. The Constitution
we know and love today is in fact our second Constitution. Our first constitution was known
as the Articles of Confederation, and we fixin to talk about it. Let’s get to it.
Okay, so the Articles of Confederation. You may recall that on July 4,
1776 it was made public that the Continental Congress had agreed to declare independence
from Britain. And that meant that the Americans were now officially separated
from the authority of the British government. Thus, they needed a constitution to organize
political authority in the new states. And the product of that need was the Articles
of Confederation which was ratified in 1781 to become the new governing document of the nation.
Now, the Articles didn’t drop down out of the sky fully formed and without precedent. No,
they were actually in large part influenced by existing state constitutions. So before and during
the Revolution, state governments had formed their own constitutional governments, and the thing you
really need to know about these governments is that they largely focused political power into
the legislative branch. Now in case you don’t know what that means, let me splain it up real nice for
you. The legislative branch of a government is the one that’s responsible for making the laws. And in
the state governments, the legislative branch consisted of representatives of the people. So
by placing power here, it meant that they wanted the power of government answerable to the people.
So as I mentioned before, the Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781,
and the folks who created this governing document were many of the same folks who
had created the state constitutions. So when it came to a governing document for the nation,
they likewise placed power in the legislative branch. They didn’t want to invest too much
power in an executive, or president, because they still kind of had a monarchy hangover.
So in order to avoid the consolidation of power in one person, they put the
power in the legislature which was directly answerable to the states, and thus, the people.
Now, to that end, the Articles of Confederation did not even provide for an executive. Like,
there was NO president to speak of. Furthermore there was no national supreme court. All the
power was in the legislature, and every state represented in that legislature had precisely one
vote. Additionally, each state had veto power over any changes that could be made to the Articles.
And supposing there were no vetoes, the Articles still said that for any changes to take place,
9 out of 13 states needed to agree. Now that is called a super-majority, and in
case you have no idea how politics works, it is very difficult to achieve
said super-majority. So all this to say, it was a very rigid and nigh unto unchangeable document.
Now, one of the most immediate problems the new government was facing was with regards
to westward migration. As Americans continued to push west for settlement,
they continued running into American Indians who resisted them. Not only that,
people were just going into the western territory and squatting willy nilly all over
the land. And so to regulate all this western territory, the federal government passed what
may be the only really good law on the books under the Articles of Confederation, namely,
the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Now this piece of legislation did many things
including the promotion of public education, and provisions for protection of private property,
but arguably the two most significant things it did were as follows. First, it abolished
slavery in the Northwest Territory. Second, it provided an orderly means by which the unorganized
territories in the west could get themselves a population and apply for statehood in the union.
Now, as I said, the Northwest Ordinance was probably the best thing that came out of this weak
federal government. Probably the worst thing to happen to it was Shays’s Rebellion. And it
was really this rebellion that proved to many Americans that the Articles
of Confederation was a flawed document in need of replacing. So what happened?
Well, by the mid 1780s the American economy was kind of a hot mess. This was especially true with
the nation’s farmers. Many of them had fallen into debt while they were off fighting in the
Revolutionary War. And when they returned to their farms they were having loads of trouble paying
back those debts because of inflation and new taxes that were upon them. They even petitioned
the state and federal government for relief, but they had no luck getting any meaningful response.
And you can imagine why they’d be angry. After all, they were off fighting America’s
revolutionary war, and when they returned home they were in danger of losing everything.
Now as it happened, a man named Daniel Shays from Massachusetts was one of those
angry farmers. He ended up gathering a militia of about a thousand folks,
and headed down to the town arsenal to arm themselves. Now it wasn’t long before the
Massachusetts militia stopped them and crushed the uprising. So why is this important?
Because, when Massachusetts saw all these angry farmers bearing down on them, they
picked up the phone and called the president to send federal troops to help them. [dials
phone] HELP. But guess what, no one answered because there WAS no president under the Articles,
nor was there any federal army to send. And so it was really this little rebellion in Massachusetts,
and the possibility of other rebellions like it, that showed everyone the weakness of the Articles.
And so that’s when local and federal leaders began to whisper
about the possibility of crafting a new Constitution to replace the
Articles. But we’ll have to wait for the next video to see what they did.
Alright, that’s what you need to know about Unit 3 Topic 7 of the AP U.S. History curriculum. And
if you need help getting an A in your class and a five on your exam in May, then click here and
If you want me to keep making these videos then subscribe and come along. Heimler out.
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