What you will be able to do
describe the Articles’ structure; evaluate achievements and weaknesses with evidence; connect problems to calls for revision
Articles of Confederation
How did the Articles of Confederation balance state independence with the need for national action?
Activate what you know
After independence, list one decision states could make alone and one problem that required coordination
- Articles of Confederationfirst written framework for the United States national government
- confederationunion in which member states retain substantial power
- Congressnational lawmaking body under the Articles
- requisitionformal request to states for money or resources
- ordinancelaw or regulation
- unanimousagreed to by every member
1
The Articles Favored State Power
Congress adopted the Articles in 1777, and all states ratified them by 1781. The document described a firm league of friendship among states. Each state had one vote in Congress, regardless of population, and major decisions required approval from nine states. Congress could conduct diplomacy, wage war, coin money, and manage western affairs, but it could not directly tax individuals or regulate interstate and foreign commerce. It requested funds from states, which did not always pay. There was no separate national executive branch or general national court system. These limits were deliberate. Revolutionary Americans feared distant, concentrated authority. The central question was how to cooperate without recreating the kind of power they had opposed
2
The Government Worked, but Coordination Faltered
The Confederation government managed the end of the Revolutionary War and passed the Northwest Ordinance, creating a process for territories to become states and prohibiting slavery in the Northwest Territory. That ordinance also asserted U.S. authority over Indigenous homelands without Native consent. Debt, unstable currency, state trade barriers, and difficulty funding government increased concern. Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts in 1786–1787 alarmed leaders who feared disorder, though farmers had real grievances about debt and taxation. Reformers called the 1787 convention to revise the Articles, not initially to replace them
Evaluate against Its Purpose
The Articles protected state authority, but the same design made coordinated finance, trade, enforcement, and revision difficult
Use Intended Benefit / Trade-off
For each feature, name what danger it tried to prevent and what coordination problem it created
Weak Does Not Mean Powerless
Congress held real powers and achieved important measures; its difficulty was acting consistently without direct revenue and enforcement
Design Evaluation
Score four Articles features for state independence and national coordination, then defend one trade-off with evidence
The Articles created a state-centered union that achieved diplomacy and western policy but struggled with revenue, commerce, enforcement, and amendment
Practice and answer guide
Work through all 10 questions. Open an answer only after you have written or explained your response.
- 1. When did the Articles take effect?
Check answer
After all states ratified them in 1781
- 2. What is a confederation?
Check answer
A union in which member states retain substantial authority while cooperating through a common body
- 3. Name three congressional powers
Check answer
Diplomacy, war, coinage, western policy, postal service, and borrowing are acceptable
- 4. Name three limits
Check answer
No direct national taxation, limited commerce authority, no separate executive, no general national courts, and unanimous amendment
- 5. Draw an intended-benefit/trade-off chart
Check answer
The chart should connect a real design feature to both its intended protection and coordination cost
- 6. Why did states receive equal votes?
Check answer
The design protected state equality and sovereignty rather than basing power on population
- 7. Name one achievement
Check answer
Peace diplomacy, managing war, or the Northwest Ordinance
- 8. Why is the Northwest Ordinance also an Indigenous land issue?
Check answer
It organized territory claimed by the United States on Indigenous homelands without obtaining Native consent
- 9. How did Shays’ Rebellion influence debate?
Check answer
It increased fears that the government could not address disorder and economic conflict, while farmers’ grievances showed deeper policy problems
- 10. Write a balanced evaluation of the Articles
Check answer
Answers must include at least one achievement, one limitation, and the state-power purpose behind the structure