I think if asked what happened after the American Revolution, most Americans would say "George Washington became president of the country”
I think if asked what happened after the American Revolution, most Americans would say “George Washington became president of the country,” but they would be wrong. Episode 2 is about the Articles of Confederation, the OG government of this country. The Articles of Confederation were a hot mess pretty much from the start (1:05). The inability of the government to put down Shay’s Rebellion forced the elites to reconsider what powers were necessary for a government to function (2:46).
The Question of the Day asks (4:30) What do you call the building, which is still standing in Philadelphia, where the Constitution was signed?
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Hi and welcome to the APsolute Recap: US Gov Edition. Today’s episode will recap The Articles of Confederation
Lets Zoom out:
Unit 1 - Foundations of Democracy
Topic 1.4 - Challenges of the Articles of Confederation
Big idea - Constitutionalism
I think if asked what happened after the American Revolution, most Americans would say “George Washington became president of the country,” but they would be wrong. There is a six year gap between the end of the war and when Washington becomes President. Why? Because we didn’t have the Constitution yet. Today we are going to talk about the Articles of Confederation, the OG government of this country.
Lets Zoom in:
The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777, but wouldn’t go in effect until 1781, more on that later. It was a government dominated by the states which considered itself to be a confederation. A confederation is an organization of groups united in an alliance or league. By definition, a confederation is an organization of independent bodies, thus showing in the title a central authority will be lacking.
So what did the Articles create? They established a legislature with one house, making it unicameral. While each state could send up to 7 delegates, they all only got 1 vote. There was no president, no court system, and the national government couldn’t tax, only the states could. It was weak from the start, but that was the intention when it was created. After all, the colonies were in the middle of a war against an oppressive authority figure, the king, about (in no small) part taxes on them. Finally, any changes to the Articles had to be unanimous and sometimes states wouldn’t show up to the meetings. This is why it wasn’t put in effect until 1781 when Maryland finally ratified it.
The Articles of Confederation were a hot mess pretty much from the start. Without the ability to tax and with debts to pay off, the national government had to request money from the states, which often refused to pay up. The national government also had no power to regulate commerce. This was the case not only between the colonies, but also with other countries. This meant that foreign trade was limited and the economy was struggling following a war, which costs money. On the plus side, the founding fathers would be able to learn from these early mistakes when they were writing the Constitution.
The reality check on the shortcoming of the Articles of Confederation came in 1786 with a revolt by a group of farmers in Massachusetts called Shays Rebellion. The Rebellion was a series of attacks on courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on their farms. The elites felt threatened and wanted the state to step in and put down the rebellion. Well you need a militia to stop a rebellion and neither the state of Massachusetts nor the national government had enough money to pay a militia to stop the uprising. Without the ability to tax the other states the national government was stuck. Although the Articles gave the government power to raise and maintain an army and navy, there was no way to pay for it. Shays Rebellion was a wake up call that neither the state nor national government could really provide order and security in the newly independent nation.
After Shay’s Rebellion, a meeting of all the states was called for May 1787 in Philadelphia. This series of meetings would come to be known as the Constitutional Convention and would ultimately result in the Constitution that created the structure of government that we have today.
To recap……
The Articles of Confederation was the country’s first attempt at a government and it was an epic failure. The national government had very little power and the states often wanted to be left alone and would ignore requests from the government. By not giving the national government the ability to tax, the states also created a system where there was no way for the government to help the nation as a whole if trouble arose. The inability of the government to put down Shay’s Rebellion forced the elites to reconsider what powers were necessary for a government to function.
Coming up next on the Apsolute RecAP US Government Edition: Federalism
Today’s Question of the day is about the Constitutional Convention
Question: What do you call the building, which is still standing in Philadelphia, where the Constitution was signed?