Articles of Confederation

Question 1

What type of government did the Articles of Confederation form?

Answer 1

A Republic: Citizens ruled through electing representatives

Question 2

Who held the majority of power under the Articles of Confederation, State or National government?

Answer 2

State, National power was very limited

Question 3

What did the Land Ordinance of 1785 do?

Answer 3

Surveyed land west of the Appalachian Mountains, and sold it to help pay the national debt (loans from the Revolution), and divided into 6-mile squares (36 sections 1 mile each)

Question 4

What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 do?

Answer 4

Established the procedure for territories to become states.

Question 5

What is the procedure for territories to become states?

Answer 5

1. Congress would appoint a governor.
2. Once the territory had 5,000 settlers, it could write a temporary Constitution and elect a government.
3. The territories could become states once they had 60,000 residents.

Question 6

What are 3 economic issues during the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 6

1. Huge debt from the Revolutionary War.
2. Each state printed its own money.
3. States were charging each other tariffs on trade.

Question 7

How did the founding father’s fear impact the Articles?

Answer 7

They made an extremely weak National Government, giving the majority of the power to the States.

Question 8

What did Shay’s Rebellion prove?

Answer 8

There are serious domestic problems, the government had no power to control the violence.

Question 9

What were the weaknesses of the Articles?

Answer 9

1. States had more power than the national government
2. Each state had there own currency
3. No military
4. No executive branch (leader) or way to enforce laws