Articles of Confederation

4th Grade

Essential Question

Why were the Articles of

Confederation a weak

form of government?

Why were the Articles of

Confederation needed in the new

nation?

1. The Declaration of Independence called for a

new form of government to be ruled by the

people.

2. They had to establish a form of government to

rule the new nation, United States of America.

3. A Constitution is a written plan of government.

4. The new nation wrote the Articles of

Confederation as their constitution or plan of

government.

Influences on how the Articles of

Confederation was written

1. Colonists just got out from under a monarch

which held all the power and they did not want

a strong central government.

2. Colonists wanted each state to hold more

power than the national government.

3. They were afraid of losing their voice in

matters if the national government held too

much power.

Powers and Limits of the Articles of

Confederation

Powers of National

Government

Declare War

Make Peace

Treaties

Powers of the State

1. Controlled trade

within the state

2. State taxes; no

national taxes

3. Printed own money

Reasons why the Articles of

Confederation were weak

1. States held all the powers

2. States did not work together to make a

strong new nation.

3. Each state wanted to control the

workings of their state.

Problems due to weakness of

Articles of Confederation

1. States would not work together

2. Each printed their own money

3. Each had own rules for trade

4. The new nation had no money to pay for

the Revolutionary War because it could

not levy taxes on its citizens

What must be done to solve the

problems of the Articles of

Confederation?

Create a new Constitution in which

more power is given to the

national government that also

allows states to hold some power

within it.