Ap Us History - Part 2

Front 1

Articles of Confederation: powers, weaknesses, successes

Back 1

The Articles of Confederation delegated most of the powers (the power to tax, to regulate trade, and to draft troops) to the individual states, but left the federal government power over war, foreign policy, and issuing money. The Articles’ weakness was that they gave the federal government so little power that it couldn’t keep the country united. The Articles’ only major success was that they settled western land claims with the Northwest Ordinance. The Articles were abandoned for the Constitution.

Front 2

Northwest Ordinance, 1787

Back 2

A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Set up the framework of a government for the Northwest territory. The Ordinance provided that the Territory would be divided into 3 to 5 states, outlawed slavery in the Territory, and set 60,000 as the minimum population for statehood.

Front 3

Land Ordinance of 1785

Back 3

A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Provided for the orderly surveying and distribution of land belonging to the U.S.

Front 4

Shay’s Rebellion

Back 4

Occurred in the winter of 1786-7 under the Articles of Confederation. Poor, indebted landowners in Massachusetts blocked access to courts and prevented the government from arresting or repossessing the property of those in debt. The federal government was too weak to help Boston remove the rebels, a sign that the Articles of Confederation weren’t working effectively.

Front 5

Annapolis Convention, 1786

Back 5

A precursor to the Constitutional Convention of 1787

Front 6

Great Compromise

Back 6

At the Constitutional Convention, larger states wanted to follow the Virginia Plan, which based each state’s representation in Congress on state population. Smaller states wanted to follow the New Jersey Plan, which gave every state the same number of representatives. The convention compromised by creating the House and the Senate, and using both of the two separate plans as the method for electing members of each.

Front 7

Supporters of the Constitution

Back 7

Known as Federalists, they were mostly wealthy and opposed anarchy. Their leaders included Jay, Hamilton, and Madison, who wrote the Federalist Papers in support of the Constitution.

Front 8

President George Washington

Back 8

He established many of the presidential traditions, including limiting a president's tenure to two terms. He was against political parties and strove for political balance in government by appointing political adversaries to government positions.