Early US History
What year did Americans declare independence from England?
1776
What was the first American Constitution approved in 1777 called?
Articles of Confederation
What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? (3)
No power to tax, congress had limited power, and they couldn't regulate trade
Angry farmers, including Daniel Shays, took part in what event?
Shay's Rebellion
What was the system set up for white Americans to settle in the Northwest Territory called?
Land Ordinance of 1785
What ideas and principles were fought for in the American Revolution?
Freedom, Liberty, Equality, Democracy, and Basic Human Rights
What did the Americans assume the right to do after winning independence?
Govern Themselves
What strengths did the Articles of Confederation have? (2)
States could make their own decisions
Federal government had limited power
Who did the depression hit the hardest?
Farmers
Why did the Continental dollar, the first form of paper currency approved by the Continental Congress, have little value?
It wasn't backed by gold or silver
Under the state constitutions, more people had the right to do what?
Vote
Why was it difficult to create a government after the Revolution?
States didn't want to give up their power
True or False: The Articles of Confederation were created before the end of the Revolution.
True
Even with successes, the Articles of Confederation still had major downfalls. The nation suffered an economic depression. What is a depression?
A period when business activity slows, prices and wages fall, and unemployment rates rise
Who did the U.S. owe millions of dollars to after the war?
Individuals and foreign countries
What qualifications were there to vote at this time in America?
White
Male
21
Own land or pay a certain amount of taxes
What year did the American Revolution end, signaling the Articles of Confederation to go into effect?
1783
How did most Americans view themselves in terms of citizenship?
As citizens of their individual states
Several states agree to call a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. In the end, what would happen?
The would create a brand new framework of government
Who already owned the land that was being sold in the Northwest Territory?
Native Americans
Who recognized the need to form a new government after the Revolution?
Thomas Jefferson and other leading Virginians
What is a bill of rights?
A list of individual rights and freedoms guaranteed to the people
What major concern faced the new government formed under the Articles of Confederation?
Debts and Currency
The Northwest Territory- the land west of Pennsylvania, north of the Ohio River, south of the Great Lakes, and east of the Mississippi - had laws established on how territories should be governed and how they could become states. What was the system called that was set up for white Americans to settle in the Northwest territory, where the land would be surveyed and divided into townships, that would be divided further into 36 sections of one square mile each?
Land Ordinance of 1785
Because Continental Dollars were nearly worthless, what did states do that caused major confusion?
States printed their own money