Now what?

The British have surrendered and the Colonies have won their Independence... now what would they do? Create their own government of course! They had just won independence from a government run by a King, and each state had its own concerns and goals. Look at the below Graphic Organizer to better understand the "cause and effect" which would take place in the creation of first the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution.

http://www.cyberlearning-world.com/lessons/cande/consl.gif

The below chart further evaluates the problems with the Articles of Confederation

Government Under the Articles * Unicameral Legislature * One vote per state * 2/3 majority needed to pass legislation * Unanimous vote needed to amend Articles

Weaknesses of the Articles * No national executive * No national court system * National government could not collect taxes * National government could not raise an army * National government could not regulate trade

Problems under the Articles * Currency Problems: Many states printed their own money. The national currency, meanwhile, became almost worthless * Intrastate Commerce: States placed tariffs on each other's goods. This, combined with currency problems, led to a sharp decline in intrastate commerce * Foreign Trade: Other countries placed tariffs and trade restrictions on US goods; the US was not able to reciprocate. The absence of a strong navy also left US merchant ships vulnerable to pirates. * Foreign Affairs: The inability of the national government to raise an army left the US vulnerable. For example, key provisions of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, were not enforced. As a result, the British continued to occupy forts in the Northwest territory -- landed that had technically been ceded to the US.

from http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/legacy/highschool/pjordan/ushonors/Regents%20Review/Review%20Lessons/articlesofconfederation.html