HIS 315K Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Articles Of Confederation, Northwest Ordinance
Document Summary
Articles of confederation: written in 1777, wrote state constitutions, the constitution for the new nation, but there were problems. Starting showing up before the war was over: created a central government with no president and no powers. Had to raise money to fight a war. Weakness in the articles of confederation: lack of economic authority to deal with nation"s debt. Borrowed a lot of money from the french and the dutch and wherever they could get money, americans bought war bonds. Revenue into the united states was very little. Britain = trading partner; not interested in buying a lot of stuff. Forbidden to make trade with west indies. Many anglo americans who were eager to move west to fertile land. Settlers and land speculators were pressing the government to open up land. Defined the area that defined the northwest territory. Agreed it would be forever closed to slavery. Hoped slavery would soon be moved to extinction.
