HIST 1483 1st EditionExam #2 Study Guide Lectures: 11-17These notes cover all of the lecture material that the Second Midterm Study Guide (given to us on D2L) guides us to focus on. Please consult the textbook for more concepts, more terms,and a better understanding of the material. After most topics I have included page numbers ofthe text where you can find relevant information. This study guide, like any study guide, doesnot cover every concept that may be on the exam.I. The Articles of Confederation (accomplishments) (167, 196)A. The Articles of Confederation Government was the actual government of the United States during the revolution1. Technically the first government of the U.S.2. A confederate is an organization of separate independent groups(i) This was a confederacy of 13 individual, independent states3. There really wasn’t an actual government(i) No executive body, only legislative which has almost no power because the states are sovereign4. Passed two landmark ordinances affecting the newly gained lands west of the Appalachians(i) Land Ordinance of 1785(a) Up to this point there were mostly squatters(b) Provided a system of surveying and selling the land to the public(1) First use of a systematic survey and sale in the Ohio Region- Land was surveyed into six mile square townships which were subdivided into 640 acre lots- This is just like the British imperial system(ii) Land Ordinance of 1787(a) Northwest Ordinance(1) Set up the process by which the unorganized areas of the interior could form governments- They could elect officials- They could establish themselves by applying as territories and eventually becoming part of the confederacy of states “on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatsoever” This meant that the original 13 didn’t see themselves as the primary 13 and everyone else as subordinate They laid out a framework by which this unorganized territory can become territories of the U.S. and then eventually become states onan equal footing This is why we have 50 sovereign and equal states, not 13 original states and the rest colonies of the original 13 They repudiate the imperial system and create a republic based on notions of equality which leads to sovereignty for statesB. Under the Articles the states establish a tradition of unity for what used to be disunited colonies1. The wartime unity was threatened by internal dissention and serious economic depression in the 1780s(i) This shook the economic foundation of all of the states(ii) Resulted in serious social disturbances, riots, and (in one case) an all-out rebellionagainst state rule(a) This rebellion, known as Shays’ Rebellion, took place in MA(1) In 1785 the English banking houses started calling in loans that they had made to American businessmen and landholders- This had a domino effect because there was no sound colonial bankingsystem, Americans were simply borrowing money from one another sothey could pay off British debts- Farmers in MA organized and united because they couldn’t pay the debts they owed one another and Britain They proposed paying debts by printing money so as to deflate the currency and pay off the debts at a greatly reduced value In August of 1786, about 500 backcountry MA farmers gathered under the leadership of Daniel Shays, a former Revolutionary War officer, and the situation escalated until January of 1787 when nearly 1500 of his fellow farmers clashed with the MA state militiawhich was trying to suppress their rebellion Importance: Demonstrated the potential inability for the newly formed states to govern themselves Couldn’t collect the money Couldn’t pay the debts Couldn’t govern and control their own peopleII. Characteristics of government under the ArticlesA. The Articles of Confederation Government proved to be poor in the crisis of war because the central government was only the congress1. They had no enforcing power(i) Taxation was voluntary2. Wasn’t even approved by the states until November of 1777 or ratified until the war was almost over3. More pressing was the decision of independence from England(i) 2 big questions: what kind of government? Would this lead to direct independencefrom England?(ii) Thomas Jefferson was part of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence(a) It declared the right of the people to govern themselves and overthrow a government that did not afford them their inalienable rights (natural Law/Inalienable Rights)(b) Also contained a list of grievances that the colonists had suffered from King George III(1) But really the laws were passed by parliament. Why did they pick on the king?(2) Because of Paine’s argument that monarchy is incompatible with Republican government(3) They want to make it clear that they’re breaking from king George III and his monarchical government, not parliamentary government(4) They formed their own legit parliament(c) Congress unanimously supported the Declaration of Independence but hardly universal in the colonies(1) Remember that the revolutionary war was a civil war(2) Loyalists (13 colonies, the richest) vs. Separatists (13 colonies)(3) 3 camps: Patriots (stronger in the countryside) who favored independence,Loyalists (merchants, artisans of certain trades, plantation owners), and neutrals in the backcountry, Scots, and Irish (fearful, disinterested, switched sides)B. Difficulties in the new states that were under the Articles of Confederation government1. Problems came out of collections of taxes (import duties)(i) Various states started levying their own taxes internally and against citizens of other states(ii) Frustrated congress’ ability to legislate(iii) An attempt to create a uniform customs duty was thwarted by Rhode Island who blocked any effective way of raising federal revenueIII. Shay's Rebellion (Causes and Results) (198)A. Causes1. In 1785 the English banking houses started calling in loans that they had made to American businessmen and landholders(i) This had a domino effect because there was no sound colonial banking system, Americans were simply borrowing money from one another so they could pay off British debts(ii) Farmers in MA organized and united because they couldn’t pay the debts they owed one another and Britain(a) They proposed paying debts by printing money so as to deflate the currency and pay off the debts at a greatly reduced value(b) In August of 1786, about 500 backcountry MA