The Articles of Confederation

Name its weaknesses: no power to tax, no president, and no national courts.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 27

The war was won, but how should the new country be run? Americans had just fought a powerful king, so they were afraid of a powerful government.
Their first plan was called the Articles of Confederation. It tied the states loosely together. The states kept most of the power.
It was too weak. Congress couldn't collect taxes, so it couldn't pay its debts or its soldiers. There was no president and no national court.
States argued over trade and printed their own money. In 1786, Massachusetts farmers in debt rose up in Shays' Rebellion, and the national government could do little.
Many leaders agreed that something had to change. In 1787, they called a meeting in Philadelphia.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS4H2.b — Evaluate the major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention: the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the rights of states to govern themselves (federal system), the Great Compromise, and slavery (Three-Fifths Compromise).