Lesson 1: The Articles of Confederation
Duration of Days: 8
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to identify the structural weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and explain how the fear of "tyranny" influenced the design of America’s first government.
Why were the early Americans terrified of giving a central government too much power?
What were the consequences of having a "firm league of friendship" rather than a strong nation?
How did requiring unanimous agreement to amend the Articles hinder the government's ability to function?
Articles of Confederation
Shays’ Rebellion
Federalists/Anti-Federalists
Tyranny
Ratify
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources
Students will be introduced to the challenges of self-governance following the American Revolution and how the Articles of Confederation was a reactionary document, designed to prevent the rise of another monarch, inevitably leading to the birth of the U.S. Constitution
Provide a "Main Idea" checklist for the annotation task
Have students research and debate the specific "disputes between states" that the Articles failed to resolve
The "Articles of Confederation Scavenger Hunt" serves as a check for factual understanding
The three short-answer analysis questions requiring textual evidence