In 1777 the Continental Congress adopted a new type of government in a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation. The new government under the Articles of Confederation was made up of two levels of government that shared fundamental powers; The State governments and the National government. The government was called a Confederation. The task of creating a new government during this time period posed a great challenge, however most of decisions that were made under the new government helped to benefit the society in different ways. Different events and problems economically, socially, and politically later occurred that ultimately made the government under the Articles of Confederation a failure.

Two events that contributed to the success of the government under the articles of confederation were the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which would eventually become the Confederation's greatest achievements. These laws helped congress establish a...