Answer:
C. It provided a means to convert western lands into states.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Articles were intended to make it difficult for the national government to achieve anything, hence there weren't many genuine accomplishments.
However, the settlement of a number of territorial disputes between the states and the establishment of a procedure by which territories could eventually be admitted as new states, equal to the original 13, under the land ordinances of 1784–1787, was unquestionably the most significant accomplishment of the Articles government.
All of the region east of the Mississippi river was given to the United States by Great Britain at the end of the American Revolution. But since the previous colonial borders had mostly ended at the Appalachian Mountains, this contained a sizable portion of land that was not a part of any state. Almost immediately, a number of distinct governments declared ownership of various areas of these new regions. Multiple governments have asserted claims to the same areas in many instances. There was a serious potential that this may lead to a battle between states that would tear the new country apart at a time when the ties of unity between the states were still very shaky.
Instead, a series of Ordinances adopted by the Confederation Congress between 1784 and 1787 mandated that the states give up their individual claims to the federal government, which would be in charge of administering all territories on behalf of all the states until those territories could be settled and make a statehood application. This map shows some of the geographical disputes that needed to be resolved. It can be found in attachment #1.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was the most well-known and significant of these ordinances. The areas that would later become the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were placed under national jurisdiction thanks to this ordinance. It outlawed slavery in these areas, contributing to the division over slavery between the Northern and Southern states that would ultimately result in the Civil War. It also spelled out the official procedures for territorial governance and the processes by which territories might petition for statehood. It further stated that the goal of these territories would be their ultimate settlement and admission as new states on an equal footing with the original 13. In order to facilitate the sale of land to new settlers and the straightforward organization of towns and communities, the territories were divided up into distinct townships that were arranged in a grid-like pattern. The sale of this land, which belonged to the national government, would serve as a source of income for the government (which was important, because the Articles of Confederation government had no other direct sources of revenue; it had no taxation powers, and was dependent on voluntary donations to the national treasury from the states.)
One of the first acts of the first Congress in 1789 was to re-enact the legislation as the Northwest Ordinance of 1789 in order to retain it in effect under the new Constitution since it was seen to be of sufficient importance when the Articles were replaced by the contemporary Constitution in 1788.
Therefore, this is unquestionably the Articles government's greatest success.
Thanks!
- Eddie