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Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first governing document of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation combined the colonies of the American Revolutionary War into a loose confederation. The second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union on November 15, 1777. Ratification The Articles of Confederation were submitted to the states for ratification on November 17, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were accompanied by a letter from Congress urging that the document be candidly reviewed under a sense of the difficulty of combining in one general system the various sentiments and interests of a continent divided into so many sovereign and independent communities, under a conviction of the absolute necessity of uniting all our councils and all our strength, to maintain and defend our common liberties . . . The government created by the Articles of Confederation differs from the one that was later created by the United States Constitution. Congress, for example, under the articles, is responisble for carrying out the duties of the legislative branch and the executive branch. In addition, the articles do not mention a judicial branch. Summary The Articles of Confederation consists of 13 articles, a conclusion, and a signatory section. Article Summaries: 1: Establishes the name of the confederation as "The United States of America" 2: Explains the rights and the amount of power that each individual state is entitled 3: Establishes the United States as a league of states united "...for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them..." 4: Anyone can pass freely between states (excluding fugitives from the law) and be entitled to the rights established by the state into which he or she travels . If a crime is commited in one state and the perpitrator flees to another state, he will be transported to and tried in the state in which the crime was commited. 9: Defines the rights of the central government. 11: "Canada acceding to this confederation, and adjoining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this Union; but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine States." A change in the articles would require unanimous approval from all 13 states. Although Congress debated the Articles for over a year, they requested immediate action on the part of the states. On February 5, 1778 South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. However, three-and-a-half years passed before ratification on March 1, 1781. Later that year, John Hanson was elected as President of Congress, a legislative position, not an executive one. After Hanson had completed his term in office, some began to refer to its holders as Presidents of the United States in Congress assembled. Despite the way this name is phrased, this position cannot be construed as being a head of state, and is not related to the Presidency established by the Constitution. Still at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, the colonists were reluctant to establish another powerful national government. Jealously guarding their new independence, the Continental Congress created a loosely structured unicameral legislature that protected the liberty of the individual states at the expense of the nation. While calling on Congress to regulate military and monetary affairs, for example, the Articles of Confederation provided no mechanism to ensure states complied with requests for troops or revenue. At times this left the military in a precarious position as George Washington wrote in a 1781 letter to the governor of Massachusetts, John Hancock. End of the War The Treaty of Paris (1783), ending hostilities with the United Kingdom, languished in Congress for months because state representatives failed to attend sessions of the national legislature. Yet, Congress had no power to enforce attendance. Writing to George Clinton in September 1783, George Washington complained: Congress have come to no determination yet respecting the Peace Establishment, nor am I able to say when they will. I have lately had a conference with a Committee on this subject, and have reiterated my former opinions, but it appears to me that there is not a sufficient representation to discuss Great National points. Revision In May 1786, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina proposed that Congress revise the Articles of Confederation. Recommended changes included granting Congress power over foreign and domestic commerce, and providing means for Congress to collect money from state treasuries. Unanimous approval was necessary to make the alterations, however, and Congress failed to reach a consensus. Finally, Alexander Hamilton invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, Congress endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Lessons Although ultimately supplanted by the United States Constitution, the Articles of Confederation provided stability during the American Revolutionary War years. Most importantly, the experience of drafting and living under this initial document provided valuable lessons in self-governance and somewhat tempered fears about a powerful central government. Still, reconciling the tension between state and federal authority continued to challenge Americans from the 1832 Nullification crisis to the Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 347 US 483 1954 decision. Signatories New Hampshire * Josiah Bartlett * John Wentworth , jun. Massachusetts Bay * John Hancock * Samuel Adams * Elbridge Gerry * Francis Dana * James Lovell * Samuel Holten Rhode Island and Providence Plantations * William Ellery * Henry Marchant * John Collins Connecticut * Roger Sherman * Samuel Huntington * Oliver Wolcott * Titus Hosmer * Andrew Adams New York * James Duane * Francis Lewis * William Duer * Governeur Morris New Jersey * John Witherspoon * Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania * Robert Morris * Daniel Roberdeau * John Bayard Smith * William Clingan * Joseph Reed Delaware * Thomas M'Kean * John Dickinson * Nicholas van Dyke Maryland * John Hanson * Daniel Carroll Virginia * Richard Henry Lee * John Banister * Thomas Adams * John Harvie * Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina * John Penn * Cornelius Harnett * John Williams South Carolina * Henry Laurens * Will Henry Drayton * John Mathews * Richard Hutson * Thomas Heyward jun. Georgia * John Walton * Edward Telfair * Edward Longworthy
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