The Articles of Confederation established the United States of America, granting states their own powers and liberties. The central government had limited power and states had one vote in Congress. The document was weak and ineffective, leading to a constitutional convention in 1787 to revise it. The US Constitution replaced it in 1789.
The Articles of Confederation comprised the first constitution of the first 13 states of the United States. It included a preamble, 13 articles and a conclusion. In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee, headed by Delaware Representative John Dickinson, to determine a framework for the constitution. It was adopted on November 15, 1777, but not ratified until March 1, 1781.
Essentially, the Articles of Confederation established the nation as the United States of America. It granted each state its own liberties and powers with respect to anything not expressly determined to be the responsibility of the federal government. The states were bound in a “firm league of friendship with each other,” in matters of warfare and defense. It allowed for the free movement of people between states and the promise of one vote per state in Congress. Each state was allowed from two to seven representatives, each of whom was not allowed to serve more than three out of six years.
It became the central government’s job to declare war, conduct foreign relations, determine the value of money, control the expansion of western territories, and settle disputes between states. The document outlined rules for naming military ranks in times of war and set the precedent that funds for the federal government were to be raised by each individual state. In general, the Articles of Confederation required that nine states need to approve the admission of another state to confederation. It also allowed changes to the document only if all states ratified the changes.
This loose confederation of states was weak under the Articles of Confederation. The United States broke away from England and went to war with them because the government was too powerful. Thus, the document established a weak central government and strong state governments. No nation, however, could tolerate such a configuration of power.
The central government was powerless to force the states to supply it with money or troops. It couldn’t even regulate trade efficiently. The states have been given too much power and the federal government not enough. Another major flaw in the Articles of Confederation was representation: all states had one vote. While small states have benefited, large ones have suffered.
As a result, the Articles of Confederation were ineffective. Between May and June 1787 a constitutional convention was held to revise the document. It continued to be the law of the land until 1789 when the new US Constitution was ratified.
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