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What were the Articles of Confederation?

These were the basis for the original constitution of the United States, it took the 13 rebelling colonies, as they were at that time, many months to finally agree them.

The Continental Congress

Even though they had declared their independence on July 4^th, 1776, they had to agree how they were going to fight their war of independence and more importantly agree what was to happen when they won.  Therefore, the rebel colonies got together at what they called The Continental Congress, the first one was in 1774, where they spent many many months agreeing what they called the Articles of Confederation, which they finally ratified on March 1^st 1781. 

Things took time in those days!

What did they include

Basically, they set up what they thought would become their constitution after victory.  This meant that their plan was for a limited government with very minimal powers, simply to conduct:

• the American Revolutionary War
• diplomacy
• settle territorial issues

Why didn’t it stay as the US Constitution?

This worked until 1786 and the Shay’s Rebellion in Massachusetts, which showed that the Articles were too simple, they were now not really practical as they were now a real nation.  Their needs where different, they required a new constitution.

The result

Therefore, they decided to set up a Constitutional Convention of all the States, who then met to agree a proper constitution for their new nation, the United States of America.

As a result, eight years after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, in 1789, the Constitution of the United States was ratified.   It was one that created a system of federal government that included the separation of powers:

• The Executive – the president
• The Legislature – the Congress
• The Supreme Court – The judges

A system that exists today, so they must have done a good job.

Isn’t History fun?

10 questions to discuss:

1. How did the Articles of Confederation differ from the current US Constitution in terms of government structure?
2. What events led to the drafting and ratification of the Articles of Confederation?
3. Can you explain how the Articles of Confederation impacted the powers of the federal government during their tenure?
4. Why was Shay’s Rebellion considered a turning point in the evaluation of the Articles of Confederation?
5. What were the main limitations or weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation that became apparent over time?
6. In what ways did the Constitutional Convention address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation?
7. How did the separation of powers in the US Constitution address the concerns that arose from the Articles of Confederation?
8. Were there any significant disagreements or debates during the ratification process of the US Constitution after the Articles of Confederation?
9. What role did the states play in the transition from the Articles of Confederation to the US Constitution?
10. How did the drafting of the US Constitution reflect the lessons learned from the experience with the Articles of Confederation?

For more on this:

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/the-continental-congress

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/articles-of-confederation#:~:text=The%20Articles%20of%20Confederation%20were,day%20Constitution%20went%20into%20effect.

© Tony Dalton