History of USA Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) Brief Overview Timeline People Events & Qs
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Brief Overview
The representatives of the thirteen states agree to create a confederacy called the United States of America, in which each state maintains its own sovereignty and all rights to govern, except those rights specifically granted to Congress.
As these thirteen states enter into a firm "league of friendship" for the purpose of defending each other, there are standards that the states should follow to help maintain good relationships. Each state must recognize the legal proceedings and official records of every other state, and that the citizens of one state have the rights of citizenship in any state. Additionally, a state must help return runaway criminals to the state in which the crime was committed.
States have the right to select and send two to seven delegates to Congress each year. Each state has one vote in congress, and delegates can only serve for a period of three years in any interval of six years. Delegates have certain privileges while serving in Congress. They are guaranteed the right to freedom of speech and are immune from arrest for most petty crimes.
States are not allowed to conduct relationships with foreign nations without the permission of congress. They cannot wage war, negotiate peace, raise an army or navy, conduct diplomacy, or make an alliance with another state. However, they can make imposts on goods, as long as they do not interfere with foreign treaties. States must keep a local militia, and they may wage war if they need to quickly defend themselves.
During war, states have the right to appoint officers of colonel rank and below. Congress pays for war from a treasury that states contribute to relative to the value of land in their state.
Congress has the sole power to deal with foreign nations, including making war and peace, and to deal with Indian (Native American) affairs. Congress must maintain uniform standards of coins and measures, make the rules for the army and navy, and run the post office. Congress will help resolve interstate disputes only as a last resort, and has the sole right to hold trials for crimes committed at sea.
Congress can appoint a provisional Committee of the States to serve when Congress is not in session. Congress can appoint other committees made up of civilians to help run the nation, and a president who can serve for one year every interval of three years.
Congress determines the budget and will publish it regularly, along with the proceedings of its meetings. When Congress must request troops, it will do so relative to the number of white inhabitants in each state, and the states must provide those troops on the date indicated.
On the most important issues of foreign affairs, nine of thirteen delegates must agree.
If Canada chooses to join the United States, it will be admitted as an equal state.
Congress takes full responsibility for all debts from the American Revolution.
All states agree to follow the rules of the Articles and the decisions of Congress and to never violate the union.
Any changes to the Articles of Confederation must be agreed to in congress and approved by every state.
Timeline
1643: Formation of the New England Confederation Consisting of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven and Connecticut colonies, this was the first union formed for the purpose of mutual defense against the French and Indians and as a forum for inter-colonial disputes.
June, 1754: Formation of the Albany Congress With delegates representing Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (including Delaware), Maryland, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, this congress provided for unified negotiations with the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederation.
July 10, 1754: Publication of the Albany Plan of Union Drafted by Benjamin Franklin, this was the first document to detail a proposal of inter- colonial unity and to aim for a permanent union of American colonies.
1765: The Stamp Act Congress meets in New York City This congress developed a unified colonial strategy to appeal and protest the unfair legislation of Parliament. See more...
1774: Meeting of the First Continental Congress Meeting in Philadelphia, the First Continental Congress organized a unified colonial boycott, and agreed to meet again if their terms were not met.
1774: Presentation of the Galloway Plan to Congress This proposal for union included a plan to establish an American Parliament that would provide legislative authority over the colonies and empowered with veto power over the British Parliament in regards to colonial matters.
May, 1775: The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia This congress met to discuss further unified colonial appeals, to plan protests and to manage the beginnings of military action against the British. See more...
January,1776: Publication of Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Benjamin Franklin drafts a plan of union that based representation in congress and contributions to the common treasury on the number of males in each state between sixteen and sixty years of age.
June 7, 1776: Richard Henry Lee proposes independence in Congress Lee proposes a resolution that calls for drafting a declaration of independence and a plan of government and confederation.
June 12, 1776: Committee appointed to draft Articles of Confederation Congress appoints a committee chaired by John Dickinson to draft the plan of confederation.
July 2, 1776: Draft of the Articles submitted to Congress John Dickinson's draft of the Articles of Confederation is submitted to Congress for debate and revision.
July 4, 1776: U.S. declares independence Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is published to the world.
November 15, 1777: Congress completes the Articles of Confederation The final version of the Articles of Confederation is adopted by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification.
July 9, 1778: Eight of the thirteen states officially ratify the Articles The delegations from New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina sign and ratify the Articles of Confederation.
February 22, 1779: Delaware ratifies the Articles Delaware ratifies the Articles of Confederation, and Maryland is the only state yet to ratify. The confederation does not take effect until all states have ratified.
January 2, 1781: Virginia cession of land Virginia cedes a portion of its land west of the Appalachian Mountains to Congress.
March 1, 1781: Establishment of the U.S. Government Maryland ratifies the Articles of Confederation, formally establishing the first government of the United States.
October 17, 1781: Surrender at Yorktown British General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to the Continental Army at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the war between the United States and Great Britain.
1782: Establishment of the Bank of North America Founded by the Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, this bank helped to stabilize the commerce of the United States.
March, 1783: Newburgh Mutiny The army stationed at Newburgh threatened mutiny because they had not received their pay and were only stopped by George Washington's effective persuasion to remain loyal to the patriotic cause.
June, 1783: Congress forced from Philadelphia A mutinous group of Pennsylvania troops, demanding pay, forced Congress to leave Philadelphia. President John Dickinson refused the assistance of all on the state militia, as he feared they were not reliable. Congress retreated to Princeton.
September 3, 1783: Signing of Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris establishes the terms of peace between the United States and Great Britain.
March 1784: Acquisition of the Northwest Territory Congress officially acquires the land ceded by Virginia north and west of the Ohio River.
April 23,1784: Passage of the Land Ordinance Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and accepted by Congress, this ordinance is the first to establish the process to administer newly acquired lands.
March 25, 1785: Meeting of Mount Vernon Conference Representatives of Maryland and Virginia met at George Washington's plantation to resolve conflicts over the navigation of the Potomac and Pocomoke Rivers.
September 11, 1786: Meeting of the Annapolis Convention New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia, meet to discuss uniform trade regulations, but agree to appeal to all states to meet again to discuss broader reforms.
January 25, 1787: Shays' Rebellion Daniel Shays and other armed farmers from western Massachusetts are defeated in their attempt to conquer an arsenal of weapons in Springfield, Massachusetts.
May 25, 1787: First meeting of the Constitutional Convention Delegates from all states except Rhode Island meet in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.
July 13, 1787: Passage of the Northwest Ordinance This serves as a revision of the earlier ordinance and establishes, amongst other things, that slavery is prohibited from the new region.
September 17, 1787: Draft of constitution submitted to the states The Constitutional Convention sends its draft of the U.S. Constitution to the states for ratification.
Key People
Benjamin Franklin
A printer by vocation, inventor, philosopher and author by hobby, Benjamin Franklin played many vital roles in establishing both the independence of the United States and in ensuring the success of the young nation. Elected as a delegate to the Albany Congress of 1754, his Albany Plan outlined the balance of power between local independence and colonial union, and has been said to be prophetic of the U.S. Constitution. He served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, was chosen for the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, was sent as a diplomat to France to procure military assistance during the Revolution, and was appointed as one of three to negotiate the Treaty of Paris. Franklin also served as a delegate to the convention that produced the U.S. Constitution.
Thomas Jefferson
Known mostly as the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson also served as an influential statesman of Virginia and as a diplomat to France. He contributed important legislation and ideology during the early years of the new nation. He strongly believed in the importance of legislation that limited the power of government and strengthened the rights of the people. Jefferson proposed and passed important legislation dictating the separation of church and state and was integral in both Virginia's decision to cede its northwestern territory to Congress and in drafting the land ordinances that would serve to manage the land equitably.
John Dickinson
Serving as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Second Continental Congress, John Dickinson became part of the committee assigned to author the first draft of the Articles of Confederation. Dickinson, who had extensive writing experience, was chosen as the chairman and the primary author of this document, although he had been one of the delegates who did not sign the Declaration of Independence. Favoring a strong central government similar to that of Great Britain, much of Dickinson's draft was changed before ratification, although his insistence on a strong central government resurfaced later in his support of the U.S. Constitution.
Richard Henry Lee
An influential planter and statesman from Virginia, Richard Henry Lee proposed the resolution that led both to the formulation of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, once serving as its president, and was one of a committee of three to review the Articles of Confederation for completeness before it was sent to the states for ratification. He later served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and received credit for drafting the 10th Amendment, which guaranteed states' rights.
Daniel Shays
A farmer from western Massachusetts and a former captain in the Continental Army, Daniel Shays staged a protest and led a rebellion against what he perceived to be unfair taxation and debt repayment legislation.
George Washington
The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, this Virginia-born planter served a great symbolic role in early American history. He was keenly in favor of a strong national government, and exerted his influence toward that end when possible. He hosted the first successful interstate commerce meeting at his plantation home, Mount Vernon, and contributed tremendous prestige to the Constitutional Convention by agreeing to serve as one of the delegates from Virginia.
Terms
Confederacy
A confederacy is a form of government in which independent states are loosely joined, typically for common defense. Each independent state maintains power over the majority of its own affairs.
Confederation Congress
The governing body that consisted of representatives from each of the 13 states. Congress governed the affairs of the United States between the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Conservatives
Political leaders who favored the formation of a strong central government and who thought the Articles of Confederation should grant more powers to the national government than to the state governments. Conservatives tended to fear the power of the masses and to favor government by the elite.
Impost
A form of tax applied to goods that are imported into a state or country. Imposts are typically used to make money, protect a home industry, or retaliate against another state or country.
Radicals
Political leaders who favored strong state governments and thought the Articles of Confederation should remove most power from the national government, placing more power in the hands of the people. Radicals feared the formation of another strong central government, similar to the British government, which would favor the elite, strip people of their right to equal representation, and violate their freedom.
Ratify
To formally approve and accept a legal document, such as a constitution.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty means that an independent state has the power to govern its own affairs. A sovereign state maintains the power to govern its own affairs without interference from other states or other bodies of power.
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met for the first time in Philadelphia in May of 1775, and continued to meet until the full ratification of the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781. This congress produced the Declaration of Independence, drafted the Articles of Confederation, and served as an unofficial national government, managing the war effort, finances and foreign affairs, while the Articles were debated by the states. It was succeeded by the Congress of the Confederation.
Events
Annapolis Convention
Held in September 1786 at the request of Virginia, this meeting of the states aimed to improve the uniformity of commerce. Only twelve delegates came, and they proceeded to call a second meeting, to be held in May of 1787, for the purpose of revising the Articles.
Jay-Gardoqui talks
John Jay, as diplomat to Spain, attempted to negotiate for American access to trade along the Mississippi River. Threatened by Americans moving westward, the Spanish diplomat Diego de Gardoqui recommended instead that Spain would establish trade with eastern U.S. ports, assist in removing Great Britain from the Great Lakes and assist in combating the Barbary Pirates. Southern and Western delegates in Congress viewed with contempt this plan that seemed to sacrifice their interests to the commercial interests of the Northeast.
Maryland ratifies the Articles
Although the Articles of Confederation had been approved by 12 states by 1779, they could not go into effect until Maryland's ratification on March 1, 1781.
Mount Vernon Conference
This name was applied to a meeting between Maryland and Virginia statesmen at George Washington's Mount Vernon Plantation. Originally scheduled to meet at Alexandria to discuss free navigation of the Potomac and Pocomoke Rivers, the delegates ended up resolving far broader issues of trade and mutual policy between the two states.
Land Ordinance of 1784
Proposed by Thomas Jefferson just a month after Virginia officially handed over western lands to congress, this ordinance established the process by which new lands would be divided into states, the process for surveying and sale, and the qualifications of new states to enter into Congress. This ordinance set the precedent to prohibit any attempts to colonize newly ceded lands.
Northwest Ordinance
A revision of the earlier Land Ordinance of 1784, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 refined some of the earlier qualifications for statehood. It further provided that a certain amount of land had to be reserved for public education, and that slavery was to be prohibited in this territory north of the Ohio River.
Shays' Rebellion
Daniel Shays organized farmers throughout New England to protest legislation that increased taxes and demanded immediate debt-repayment. When the state legislature refused to respond, Shays and his armed followers closed the courts in western Massachusetts in protest of foreclosed properties. The rebellion came to a head when Shays was defeated while trying to seize a federal arsenal of weapons in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1787. This rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and convinced many states of the need for a stronger central government.
Treaty of Paris
This treaty, negotiated on behalf of the U.S. by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Samuel Adams, formally acknowledged the independence of the thirteen American colonies, and set the boundaries of the new nation at the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Mississippi River in the west, Florida in the south, and Canada in the north.
Study Questions
Compare and contrast the beliefs of radicals and conservatives with respect to the formation of the new government. What were the effects of these differences, as demonstrated in the Articles of Confederation and in U.S. government in general?
Radicals believed that the confederation should protect the sovereign rights of states while providing a Congress to provide for common defense. Conservatives argued for sovereignty in the hands of a strong central government. The radicals mostly got their way in the Articles of Confederation, which placed the balance of power in the state governments. Radicals did not believe the central government should have the right to tax or to regulate commerce, or have supreme authority over the states. The result was that under the Articles, Americans experienced economic chaos and political confusion that actually threatened their rights. After six years of disunity and an ineffective central government, conservatives called for change and were able to persuade the American people to adopt a more centralized form of government. The U.S. Government since 1789 mostly reflects the ideas of the conservatives, in which the balance of power rests securely in the national government.
What was the impact of Shays' Rebellion on constitutional government in the United States?
Daniel Shays' rebellion demonstrated the problems with the state and national governments under the Articles of Confederation. The Massachusetts state legislature, in an effort to quickly repay its state debts, sharply increased taxes while demanding immediate repayment of all debts. Shays followed democratic procedures to protest these measures through petition. When his pleas were ignored, he claimed that his rights were being abused and took up arms, declaring "no taxation without representation." To many, this demonstrated the corruption of democracy in a state government unwilling to bend to the will of its constituents. Furthermore, Shays' insurrection lasted for many months before a state militia suppressed it. This demonstrated the weakness of the national government to suppress rebellion from within. The overall impact of this event was to convince many of the need for a new system of government that would prevent similar incidents. Many agreed on the need for a strong national government that would have the authority to assume the debts of the states, to tax, and to be the final appeal in all cases of injustice. These items were all integrated into the U.S. Constitution.
What is significant about each state having an equal vote in Congress?
By giving each state a single vote in Congress, the Articles of Confederation implied that each state was its own sovereign government, and that the national government did not directly reflect the mass of all the people in the country. If the Articles had dictated that representation in Congress be based on the population of each state, it would imply that sovereignty lay with the national government rather than the states. The equal vote also avoided the potentially difficult and divisive issue of slavery and different size states. If votes in congress had been based on population then the states would have disagreed about the way to count slaves. Non-slave states would have insisted that they not be counted towards representation and slave states would have insisted that they do. Additionally, larger states would have had an unfair advantage over smaller states, which already worried about being economically disadvantaged. Overall, giving each state one vote in Congress was in line with the radical perspective and successfully avoided the contentious issues of slavery and state size. These would re-surface and be dealt with by the U.S. Constitution.
