While we celebrate the importance of the Constitution today, many people don't know that it wasn't actually the first framework for the United States government! Between the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, the Articles of Confederation served as the nation's first constitution. Let's explore the significance, purpose and strengths and weaknesses of this important piece of paper!
Explore our app and discover over 50 million learning materials for free.
Lerne mit deinen Freunden und bleibe auf dem richtigen Kurs mit deinen persönlichen Lernstatistiken
Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenNie wieder prokastinieren mit unseren Lernerinnerungen.
Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenWhile we celebrate the importance of the Constitution today, many people don't know that it wasn't actually the first framework for the United States government! Between the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, the Articles of Confederation served as the nation's first constitution. Let's explore the significance, purpose and strengths and weaknesses of this important piece of paper!
The Articles of Confederation are significant because it was the first framework for the United States of America before the Constitution. The Articles officially named the new country the "United States of America" and provided guidelines for Congress and the states.
The purpose of the Articles of Confederation is simple: After declaring independence from England in 1776 and starting the Revolutionary War, the states needed to have a framework for running their new country.
Before the Revolutionary War even started, Benjamin Franklin created a framework called the Albany Plan in 1754. His goal was a union between the thirteen colonies. Franklin had observed the political systems of the indigenous people who lived in the area (especially the Iroquois, Susquehannocks, and Delawares) and how they created peace through a confederation.
For the native people, a confederation loosely connected each tribe and ensured unity and peace while maintaining their individual sovereignty.
The Second Continental Congress started in May of 1775 in response to the outbreak of violence between the colonists and British soldiers. The Second Continental Congress served as the de facto government throughout the Revolutionary War.
“De Facto” is a Latin term that means “in fact.” Because the colonies couldn’t form an official government (since they weren’t a country yet!), they operated under the de facto governance of the Second Continental Congress.
During the Second Continental Congress in 1775, Franklin updated the Albany Plan and called it the Articles of Confederation. However, at the time, most people were focused on whether they should declare war than how the new country would actually run.
The Revolutionary War officially began in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. The colonists were united in their desire to be free from British rule, but they didn’t know yet what kind of government they DID want to live under.
In order to fight a war together, the colonies needed to band together around things like providing soldiers with weapons, food, and pay, and financing Congress. Since the colonies relied on British currency, they needed to figure out what currency they would use.
The Second Continental Congress created the Committee to Draft a Union for the States. Thirteen delegates (one from each colony) sat on the committee. John Dickinson from Pennsylvania chaired the committee and wrote most of the draft. The committee met many times, but their work was frequently interrupted by invasions from the British and needing to relocate.
The committee faced intense debate about the following controversies:
Dickinson presented his draft of the Articles of Confederation to the Second Continental Congress in 1777. After debate, Congress passed the Articles on November 15, 1777.
However, getting all thirteen colonies to ratify the Articles was not so simple since Maryland refused to sign. Going back to the debate about westward expansion, Maryland was upset because the policy of allowing states with western borders to essentially expand. As a state without a western border, Maryland felt like that policy gave those states an unfair advantage, especially their neighbour Virginia.
Finally, in 1781, they reached a compromise that involved Virginia giving up its claims to the north of the Ohio River and agreeing that Congress would manage those lands instead. On February 2, 1781, Maryland ratified the Articles and they officially became law.
In summary, the Articles of Confederation included 13 different articles. Below is an overview of what the articles accomplished:
While the Articles of Confederation had some strengths that helped unify the new country, it also had some significant weaknesses that almost caused the new union to fall apart.
The Articles and the ideas behind unity and freedom helped provide a unifying rallying call that helped the states work together to win the war. The Articles of Confederation had some important successes:
While there were some important successes, history ultimately showed that there were far more weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.
Each state had one vote, regardless of its size or population.
Congress had no authority to regulate foreign or interstate commerce.
As the Revolutionary War dragged on, things became desperate. Without money, George Washington couldn’t feed, house, or clothe his soldiers - let alone pay them. Over the long winters, many soldiers died due to disease, starvation, or freezing temperatures. The soldiers came extremely close to having an uprising, which would have certainly led to the demise of the fight for independence. Washington managed to appeal to their desire for freedom and convince them that they would be paid once the war was over.
Even though the crisis was averted, it showed Washington and other officers like Alexander Hamilton that the Articles of Confederation had some fatal flaws.
Eventually, the problems in the Articles of Confederation became so severe something needed to be done. The Constitutional Convention, which met in 1787, scrapped the Articles of Confederation and created the Constitution.
Ratified in 1789, the Constitution shifted power to the federal government while still providing strong authority to the states. Below are some of the main changes that the Constitution provided:
It created two new branches in addition to the legislative branch: the Executive branch and the Judicial branch
It split the legislative branch into two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate
Rather than each state having one vote in Congress, each state's Representatives and Senators would have one vote each.
It gave the federal government the authority to tax the states
To provide the first framework for the United States.
They provided some powers to the central government (Congress) but still reserved most powers for the state.
The Articles of Confederation were the foundation for the US before the Constitution. They were ultimately replaced because the lack of power and authority in the central government created too many conflicts and chaos.
Some strengths were the ability to win the Revolutionary War and pass the Land Ordinance of 1785. Some weaknesses were the inability to fund the war, create a new currency, and poor participation from delegates.
The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781. They helped the new country win the Revolutionary War, but they didn't provide a strong framework for actually running the country. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 replaced them with the Constitution.
True or False: The Articles of Confederation provided the framework for the US Government before the Constitution
True
Where did Benjamin Franklin draw inspiration from in his ideas about creating a confederation?
The indigenous tribes
True or false: the Second Continental Congress was more focused on creating a new country than on winning the war
True
Which of the following were major controversies during the drafting of the Articles of Confederation?
Westward expansion
What year were the Articles of Confederation ratified?
1781
Why did Maryland at first refuse to ratify the Articles of Confederation?
The issue of westward expansion
Already have an account? Log in
Open in AppThe first learning app that truly has everything you need to ace your exams in one place
Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.
Save explanations to your personalised space and access them anytime, anywhere!
Sign up with Email Sign up with AppleBy signing up, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy of StudySmarter.
Already have an account? Log in
Already have an account? Log in
The first learning app that truly has everything you need to ace your exams in one place
Already have an account? Log in