The Articles of Confederation served as the first national constitution of the United States. Adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and fully ratified in 1781, they established a "league of friendship" among the 13 sovereign states.
Key Features
Sovereignty: Most power remained with individual states; the central government was intentionally weak to avoid the "tyranny" experienced under British rule.
Unicameral Legislature: A single body (the Confederation Congress) where each state had exactly one vote.
No Executive or Judiciary: There was no national president to enforce laws and no national court system to settle disputes.
Limited Powers: Congress could declare war, negotiate treaties, and manage relations with Native Americans, but it could not tax citizens or regulate interstate commerce.
Major Weaknesses
Financial Impotence: Congress could only request money from states, which often ignored these "requisitions," leaving the nation in deep debt.
Enforcement Failure: With no executive branch, the central government could not force states to comply with treaties or national laws.
Rigid Structure: Any amendment to the Articles required unanimous consent from all 13 states, making it nearly impossible to fix its flaws.
Shays' Rebellion: This 1786 uprising of Massachusetts farmers exposed the government's inability to maintain order or raise an army, serving as the "final straw" for leaders like George Washington.
Successes & Legacy
Despite their flaws, the Articles enabled the U.S. to win the Revolutionary War and negotiate the 1783 Treaty of Paris. They also produced the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which established a process for admitting new states and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
The government under the Articles was officially replaced by the current U.S. Constitution on March 4, 1789.
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