Articles of Confederation



Articles of Confederation: America’s First Plan of Government

1781-1789

The first constitution, plan of government) in our nation’s history was the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles of Confederation, we took our first “baby steps” as a nation.

The Articles of Confederation were badly flawed. The national government had no power to tax the people, no power to settle arguments between the states, no power to build an army, and it called for a weak executive (president). Therefore, it could not enforce laws. Americans were against starting any type of strong central government. They had just fought off the strong leadership of England and did not want the same system to begin again in America. The Articles’ greatest weakness was that the people had no direct say in government. The only people who could vote were those already involved in government during the War. Another flaw was that each state had its own currency and set of laws. Basically, each state was like its own independent country! Debt was another problem. We were in debt $42 million (more than $33 billion today) after the Revolutionary War! The debt was mainly owed to American patriots who fought in the War. This financial obligation was not paid off until the 1800’s.

Consider the Articles of Confederation like a first draft of a five paragraph essay. When you get it back from your English teacher, it has many errors to fix and edits to make. All you see are red correction marks. When you make these revisions, the final draft is much better than the first. The final draft in this case would be the Constitution which was written to replace the Articles of Confederation in 1789.

It would have been very difficult for our country to create a stronger second constitution without learning from the mistakes of the “first draft”. The Articles of Confederation served as a “transition” between the Revolutionary War and the Constitution we know today.

The Greatest Lie in American History: The John Hanson Story

The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution of the USA.   A constitution is a plan of government. John Hanson of Maryland was appointed in 1781 as the first President under the Articles. George Washington acknowledged his position in a letter stating:  “I congratulate your Excellency on your appointment to fill the most important seat in the US.” 

When we think of the President, most do not realize that we are referring to presidents elected under the current Constitution (1789), not the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789). Everybody knows the first president under the Constitution was George Washington. But, the Articles of Confederation, the predecessor to the Constitution, also called for a president.

TIMELINE TO A CONSTITUTION

March 1, 1781: Maryland ratifies the Articles of Confederation & the document is declared "in force."

January 11, 1785: Congress moves to NYC which becomes the temporary capital of the USA.

May 8, 1785: Congress passes the Land Ordinance of 1785 that deals with a systematic and orderly procedure to settle the areas of the Northwest Territory.

September 11-14, 1786: A meeting is held in Maryland to discuss the economic instability of the country under the Articles of Confederation. Only five states come to the meeting, but there is a call for another meeting to take place in Philadelphia the next year to revise the Articles of Confederation.

September 26, 1786: A rebellion begins in Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays, a captain in the Revolutionary War. The issue is the unstable economic condition of the farmers in the western part of the state.

February 4, 1787: A militia from Massachusetts ends Shays' Rebellion. Although the rebellion is unsuccessful, there is a call in the state to avoid direct taxation, lower court costs, provide some exemptions to the debt process, and create a stronger federal constitution.

February 21, 1787: Congress gives approval of the meeting to take place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution

     This chart compares the Articles of Confederation (1781) to the Constitution (1789). The Articles were replaced by the Constitution and a stronger central government in 1789.

| |Articles of Confederation: |Constitution: |

| |1781-1789 |1789-NOW |

| | |National govt. taxes citizens |

| |ONLY STATES CAN TAX CITIZENS | |

| | |Courts settle arguments between states/people |

| |NONE | |

| | |Has power to enforce national laws |

| |POWERS NOT DEFINED | |

| | |National military w/ 5 branches |

| |EACH STATE HAS OWN | |

| | |National govt. has power over the states, tells |

| |STATES HAVE ALL THE POWER |them what to do |

| | |National currency |

| |EACH STATE HAS OWN | |

| | |National laws that all states must follow, state |

| |EACH STATE HAS OWN |& local laws exist too |

DIRECTIONS: PLACE THE FOLLOWING IN THE CORRECT EMPTY BOX ABOVE.

Military Laws President Power Courts Taxes Money

Why did Americans avoid creating a strong central government over them?

Why did the Americans not want a strong President ruling over them?

   

What is the definition of confederation?

  

What event made us realize the Articles of Confederation needed to be replaced?

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