strengths of the articles of confederation essay

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Articles of Confederation

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 15, 2023 | Original: October 27, 2009

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first written constitution of the United States. Written in 1777 and stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states. It was not ratified until March 1, 1781.

Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Significantly, The Articles of Confederation named the new nation “The United States of America.”

Congress was given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money. However, the central government lacked the ability to levy taxes and regulate commerce, issues that led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 for the creation of new federal laws under The United States Constitution.

From the beginning of the American Revolution , Congress felt the need for a stronger union and a government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. During the early years of the war this desire became a belief that the new nation must have a constitutional order appropriate to its republican character.

A fear of central authority inhibited the creation of such a government, and widely shared political theory held that a republic could not adequately serve a large nation such as the United States. The legislators of a large republic would be unable to remain in touch with the people they represented, and the republic would inevitably degenerate into a tyranny.

To many Americans, their union seemed to be simply a league of confederated states, and their Congress a diplomatic assemblage representing 13 independent polities. The impetus for an effective central government lay in wartime urgency, the need for foreign recognition and aid and the growth of national feeling.

Who Wrote the Articles of Confederation?

Altogether, six drafts of the Articles were prepared before Congress settled on a final version in 1777. Benjamin Franklin wrote the first and presented it to Congress in July 1775. It was never formally considered. Later in the year Silas Deane, a delegate from Connecticut, offered one of his own, which was followed still later by a draft from the Connecticut delegation, probably a revision of Deane’s.

None of these drafts contributed significantly to the fourth version written by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, the text that after much revision provided the basis for the Articles approved by Congress. Dickinson prepared his draft in June 1776; it was revised by a committee of Congress and discussed in late July and August. The result, the third version of Dickinson’s original, was printed to enable Congress to consider it further. In November 1777 the final Articles, much altered by this long deliberative process, were approved for submission to the states.

Ratification of the Articles of Confederation

By 1779 all the states had approved the Articles of Confederation except Maryland, but the prospects for acceptance looked bleak because claims to western lands by other states set Maryland in inflexible opposition. Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts claimed by their charters to extend to the “South Sea” or the Mississippi River.

The charters of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island confined those states to a few hundred miles of the Atlantic. Land speculators in Maryland and these other “landless states” insisted that the West belonged to the United States, and they urged Congress to honor their claims to western lands. Maryland also supported the demands because nearby Virginia would clearly dominate its neighbor should its claims be accepted.

Eventually Thomas Jefferson persuaded his state to yield its claims to the West, provided that the speculators’ demands were rejected and the West was divided into new states, which would be admitted into the Union on the basis of equality with the old. Virginia’s action persuaded Maryland to ratify the Articles, which went into effect on March 1, 1781.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

The weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress was not strong enough to enforce laws or raise taxes, making it difficult for the new nation to repay their debts from the Revolutionary War. There was no executive and no judiciary, two of the three branches of government we have today to act as a system of checks and balances. Additionally, there were several issues between states that were not settled with ratification: A disagreement over the appointment of taxes forecast the division over slavery in the Constitutional Convention.

Dickinson’s draft required the states to provide money to Congress in proportion to the number of their inhabitants, black and white, except Indians not paying taxes. With large numbers of slaves, the southern states opposed this requirement, arguing that taxes should be based on the number of white inhabitants. This failed to pass, but eventually the southerners had their way as Congress decided that each state’s contribution should rest on the value of its lands and improvements. In the middle of the war, Congress had little time and less desire to take action on such matters as the slave trade and fugitive slaves, both issues receiving much attention in the Constitutional Convention.

Article III described the confederation as “a firm league of friendship” of states “for their common defense, the security of their liberties and their mutual and general welfare.” This league would have a unicameral congress as the central institution of government; as in the past, each state had one vote, and delegates were elected by state legislatures. Under the Articles, each state retained its “sovereignty, freedom and independence.” The old weakness of the First and Second Continental Congresses remained: the new Congress could not levy taxes, nor could it regulate commerce. Its revenue would come from the states, each contributing according to the value of privately owned land within its borders.

But Congress would exercise considerable powers: it was given jurisdiction over foreign relations with the authority to make treaties and alliances; it could make war and peace, maintain an army and navy, coin money, establish a postal service and manage Indian affairs; it could establish admiralty courts and it would serve as the last resort on appeal of disputes between the states. Decisions on certain specified matters–making war, entering treaties, regulating coinage, for example–required the assent of nine states in Congress, and all others required a majority.

Although the states remained sovereign and independent, no state was to impose restrictions on the trade or the movement of citizens of another state not imposed on its own. The Articles also required each state to extend “full faith and credit” to the judicial proceedings of the others. And the free inhabitants of each state were to enjoy the “privileges and immunities of free citizens” of the others. Movement across state lines was not to be restricted.

To amend the Articles, the legislatures of all thirteen states would have to agree. This provision, like many in the Articles, indicated that powerful provincial loyalties and suspicions of central authority persisted. In the 1780s–the so-called Critical Period–state actions powerfully affected politics and economic life.

For the most part, business prospered and the economy grew. Expansion into the West proceeded and population increased. National problems persisted, however, as American merchants were barred from the British West Indies and the British army continued to hold posts in the Old Northwest, which was named American territory under the Treaty of Paris .

These circumstances contributed to a sense that constitutional revision was imperative. Still, national feeling grew slowly in the 1780s, although major efforts to amend the Articles in order to give Congress the power to tax failed in 1781 and 1786. The year after the failure of 1786, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia and effectively closed the history of government under the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation Text

To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.

Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America, agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, in the words following, viz:

Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Thirteen Articles:

The Stile of this confederacy shall be "The United States of America."

Article II.

Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

Article III.

The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defence, the security of their Liberties and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever.

Article IV.

The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several states; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties impositions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state, to any other state, of which the Owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any state, on the property of the united states, or either of them. If any Person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, — or other high misdemeanor in any state, shall flee from Justice, and be found in any of the united states, he shall, upon demand of the Governor or executive power, of the state from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the state having jurisdiction of his offense. Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to the records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other state.

For the more convenient management of the general interests of the united states, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each state, to recal its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year.

No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the united states, for which he, or another for his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind.

Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states. In determining questions in the united states in Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote.

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any Court, or place out of Congress, and the members of congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

Article VI.

No state, without the Consent of the united states in congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference agreement, alliance or treaty with any King prince or state; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the united states, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince or foreign state; nor shall the united states in congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility.

No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the united states in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue.

No state shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united states in congress assembled, with any king, prince or state, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of France and Spain.

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the united states in congress assembled, for the defence of such state, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any state, in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of the united states, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence of such state; but every state shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage. No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such state, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the united states in congress assembled can be consulted: nor shall any state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the united states in congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the united states in congress assembled, shall determine otherwise.

Article VII.

When land-forces are raised by any state for the common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively, by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such state shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment.

Article VIII.

All charges of war, and all other expences that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the united states in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states in proportion to the value of all land within each state, granted to or surveyed for any Person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the united states in congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and appoint.

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by the united states in congress assembled.

Article IX.

The united states in congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiving ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities, whatsoever — of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the united states shall be divided or appropriated — of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace — appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts.

The united states in congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any state in controversy with another shall present a petition to congress stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other state in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons out of each of the united states, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names as congress shall direct, shall in the presence of congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each state, and the secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to congress, and lodged among the acts of congress for the security of the parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the state, where the cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgment, without favour, affection or hope of reward:" provided also, that no state shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the united states.

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more states, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the states which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the congress of the united states, be finally determined as near as may be in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different states.

The united states in congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective states — fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the united states — regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the states, provided that the legislative right of any state within its own limits be not infringed or violated — establishing or regulating post offices from one state to another, throughout all the united states, and exacting such postage on the papers passing thro' the same as may be requisite to defray the expences of the said office — appointing all officers of the land forces, in the service of the united states, excepting regimental officers — appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the united states — making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations.

The united states in congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denominated "A Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate from each state; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the united states under their direction — to appoint one of their number to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the united states, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expences to borrow money, or emit bills on the credit of the united states, transmitting every half year to the respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted, — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such state; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men and cloth, arm and equip them in a soldier like manner, at the expence of the united states; and the officers and men so cloathed, armed and quipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled: But if the united states in congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any state should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other state should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such state, unless the legislature of such sta te shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise officer, cloath, arm and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled.

The united states in congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expences necessary for the defence and welfare of the united states, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the united states, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine states assent to the same: nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day be determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the united states in congress assembled.

The congress of the united states shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the united states, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six Months, and shall publish the Journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or military operations, as in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on any question shall be entered on the Journal, when it is desired by any delegate; and the delegates of a state, or any of them, at his or their request shall be furnished with a transcript of the said Journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several states.

The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the united states in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine states in the congress of the united states assembled is requisite.

Article XI.

Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures of the united states, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union: but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine states.

Article XII.

All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed and debts contracted by, or under the authority of congress, before the assembling of the united states, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the united states, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said united states, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged.

Article XIII.

Every state shall abide by the determinations of the united states in congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a congress of the united states, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every state.

Conclusion:

And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union. Know Ye that we the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that pur pose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained: And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the united states in congress assembled, on all questions, which by the said confederation are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the states we respectively represent, and that the union shall be perpetual.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July in the Year of our Lord one Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-eight, and in the third year of the independence of America.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Articles of Confederation — Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Articles Of Confederation

Strengths and Weaknesses of The Articles of Confederation

Categories: Articles of Confederation

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The Articles of Confederation

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Historyplex

An Overview of the Articles of Confederation Strengths

The first written constitution of The United States, Articles of Confederation was written with the intention to bring the original thirteen states under one congress and vested with the powers of maintaining army and international affairs, the power to declare war and coin money. Though it raised many disputes and was ultimately ratified, it sparked the idea of having a declaration that establishes the States as an independent democratic entity.

The Articles of Confederation served as the constitution of the United States from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789.

That the Articles of Confederation is more often remembered for its weaknesses than its strengths shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that they paved the way for the new US Constitution― the one that is followed as the supreme law of the United States. That, however, doesn’t mean that the Articles was devoid of any positive attributes. By 1780, all the thirteen original states had their written constitution in place, and yet, they needed something that could hold them together. That ‘something’ came in the form of the Articles of Confederation.

An Introduction to the Articles of Confederation

Simply referred to as the Articles at times, the Articles of Confederation was a written agreement containing a set of rules for the functioning of the national government of the United States. It was drafted by a committee comprising delegates from all the thirteen states―appointed by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781. The agreement centralized power in the hands of state governments and left the national government with very little or no authority. In fact, the national government was totally dependent on states for most of its operations. The end result was chaos in both, the national and international affairs of the United States, and thus, the Congress was forced to take the decision to revise it.

Strengths of the Articles of Confederation

Uniting the states.

U.S. flag representing the thirteen original states

Despite its drawbacks, one cannot deny the fact that the Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, and its biggest strength was its ability to bring all the thirteen original states together in order to establish a common legislature. Each of these states, which were more often at the loggerheads before the implementation of the Articles, were expected to respect the laws of other states.

Encouraging Democracy

The fact that most powers rested in the hands of state governments might have turned out to be its biggest drawbacks. However, when it was being drafted, this centralization of power in the favor of states was deemed essential to eliminate the chances of oppressive form of government, such as monarchy. It was a true form of democracy wherein people were a part of the government, after years under King George.

International Interests

The Articles also gave the national government power to deal with foreign nations and sign treaties with them. The government used these powers to accelerate the development of the nation and solve several problems affecting the nation as a whole. The Treaty of Alliance with France (1778) and the Peace Treaty with England (1783) are among the best examples of treaties under the Articles of Confederation.

Setting Up The Nation

Other than the foreign affairs department, various Congressional departments, including the Native Indian affairs, postal service, and the treasury, were formed as a part of this agreement. It also had the power to raise an army, and even to wage a war or make peace. The latter was perhaps the most important for a country which was otherwise divided into thirteen individual entities.

Addition of New States

The Articles of Confederation also had a provision for creation of new states, whereby those regions with a population of 60,000 or more could qualify as a state. Furthermore, it also kept the doors open for Canada, the Province of Quebec, to declare its independence and join the Confederation.

Regulatory Acts

Though the Articles of Confederation could last only for a few years, the national government did pass some of the most important acts in American history. The Land Ordinance Act (1785) was passed to develop the neglected western lands. It split and sold the land, using the money to pay off national debts. Similarly, the Northwest Ordinance (1787) was passed to ensure effective governance of newly created townships.

As time elapsed, the problems with the Articles started to surface one after the other, resulting in severe criticism of the document on various fronts. When the committee comprising delegates from the thirteen states, including the Founding Fathers of the United States, met at the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787 to revise it, they came to a mutual agreement that it was better to draft a new constitution instead of revising the existing agreement. Eventually, the Articles of Confederation was replaced by the US Constitution as the supreme law of the land in 1789.

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The Articles of Confederation

The Second Continental Congress began laying the groundwork for an independent United States on June 11, 1776, when it passed resolutions appointing committees to draft the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence. The Articles resolution ordered “a committee to be appointed to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between these colonies.” 1 John Dickinson, the chairman of the committee tasked with creating a confederation, worked with twelve other committee members to prepare draft articles. They presented their work to Congress on July 12, 1776, and the delegates began to debate the plan soon thereafter. Wary and conscious of repeated British intrusions on their civil and political rights since the early 1760s, the Articles’ framers carefully considered state sovereignty, the proposed national government’s specific powers, and the structure of each government branch as they wrote and debated their plan. They sought to create a government subordinate to the states with power sufficiently checked to prevent the kind of infringements that Americans had experienced under British rule. Congress debated the Articles with these concerns in mind, and it approved the final draft of the Articles on November 15, 1777. Two days later, Congress sent it to the states for ratification. The Articles required unanimous consent from the thirteen states to take effect. Maryland became the final state to ratify the document on March 1, 1781.

The Articles of Confederation featured a preamble and thirteen articles that granted the bulk of power to the states. To some degree, it was a treaty of alliance between thirteen sovereign republics rather than the foundation for a national government. The preamble announced that the states were in a “perpetual union” with one another, but despite this seemingly stringent description, the Articles merely organized the states into a loose compact in which they mostly governed themselves. 2 The first article provided the new nation with its name: “the United States of America.” 3 The remaining articles detailed the states’ relationship with each other and with Congress. Article II provided that “each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence.” Article III, in which the states agreed to “enter into a firm league of friendship with each other,” did not negate an individual state’s sovereign status. 4 Article IV specified the rights of citizens within the several states, such as affording citizens the same privileges and immunities and allowing freedom of movement. Article IV also afforded full faith and credit to “the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other state.” 5 Article V gave each state only one vote in Congress, ensuring the idea of equality among the states. Other articles discussed the powers granted to Congress, including the power to levy war, send and receive ambassadors, create treaties, grant letters of marque and reprisal, regulate the value of coin, and establish post offices. The final article, Article XIII, required unanimous ratification for all amendments. It also featured a supremacy clause obligating every state to follow the Articles of Confederation.

Three years after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, many Americans including George Washington began to argue that the perpetual union was in danger. On January 18, 1784, Washington wrote to Virginia governor Benjamin Harrison that the government was “a half starved, limping Government, that appears to be always moving upon crutches, & tottering at every step.” 6 Washington and other Americans had witnessed several crises during the United States’ early years under the Articles, leading to a belief among many that preventing the nation’s collapse required revisiting the Articles. On June 27, 1786, John Jay confided in Washington that “Our affairs seem to lead to some crisis . . . I am uneasy and apprehensive—more so, than during the War.” 7 In Jay’s opinion, one many leading Americans shared, the national government’s weakness led to serious problems that threatened the nation’s survival.

Congress possessed only enumerated powers under the Articles of Confederation. It had no real power to tax, regulate commerce, or raise an army. The inability to tax created major obstacles for the new nation. Without the ability to tax the states or citizens, Congress could not raise revenue, which it needed to pay war debts to international creditors. Congress could only request money from states, and frequently, states would donate only a portion of the request or nothing at all. Between 1781 and 1787, Congress only received $1.5 million of the $10 million that it had requested from the states.

In April 1783, Congress proposed an amendment to the Articles that would allow Congress to levy a five percent tariff on imports for no more than twenty-five years. The revenue from the proposed tariff was specifically earmarked to pay war debts. Given the unanimous amendment process, all states had to ratify the impost for it to take effect. All states but New York had adopted the impost by early 1786. In May 1786, New York’s legislature was willing to adopt the impost with some alterations. However, Congress did not want to accept these alterations and requested that New York remove them. When New York refused to do so in February 1787, the attempt at giving Congress the power to tax, at least in some capacity, was over.

Shays’ Rebellion coincided with the impost ratification process. Led by Daniel Shays, the rebellion was comprised of indebted farmers in western Massachusetts, many of whom were Revolutionary War veterans that had lost much of their land due to foreclosures. They could not pay the high taxes that states had imposed in order to eliminate war debt. Congress had no ability to raise its own army to suppress the rebellion, forcing the nation to rely on a privately financed Massachusetts army to put down the insurrection. This exemplified the need for not only Congress to have the ability to tax, but also the power to raise an army. Additionally, the Articles did not give Congress the power to regulate commerce explicitly. Although it could negotiate treaties and regulate all American coin, it did not have the power to negotiate complex trade treaties with foreign nations and the Articles failed to create a singular uniform currency. This lack of universal currency made trade between states and foreign nations difficult, and led to inconsistencies in currency exchange rates among the states.

Despite the Articles’ weaknesses, it also had numerous strengths. Foremost, it enabled the country to prosecute the Revolutionary War. Because Congress observed that the Articles were its de facto government until officially ratified in 1781, the Articles allowed the country to create a treaty of alliance with France in 1778. It also allowed for the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the war. The Articles enabled Congress to create the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Wars, Marine, and Treasury, allowed for the establishment of post offices, and had a provision that would permit Canada to join the Union in the future. Congress’s most significant legislative achievement under the Articles was its passage of a series of land ordinances in the mid-1780s: the Land Ordinance of 1784, the Land Ordinance of 1785, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 . These ordinances collectively provided a process for adding new and equal states to the nation, guaranteed republican governments and other rights for the new states and its inhabitants, banned slavery and involuntary servitude in the new territories after 1800, and provided for public education in the new states. Overall, the ratification of these ordinances was impressive, given the lack of unity among the states at the time and the super-majority vote needed to pass them.

Yet, the Articles of Confederation’s weaknesses triumphed over its virtues. As a result, the Annapolis Convention was called on September 11, 1786, just a few weeks after the outbreak of Shays’ Rebellion. The convention was called initially to address changes regarding trade, but the delegates realized the problems had a broader scope. John Dickinson, who had chaired the committee to draft the Articles, was president of the Annapolis Convention. He along with other delegates, particularly Alexander Hamilton , resolved to reconvene at a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles in May 1787.

The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 went beyond its mandate to revise the Articles by replacing it with a new constitution. However, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention incorporated several ideas from the Articles into the new charter. Examples of this incorporation include the full faith and credit clause and the power to declare war. In addition, the privileges and immunities clause of Article IV of the Articles was incorporated into Article IV of the Constitution.

Even after state conventions ratified the Constitution in 1788, the Articles of Confederation continued to inspire changes to the new federal charter. In 1791, Article II of the Articles of Confederation served as the basis for the 10 th Amendment to the Constitution. Born out of necessity to fight the War for Independence, the Articles of Confederation created a “perpetual union” that later generations of Americans would later strive to make “more perfect.”

Aubrianna Mierow The George Washington University

1. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 , ed. Worthington C. Ford et al. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904-37), 8:431.

2. JCC, 1774-1789 , ed. Ford et al., 9:907.

4. Ibid, 9:908.

5. Ibid, 9:908-9.

6. George Washington to Benjamin Harrison, 18 January 1784, Founders Online , National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-01-02-0039 .

7. John Jay to George Washington, 27 June 1786, Founders Online , National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-04-02-0129 .

Bibliography:

Kaminski, John. “Empowering the Confederation: a Counterfactual Model.” (2005) Accessed November 1, 2018. https://law.utexas.edu/faculty/calvinjohnson/RighteousAnger/ SHEAR2005Kaminski.pdf .

Maier, Pauline. Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 . New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.

Rakove, Jack N. The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress . New York: Knopf, 1979.

Richards, Leonard L. Shays’s Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.

Van Cleve, George. We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019.

Wood, Gordon S. The Creation of the American Republic 1776-1787 . Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

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The first amendment, historic document, articles of confederation (1781).

Continental Congress | 1781

Six sheets of parchment stitched together. The last sheet bears the signatures of delegates from all 13 states.

When the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, the United States already had a framework of national government—the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention itself was—in many ways—a response to the weaknesses of this form of government. Adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified by the states in 1781, the Articles of Confederation created a weak central government—a “league of friendship”—that largely preserved state power (and independence). The Articles created a national government centered on the legislative branch, which was comprised of a single house. There was no separate executive branch or judicial branch. The delegates in Congress voted by state—with each state receiving one vote, regardless of its population. The national government did not have the power to tax, to regulate commerce between the states, or to force the states to provide troops or send the government money. And any proposed amendment to the Articles required unanimous approval from all thirteen states. As a result, no amendment was ever ratified. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention eventually framed a new Constitution designed to address many of these flaws.

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Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia . . . .

Article I. The Stile of this confederacy shall be, “The United States of America.”

Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

Article III. The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defence, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. . . .

Article V. For the more convenient management of the general interests of the united states, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each state to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year.

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of being delegate for more than three years, in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the united states, for which he, or another for his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind.

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states.

In determining questions in the united states, in Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote. . . .

Article IX. The united states, in congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, . . . - of sending and receiving ambassadors - entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made, whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever . . . .

The united states, in congress assembled, shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective states - fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the united states - regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the states; provided that the legislative right of any state, within its own limits, be not infringed or violated - establishing and regulating post-offices from one state to another, throughout all the united states, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same, as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office - appointing all officers of the land forces in the service of the united States, excepting regimental officers - appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the united states; making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations.

The united states, in congress assembled, shall never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defence and welfare of the united states, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the united states, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine states assent to the same, nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the united states in congress assembled. . . .

Article XIII. Every State shall abide by the determinations of the united states, in congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them, unless such alteration be agreed to in a congress of the united states, and be afterwards con-firmed by the legislatures of every state.

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Articles of Confederation (1777)

Citation: Articles of Confederation; 3/1/1781; Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774 - 1789; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, Record Group 360; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.

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The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. This document served as the United States' first constitution. It was in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789 when the present-day Constitution went into effect.

After the Lee Resolution proposed independence for the American colonies, the Second Continental Congress appointed three committees on June 11, 1776. One of the committees was tasked with determining what form the confederation of the colonies should take. This committee was composed of one representative from each colony. John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, was the principal writer.

The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation named the confederation "the United States of America." After considerable debate and revision, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777.

The document seen here is the engrossed and corrected version that was adopted on November 15. It consists of six sheets of parchment stitched together. The last sheet bears the signatures of delegates from all 13 states.

This "first constitution of the United States" established a "league of friendship" for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power...which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States. The Articles of Confederation also outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote in Congress.

Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion. Because of disputes over representation, voting, and the western lands claimed by some states, ratification was delayed. When Maryland ratified it on March 1, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation came into being.

Just a few years after the Revolutionary War, however, James Madison and George Washington were among those who feared their young country was on the brink of collapse. With the states retaining considerable power, the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce. It could not tax and was generally impotent in setting commercial policy. Nor could it effectively support a war effort. Congress was attempting to function with a depleted treasury; and paper money was flooding the country, creating extraordinary inflation.

The states were on the brink of economic disaster; and the central government had little power to settle quarrels between states. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart.

In May of 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. They shuttered the windows of the State House (Independence Hall) and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. By mid-June the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government. After three hot, summer months of highly charged debate, the new Constitution was signed, which remains in effect today.

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To all to whom these Presents shall come, we, the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting. Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia in the Words following, viz. “Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Article I. The Stile of this confederacy shall be, “The United States of America.”

Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds and fugitives from Justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several states; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state, to any other State of which the Owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any state, on the property of the united states, or either of them.

If any Person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any state, shall flee from Justice, and be found in any of the united states, he shall upon demand of the Governor or executive power of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, and removed to the state having jurisdiction of his offence.

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to the records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other state.

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states.

In determining questions in the united states, in Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote.

Article VI. No State, without the Consent of the united States, in congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conferrence, agreement, alliance, or treaty, with any King prince or state; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the united states, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state; nor shall the united states, in congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility.

No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the united states, in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue.

No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united States in congress assembled, with any king, prince, or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of France and Spain.

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace, by any state, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the united states, in congress assembled, for the defence of such state, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up, by any state, in time of peace, except such number only as, in the judgment of the united states, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence of such state; but every state shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage.

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the united States in congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the united states in congress assembled, can be consulted: nor shall any state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the united states in congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or State, and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the united states in congress assembled shall determine otherwise.

Article VII. When land forces are raised by any state, for the common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such state shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the state which first made appointment.

Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the united states in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states, in proportion to the value of all land within each state, granted to or surveyed for any Person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated, according to such mode as the united states, in congress assembled, shall, from time to time, direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by the united states in congress assembled.

Article IX. The united states, in congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article - of sending and receiving ambassadors - entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made, whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever - of establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the united States, shall be divided or appropriated - of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace - appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas; and establishing courts; for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures; provided that no member of congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts.

The united states, in congress assembled, shall also be the last resort on appeal, in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority, or lawful agent of any state in controversy with another, shall present a petition to congress, stating the matter in question, and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given, by order of congress, to the legislative or executive authority of the other state in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons out of each of the united states, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names, as congress shall direct, shall, in the presence of congress, be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges, who shall hear the cause, shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present, shall refuse to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of the court, to be appointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive; the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to congress, and lodged among the acts of congress, for the security of the parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State where the cause shall be tried, “well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgment, without favour, affection, or hope of reward: “provided, also, that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the united states.

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more states, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the states which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the petition of either party to the congress of the united states, be finally determined, as near as may be, in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different states.

The united States, in congress assembled, shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denominated, “A Committee of the States,” and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the united states under their direction - to appoint one of their number to preside; provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the united states, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses; to borrow money or emit bills on the credit of the united states, transmitting every half year to the respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted, - to build and equip a navy - to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such state, which requisition shall be binding; and thereupon the legislature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and clothe, arm, and equip them, in a soldier-like manner, at the expense of the united states; and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united states, in congress assembled; but if the united states, in congress assembled, shall, on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any state should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other state should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip, as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled.

The congress of the united states shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the united states, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six Months, and shall publish the Journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each State, on any question, shall be entered on the Journal, when it is desired by any delegate; and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript of the said Journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several states.

Article X. The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the united states, in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall, from time to time, think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine states, in the congress of the united states assembled, is requisite.

Article XI. Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures of the united states, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union: but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine states.

Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed, and debts contracted by or under the authority of congress, before the assembling of the united states, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the united States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said united states and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged.

And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, Know Ye, that we, the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do, by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained. And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the united states in congress assembled, on all questions, which by the said confederation are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the states we respectively represent, and that the union shall be perpetual. In Witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, in Congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, the ninth Day of July, in the Year of our Lord one Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy eight, and in the third year of the Independence of America.

About the Articles of Confederation

The war between the Thirteen American colonies and Great Britain was underway. The First Continental Congress, which had met in Philadelphia from September to October 1774, had organized to launch a collective affront to British taxation and unite in an economic boycott on all British goods. The Second Continental Congress, which formed on May 10, 1775, did not just organize an embargo but organized a de facto government in order to fight one of the largest militaries and political superpowers in Europe. Congress adopted the “ Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ” to establish their military intent against Britain.

On June 14, 1775, they created the Continental Army . In one last show of goodwill, Congress drafted the Olive Branch Petition to implore Britain to peacefully end the conflict and grant the Thirteen Colonies their independence. The Petition was not acknowledged by King George III . As the conflict progressed, Congress began drafting a document that further unified the colonies, gave guidelines on how Congress should operate, and legitimized the budding nation in the eyes of the world. This document was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

Founding Fathers with the Declaration of Independence

Known simply as the “Articles of Confederation,” this document preserved the independence and sovereignty of the States while unifying them under one Constitution obligation. These articles were separate from the Declaration of Independence , although both written around the same time. The Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson , was the formal explanation of why the Thirteen Colonies had declared independence from Great Britain. While the previous Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms outlined why the Thirteen Colonies were starting an armed conflict, the Declaration of Independence established why the Thirteen Colonies wanted sovereignty and independence from their former ruler. The document is comprised of a list of grievances against King George III and the ideologies of the new country. Today several accepted American values and tenants come from this document, such as:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Declaration of Independence was officially ratified on July 4, 1776. Because of the importance of this document, America’s Independence Day is celebrated on July 4th every year.

The Articles of Confederation took longer to write. Unlike the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation were to be the guiding principles of governing the new United States of America and the pragmatic instructions on how to run a country. The Continental Congress struggled and debated issues regarding state sovereignty, what powers a centralized government should hold, how congress should vote, and whether states could claim “unclaimed” western lands. While these issues were debated, pressing issues regarding the military and money required Congress’s attention as they traveled from city to city escaping the escalating military conflict. After drafting and redrafting the document, the final draft of the Articles of Confederation was completed on November 15, 1777.

Twelve states ratified the Articles by February 1779, fourteen months after the submission of its completed draft. These ratifications occurred with little alteration to the Articles and the Continental Congress adopted the Articles as its de facto governmental procedures. Maryland, the lone holdout, worried that Virginia could claim large swaths of land west of the Ohio River. Hoping to limit the size of their neighboring state, Maryland refused to ratify unless all states ceded their claims to Western land and relented them to the national interest. If the land was in the national domain then these lands required congressional approval to be distributed to states. Almost four years after the Articles of Confederation were drafted, Maryland ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781. On March 1, the Articles became the official ruling document of the United States.

The document, although long in approval, was far from perfect. The Article contained thirteen articles that divvied power between the central Congress and the individual states based on the idea of friendship between the states. In Article Three, Congress defines this friendship:

"The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."

The Articles, in general, gave limited power to the central government. Congress could sign treaties and alliances with foreign nations; could regulate post offices, appoint officers in the military, and regulate armed forces; could request requisitions from the states; and could do other administrative functions. Congress could not declare war or peace with other nations without the consent of a super-majority of the states; could not levy taxes on states; could not require states send soldiers to fight in a national army; and could not interfere with state’s sovereignty. Congress was granted only the power that Great Britain had previously held over the Thirteen Colonies before the Intolerable Acts were issued. These limits were deliberate. The United States was reluctant to establish a strong central government while fighting a war against the ideas of “tyranny.”

The shortcomings of the Articles of the Confederation impeded the United States from properly governing the new country. The Treaty of Paris , which officially ended the conflict between the United States and Great Britain, was signed by delegates of the United States and Great Britain in Paris on September 3, 1783. However, the United States didn’t officially approve this treaty for another year as state delegates missed Congressional meetings. Quorum, the minimum number of delegates needed to proceed with Congressional meetings, was routinely not reached in order to approve the Treaty. These absences impacted Congress’s ability to pass any legislation. In addition to lacking the ability to force state delegates to attend Congress meetings, Congress lacked the ability to raise money to pay the veterans of the Revolutionary War. This procedural stall in payment resulted in Shays’ Rebellion, the name for numerous small rebellions that came to a peak on January 25, 1787. On that day, four thousand veterans, led by Daniel Shays, attempted to seize weapons from the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts to protest lack of veteran payments and excessive taxation. Congress, unable to allocate money toward national troops, relied on the Massachusetts state militia and private militias to quell the rebellion. Even though the rebellion was quelled, Congress was powerless to provide solutions for the farmers’ qualms. On a foreign front, the United States was unable to secure treaties with foreign nations. With little ability to control individual state actions, foreign representatives in Europe could not guarantee compliance with potential treaties. Without these guarantees, foreign governments were reticent to trade the budding nation or strengthen the nation with political friendships.

With a list of grievances growing, Congress began deliberations to write a new guiding document. This new document was the Constitution of the United States , the guiding document of the United States to this day. On September 28, 1787, the new Constitution was presented to Congress. Within a year, the Constitution had been ratified by all Thirteen States. On March 4, 1789, the Constitution was officially effective as rule of law in the United States and the Articles of Confederation was retired. While the Articles of Confederation was not inherently bad or ill-advised, it wasn’t the appropriate governing document for the United States. At the States became an independent nation and transitioned from wartime to peace, Congress recognized the strengths and the weakness of the Articles. Learning from their experiences, Congress used the Articles of Confederation as a steppingstone creating a productive government for their budding nation.

The Path to the Declaration

Constitutional Convention

Bill of Rights

2.2 The Articles of Confederation

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Describe the steps taken during and after the American Revolution to create a government
Identify the main features of the Articles of Confederation
Describe the crises resulting from key features of the Articles of Confederation

Waging a successful war against Great Britain required that the individual colonies, now sovereign states that often distrusted one another, form a unified nation with a central government capable of directing the country’s defense. Gaining recognition and aid from foreign nations would also be easier if the new United States had a national government able to borrow money and negotiate treaties. Accordingly, the Second Continental Congress called upon its delegates to create a new government strong enough to win the country’s independence but not so powerful that it would deprive people of the very liberties for which they were fighting.

PUTTING A NEW GOVERNMENT IN PLACE

The final draft of the Articles of Confederation , which formed the basis of the new nation’s government, was accepted by Congress in November 1777 and submitted to the states for ratification. It would not become the law of the land until all thirteen states had approved it. Within two years, all except Maryland had done so. Maryland argued that all territory west of the Appalachians, to which some states had laid claim, should instead be held by the national government as public land for the benefit of all the states. When the last of these states, Virginia, relinquished its land claims in early 1781, Maryland approved the Articles. 4 A few months later, the British surrendered.

Americans wished their new government to be a republic , a regime in which the people, not a monarch, held power and elected representatives to govern according to the rule of law. Many, however, feared that a nation as large as the United States could not be ruled effectively as a republic. Many also worried that even a government of representatives elected by the people might become too powerful and overbearing. Thus, a confederation was created—an entity in which independent, self-governing states form a union for the purpose of acting together in areas such as defense. Fearful of replacing one oppressive national government with another, however, the framers of the Articles of Confederation created an alliance of sovereign states held together by a weak central government.

Link to Learning

View the Articles of Confederation at the National Archives. The timeline for drafting and ratifying the Articles of Confederation is available at the Library of Congress.

Following the Declaration of Independence , each of the thirteen states had drafted and ratified a constitution providing for a republican form of government in which political power rested in the hands of the people, although the right to vote was limited to free (White) men, and the property requirements for voting differed among the states. Each state had a governor and an elected legislature. In the new nation, the states remained free to govern their residents as they wished. The central government had authority to act in only a few areas, such as national defense, in which the states were assumed to have a common interest (and would, indeed, have to supply militias). This arrangement was meant to prevent the national government from becoming too powerful or abusing the rights of individual citizens. In the careful balance between power for the national government and liberty for the states, the Articles of Confederation favored the states.

Thus, powers given to the central government were severely limited. The Confederation Congress , formerly the Continental Congress , had the authority to exchange ambassadors and make treaties with foreign governments and Indian tribes, declare war, coin currency and borrow money, and settle disputes between states. Each state legislature appointed delegates to the Congress; these men could be recalled at any time. Regardless of its size or the number of delegates it chose to send, each state would have only one vote. Delegates could serve for no more than three consecutive years, lest a class of elite professional politicians develop. The nation would have no independent chief executive or judiciary. Nine votes were required before the central government could act, and the Articles of Confederation could be changed only by unanimous approval of all thirteen states.

WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE ARTICLES?

The Articles of Confederation satisfied the desire of those in the new nation who wanted a weak central government with limited power. Ironically, however, their very success led to their undoing. It soon became apparent that, while they protected the sovereignty of the states, the Articles had created a central government too weak to function effectively.

One of the biggest problems was that the national government had no power to impose taxes . To avoid any perception of “taxation without representation,” the Articles of Confederation allowed only state governments to levy taxes. To pay for its expenses, the national government had to request money from the states, which were required to provide funds in proportion to the value of the land within their borders. The states, however, were often negligent in this duty, and the national government was underfunded. Without money, it could not pay debts owed from the Revolution and had trouble conducting foreign affairs. For example, the inability of the U.S. government to raise sufficient funds to compensate colonists who had remained loyal to Great Britain for their property losses during and after the American Revolution was one of the reasons the British refused to evacuate the land west of the Appalachians. The new nation was also unable to protect American ships from attacks by the Barbary pirates. 5 Foreign governments were also, understandably, reluctant to loan money to a nation that might never repay it because it lacked the ability to tax its citizens.

The fiscal problems of the central government meant that the currency it issued, called the Continental, was largely worthless and people were reluctant to use it. Furthermore, while the Articles of Confederation had given the national government the power to coin money, they had not prohibited the states from doing so as well. As a result, numerous state banks issued their own banknotes, which had the same problems as the Continental. People who were unfamiliar with the reputation of the banks that had issued the banknotes often refused to accept them as currency. This reluctance, together with the overwhelming debts of the states, crippled the young nation’s economy.

The country’s economic woes were made worse by the fact that the central government also lacked the power to impose tariffs on foreign imports or regulate interstate commerce. Thus, it was unable to prevent British merchants from flooding the U.S. market with low-priced goods after the Revolution, and American producers suffered from the competition. Compounding the problem, states often imposed tariffs on items produced by other states and otherwise interfered with their neighbors’ trade.

The national government also lacked the power to raise an army or navy. Fears of a standing army in the employ of a tyrannical government had led the writers of the Articles of Confederation to leave defense largely to the states. Although the central government could declare war and agree to peace, it had to depend upon the states to provide soldiers. If state governors chose not to honor the national government’s request, the country would lack an adequate defense. This was quite dangerous at a time when England and Spain still controlled large portions of North America ( Table 2.1 ).

The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, already recognized by many, became apparent to all as a result of an uprising of Massachusetts farmers, led by Daniel Shays . Known as Shays’ Rebellion , the incident panicked the governor of Massachusetts, who called upon the national government for assistance. However, with no power to raise an army, the government had no troops at its disposal. After several months, Massachusetts crushed the uprising with the help of local militias and privately funded armies, but wealthy people were frightened by this display of unrest on the part of poor men and by similar incidents taking place in other states. 6 To find a solution and resolve problems related to commerce, members of Congress called for a revision of the Articles of Confederation.

Shays’ Rebellion: Symbol of Disorder and Impetus to Act

In the summer of 1786, farmers in western Massachusetts were heavily in debt, facing imprisonment and the loss of their lands. They owed taxes that had gone unpaid while they were away fighting the British during the Revolution. The Continental Congress had promised to pay them for their service, but the national government did not have sufficient money. Moreover, the farmers were unable to meet the onerous new tax burden Massachusetts imposed in order to pay its own debts from the Revolution.

Led by Daniel Shays ( Figure 2.6 ), the heavily indebted farmers marched to a local courthouse demanding relief. Faced with the refusal of many Massachusetts militiamen to arrest the rebels, with whom they sympathized, Governor James Bowdoin called upon the national government for aid, but none was available. The uprising was finally brought to an end the following year by a privately funded militia after the protestors’ unsuccessful attempt to raid the Springfield Armory.

Were Shays and his followers justified in their attacks on the government of Massachusetts? What rights might they have sought to protect?

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Have Fun With History

10 Strengths of the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation were the United States’ first constitution, passed by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and approved by all 13 states in 1781.

The Articles of Confederation formed a loose alliance of states in which the central government had little power and local states retained the majority of their autonomy.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the government was comprised of a single legislative body, the Continental Congress, which had the authority to make decisions on behalf of the states but lacked the authority to implement them.

Also Read: Facts About the Articles of Confederation

The Articles also established a system of diplomacy with foreign nations and Indian tribes, a currency and coinage system, and a system of military alliances among states.

Despite their strengths, the Articles of Confederation eventually proved insufficient in coping with the nation’s developing economic and political issues, prompting their replacement with the current United States Constitution in 1787.

What Were the Strength of the Articles of Confederation?

1. they allowed for mutual protection against foreign threats.

One of the Articles of Confederation’s key strengths was that it established a unified government for the thirteen colonies and allowed for mutual protection against foreign threats.

The Continental Congress, as the Articles of Confederation’s legislative body, had the authority to make decisions on behalf of the states and to coordinate their actions in matters of defense and foreign affairs.

Also Read: Differences Between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

This aided in establishing a sense of solidarity among the colonies and presenting a united front to foreign powers.

Furthermore, the Articles of Confederation established a system of military alliances among nations, allowing them to come to each other’s aid in the event of an assault.

This contributed to ensuring that individual colonies would not have to face military challenges on their own.

2. Permitted the settlement of western areas and established a procedure for the admission of new states into the Union

Another advantage of the Articles of Confederation was that they established a procedure for settling western areas and adding new states to the Union.

The Articles of Confederation empowered the Continental Congress to manage and dispose of the vast western regions, allowing them to make judgments about how to allocate and govern these lands.

Also Read: Facts About the First Continental Congress

This was significant because it allowed the United States to grow and new states to be formed. The Articles of Confederation also established the process for admitting new states, stating that any region conquered by Congress and meeting the demographic requirements could apply to become a state.

This procedure aided in ensuring that new states could join the Union in a legal and orderly way.

3. Individual state sovereignty was protected, and the central government’s influence was restrained.

One of the Articles of Confederation’s key merits was that it safeguarded the sovereignty of individual states while limiting the power of the central government.

The Articles of Confederation established a form of government in which the central government has limited power and the states retain the majority of their autonomy. Many states were wary of a strong central authority following their experience with British control, thus this appealed to them.

4. The Articles of Confederation provided a legal framework for the conduct of business and commerce between the states.

The purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to provide a legal framework for the conduct of business and commerce among the states.

Also Read: Timeline of the Articles of Confederation

The Articles established a system of free trade among the states, which meant that governments could not impose tariffs or other barriers on products exchanged among them.

This aided economic progress by ensuring that states could profit from each other’s resources and businesses.

Also Read: Problems of the Articles of Confederation

Furthermore, the Articles empowered the Continental Congress to control commerce with foreign nations, allowing for a more organized and effective international trade policy.

This contributed to ensuring that American merchants and traders were not at a competitive disadvantage in the global market.

Furthermore, the Congress had the authority to settle conflicts between states concerning trade and commercial matters. This contributed to the states’ ability to handle any issues that arose in a peaceful and constitutional manner.

5. The Articles of Confederation created a system of diplomacy with foreign nations and Indian tribes.

The Articles of Confederation empowered the Continental Congress to handle foreign relations on behalf of the states, including the authority to create treaties and alliances, receive ambassadors and other public ministers, and negotiate with foreign powers.

This helped to ensure that the United States could show a unified face to the rest of the world and negotiate commercial and diplomatic issues with other countries.

The Articles also provided Congress the authority to control ties with Indian tribes, which was significant because Native American countries occupied many of the western areas.

This provided the United States with a formal and organized method of dealing with tribes and negotiating treaties with them. This aided in ensuring that the US could coexist peacefully with the tribes and avoid wars.

6. The Articles of Confederation created a system of currency and coinage for the states to use.

The Articles of Confederation granted the Continental Congress the authority to regulate the value of money, which was critical because the states had been using their own currencies and were experiencing problems with inflation and currency devaluation.

The Congress was given the authority to borrow money on the credit of the United States, coin money and regulate its value, and establish a standard of weights and measures.

This contributed to economic stability by providing a standardized currency for states to utilize, making it easier for businesses to perform transactions and for consumers to exchange goods and services. The Congress was also given the authority to control coin ages, which served to ensure that the states had a regular and trustworthy supply of coins to utilize.

By providing a trustworthy and standard means of exchange, this aided in the facilitation of trade and commerce between states and with other nations.

Overall, adopting a system of money and coinage for the nations to use aided economic stability and prosperity while also making it easier for the states to transact commerce with one another and with other countries.

7. Facilitated communication and cooperation between the states through the Continental Congress.

The Continental Congress was the legislative body formed by the Articles of Confederation, and it functioned as a venue for the states to meet and address critical issues confronting the country.

The Congress had the authority to make decisions on behalf of the states, and it was crucial in coordinating state operations in areas such as military, international relations, and trade.

This aided in ensuring that the states could collaborate toward common goals and make decisions that were in the best interests of the entire country.

Additionally, the Congress made it possible for states to communicate with one another by providing a forum for them to address their concerns and share information.

This aided in promoting cooperation and understanding among the states and ensuring that the states could work together to handle the nation’s concerns.

8. Allowed states to settle boundary disputes between them.

The Articles of Confederation empowered the Continental Congress to settle conflicts between states, including border issues. This contributed to ensuring that any disagreements between states could be addressed peacefully and constitutionally, rather than through armed confrontation.

The Congress had the authority to settle the disputes, and its decision was final and binding. This contributed to the maintenance of peace and stability among the states, as well as the prevention of war escalation.

This also contributed to the states’ ability to handle conflicts over land and resources in an orderly and equitable manner, which was critical for the nation’s development and expansion.

9. Provided a system of postal service to connect the states.

The Articles of Confederation empowered the Continental Congress to establish a mail service, which aided communication and trade between the states.

This was significant because, prior to the development of a postal service, each states had their own postal systems, making it difficult and expensive to carry letters across states.

It became easier to send mail and packages across states after the development of a national postal service, which aided in the promotion of business, trade, and communication.

The Congress also had the authority to control the mail service, which contributed to its efficiency and dependability. This eased the movement of information, ideas, and commerce across states, which helped to foster national unity and boost national progress.

10. The Articles provided for mutual defense among the states

The Articles of Confederation called for mutual defense among the states, which meant that the states were committed to come to each other’s aid in the event of an assault by a foreign power.

By uniting their resources and military power, the states were able to protect themselves against external threats.

The Congress had the authority to mobilize state militias, crush insurgencies, and repel invasions, which served to ensure that states could respond promptly to attacks and defend the nation.

Furthermore, the Congress had the authority to raise and support armies, which contributed to the United States having a standing army that could be deployed to defend the country.

This military alliance system contributed to the safety and security of states by offering a united front against external threats and a defense mechanism in the event of an attack.

11 Pros and Cons of Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution that was approved in the United States. The Continental Congress adopted the articles on November 15, 1777, but complete ratification of the constitution did not occur until March of 1791. This allowed the colonial states to band together officially during a time of war, creating a centralized government that would be able to work with the 13 states.

The primary advantage that the Articles of Confederation provided was its ability to maintain the independence and sovereignty of each state within the union. At the same time, the states could use the articles to band together, send ambassadors to other nations overseas, and handle territory issues.

As the young United States began to grow, the primary disadvantages of the Articles of Confederation began to be seen. The centralized government was made purposefully weak to limit its powers. Delegates of the government discovered these limitations made it difficult to handle economic problems, trade disputes, and other state-based issues because every state had so much independence.

Here are some more of the pros and cons of the Articles of Confederation to think about and discuss.

What Were the Pros of the Articles of Confederation?

1. It offered the first chance to experience unity. Although the various colonies had come together in a mutual fight against the British for independence, the US was hardly a united nation. There were many loyalists that had been part of the colony population during the Revolutionary War as well. The Articles of Confederation became the first major attempt to bring everyone together under an umbrella of unity, no matter what their individual perspectives happened to be.

2. It gave the colonies a chance to go global. Many of the world’s governments may have supported the cause of the colonies leading up to the Revolutionary war, but they couldn’t officially support them. Without a centralized government, there was no way to communicate globally at the highest levels. The Articles of Confederation let the rest of the world know that the colonies were ready to be taken seriously.

3. It allows for colonists to still experience free movement. There was no need to carry papers or apply for a visa when traveling throughout the United States thanks to the Articles of Confederation. This constitution helped to establish borders and honor each state’s sovereignty at that level, but also declared that the colonists were Americans, free to go to whichever colony or state whenever they wished.

4. It encouraged trade. With the Articles of Confederation created a confederacy of states, trade and other financial opportunities were encouraged internally. Instead of looking internationally for needed goods or services, this constitution encouraged the various states to work with one another so that everyone could benefit from the transaction. This fostered even more unity, eventually leading the US to develop a personality at the national level.

5. It required complete agreement to make changes to it. Maryland was the last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, nearly 2 years later than any other state. To make any changes to the articles, all 13 states would be required to ratify the change. That made it difficult to change the constitution, which was attempted twice, providing a level of governing consistency that everyone could rely upon.

What Were the Cons of the Articles of Confederation?

1. It took a long time for it to be fully implemented. There were numerous weaknesses with the Articles of Confederation because there was such an emphasis on being “different” than Britain. For starters, there wasn’t really an executive branch under that constitution in an effort to avoid having a king. The national government had no ability to impose laws on states. Leadership from Congress had little influence. As time went by, it was clear that this first constitution wouldn’t be able to fully unify the colonies as everyone wanted.

2. It had no authority to regulate commerce. This authority was delegated to the states. Even though the articles gave the US the power to negotiate international treaties and perform other tasks, there was no centralized authority for commerce. That meant an international government could negotiate a treaty with the US, but any trade opportunities had to be independently negotiated with each state. That difficulty limited many of the available trade opportunities at the time.

3. It had not authority to levy taxes. A government requires funds to operate. The Articles of Confederation provided no authority to levy taxes on the population, a holdover likely from the taxation without representation protests that had occurred in the months and years prior to the writing of the constitution. They could coin money and maintain an armed force, but relied on the states to provide the financial means to do so. These issues would eventually spell the end of the Articles of Confederation as a governing document.

4. It provided too much independence. Because of the lack of commerce regulation built into the Articles of Confederation, each state acted as its own small “nation” and treated other states like they were an alliance instead of a fellow patriot. At one point in the 1780s, each state was even issuing its own currency. This led to high levels of inflation, which reduced the economic powers of each state. It became clear that the only solution would be to centralize these needs instead of enjoying complete independence.

5. It placed value on slavery. One of the sticking points of the Articles of Confederation was taxation assignment. The southern states wanted only white citizens to be counted for taxation purposes. The northern states wanted every person, except Native Americans, to be counted for taxing purposes. Eventually, a compromise was reached that based taxation on land and improvements. Since slaves were often listed as property, their value was actually taxed by the new government structures.

6. It restricted the ability to act in an emergency. After the Treaty of Paris, territories in the west beyond the original colonies were declared to be US territories. Despite this agreement, the British continued to occupy posts in the Old Northwest. Merchants from the US were barred from entering the British West Indies. Despite efforts to amend the articles so these issues could be addressed, a decision could not be reached. Ultimately, the failure to find a path forward led to the Articles of Confederation being removed as a governing guideline.

The pros and cons of the Articles of Confederation helped to shape the United States into the country it is today. This early constitution may have been far from perfect, but it did encourage dialogue and foster state-to-state relationships that would provide a cornerstone for what would eventually become the Constitution.

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Comparing the Articles and the Constitution

The United States has operated under two constitutions. The first, The Articles of Confederation , was in effect from March 1, 1781, when Maryland ratified it. The second, The Constitution , replaced the Articles when it was ratified by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788.

The two documents have much in common - they were established by the same people (sometimes literally the same exact people, though mostly just in terms of contemporaries). But they differ more than they do resemble each other, when one looks at the details. Comparing them can give us insight into what the Framers found important in 1781, and what they changed their minds on by 1788.

The following is a comparison, detailing the similarities and differences between the Constitution and the Articles. The topic page for The Articles and the Constitution Explained Page may also be of some interest.

Formal name of the nation Articles: The United States of America Constitution: (not specified, but referred to in the Preamble as "the United States of America")

Legislature Articles: Unicameral, called Congress Constitution: Bicameral, called Congress, divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate

Members of Congress Articles: Between two and seven members per state Constitution: Two Senators per state, Representatives apportioned according to population of each state

Voting in Congress Articles: One vote per state Constitution: One vote per Representative or Senator

Appointment of members Articles: All appointed by state legislatures, in the manner each legislature directed Constitution: Representatives elected by popular vote, Senators appointed by state legislatures

Term of legislative office Articles: One year Constitution: Two years for Representatives, six for Senators

Term limit for legislative office Articles: No more than three out of every six years Constitution: None

Congressional Pay Articles: Paid by states Constitution: Paid by the federal government

When Congress is not in session... Articles: A Committee of States had the full powers of Congress Constitution: The President can call for Congress to assemble

Chair of legislature Articles: President of Congress Constitution: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice President is President of the Senate

Executive Articles: None Constitution: President

National Judiciary Articles: Maritime judiciary established Constitution: Federal judiciary established, including Supreme Court

Adjudicator of disputes between states Articles: Congress Constitution: Supreme Court

New States Articles: Admitted upon agreement of nine states (special exemption provided for Canada) Constitution: Admitted upon agreement of Congress

Amendment Articles: When agreed upon by all states Constitution: When agreed upon by three-fourths of all states

Navy Articles: Congress authorized to build a navy; states authorized to equip warships to counter piracy Constitution: Congress authorized to build a navy; states not allowed to keep ships of war

Army Articles: Congress to decide on size of force and to requisition troops from each state according to population Constitution: Congress authorized to raise and support armies

Power to coin money Articles: United States and the states Constitution: United States only

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April 16, 2024

12 min read

The Secret to the Strongest Force in the Universe

New discoveries demystify the bizarre force that binds atomic nuclei together

By Stanley J. Brodsky , Alexandre Deur & Craig D. Roberts

Deena So'oteh

T he strongest force in the universe is called, aptly, the strong force. We never get to witness its fearsome power because it works only across subatomic distances, where it binds quarks together inside protons and neutrons and joins those nucleons into atomic nuclei. Of the four basic forces of nature, the strong force is by far the most potent—it’s 100 trillion trillion trillion times stronger than the force of gravity. It’s also the most mysterious.

Despite knowing roughly how it compares with the other forces, scientists don’t know precisely how strong the strong force is . The other three forces—gravity, the electromagnetic force and the weak nuclear force (responsible for some radioactivity)—are much better measured. The strength of electromagnetism, for example, denoted by its “coupling constant,” has been measured with the same precision as the distance between New York and Los Angeles, to within a few hair breadths. Yet the strong force’s coupling constant, called α s (“alpha s”), is by far the least understood of these quantities. The precision of the best measurements of α s is 100 million times worse than that of the electromagnetic measurement.

Even this level of (un)certainty is known only in the simplest domain of the strong force theory , at very high energies involved only in some of the rarest and most extreme events in nature. At the lower energies relevant to the world around us, the strong force earns its name by becoming truly intense, and concrete information on α s in this range is scarce. Until recently, no one had made any experimental measurements of α s at this scale. Theoretical predictions for its value were unhelpful, covering the entire span from zero to infinity.

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A series of schematics introduce the four basic interactions of nature; gravity, electromagnetic force, weak force and strong force. The strong force binds quarks into a nucleon and, in turn, nucleons into the nucleus of an atom.

Jen Christiansen

The strong force’s might makes it difficult to study in lots of ways. The theory describing how it works, called quantum chromodynamics, is so complicated we can’t use it to make direct calculations or precise predictions. One of the reasons for this complexity is that the carrier of the strong force—a particle called the gluon—interacts with itself. Electromagnetism, in comparison, is simple because its carrier, the photon, is chargeless. But the gluon carries the strong force’s version of charge, called color, and its self-interactions quickly get out of hand. So despite its importance to nuclear physics and building the material world, the strong force is not unconditionally loved by researchers. Instead many look at the domain where the strong force is truly strong as a “Terra Damnata,” a realm to avoid at all costs.

Yet understanding the strong force is essential for explaining the complexity of the matter around us. In fact, the strong force accounts for the origin of around 99 percent of the mass in the visible universe . (The remaining 1 percent comes from the Higgs boson.) And now, after half a century of effort, scientists have finally begun revealing some of the strong force’s secrets. One of us (Deur) recently made the first measurements of how α s changes within Terra Damnata, and two of us (Brodsky and Roberts) independently developed new theoretical predictions that explained the data. Terra Damnata is looking more welcoming than ever before. And now that we can explore this terrain, we stand to learn much more. We at last have the ability to analytically calculate aspects of quantum chromodynamics from first principles. Furthermore, exploring this range of the strong force could help us understand proposed unifying theories of the universe, as well as the question of how many dimensions exist in space and time.

A curved hallway with industrial equipment lining the righthand wall.

Magnets direct particles through the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.

Courtesy of Jefferson Lab

If α s is a constant, how can it change? The answer has to do with the concept of quantum loops, also known as vacuum polarization. Quantum theory revealed that the “vacuum” of space is actually full of tiny particles that are constantly appearing and disappearing in fluctuating clouds. Interactions with these virtual particles can cause a force to depart from its classical behavior because of what’s called a quantum loop. When the notion was first introduced, quantum loops were an unpleasant surprise because they predict infinite quantities—a clear sign that something is wrong. But eventually physicists figured out how to tame these infinities and absorb all the corrections from quantum loops into the equation describing the carrier of the force. Thus, in quantum chromodynamics (QCD), quantum loop corrections affect the gluon’s behavior and determine how much α s changes with the distance between quarks. With this new distance dependence from quantum loops lodged within the coupling constant, these quantities lost their constancy . So we’ll just call them “couplings” from now on.

For most of the forces, the couplings change slowly with distance. For instance, from the tiniest scales ever probed by humans to everyday scales, α em , the electromagnetic coupling, decreases only by about 10 percent of its value. For the strong coupling, α s , however, the change is huge: even within the domain where physicists are comfortable calculating α s (that is, far from Terra Damnata), its value changes by several orders of magnitude. Another difference, far more important, is that the electromagnetic coupling decreases as the distance grows. For the strong force, however, α s increases with distance. If you try to pull two quarks within a proton apart from each other, the attraction between them becomes stronger. In fact, it grows so powerfully that it’s essentially impossible to pry quarks away from each other—the strong force keeps them “confined,” and you can never find a single quark by itself. The same rule applies to interactions between quarks and gluons and between gluons and gluons. The flip side is that these interactions are weak at short distances: the closer you zoom in on a quark, the more loosely it’s bound. The smallness of α s at small distances is called asymptotic freedom, and its discovery in the 1970s eventually won its pioneers the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Two line charts show that force strength weakens over distance for the electromagnetic force, and strengthens over distance for the strong force.

At short distances, where α s is small, physicists can perform calculations using the same methods that we use for the electromagnetic and weak forces. But these methods don’t work for QCD at longer distances—say, the size of a proton. This length is, by everyday standards, still very small (the proton, being one-50,000th the size of an atom, has a radius of roughly a millionth of a billionth of a meter). Yet it represents an expanse in particle physics. The problem is that α s grows too quickly. Before we can reach a fermi, α s becomes too big for the standard calculation method to be applicable. This is why the (not even very) long-distance domain became Terra Damnata.

Chart plots force strength over distance. A so-called landau pole is drawn as a vertical line separating high energy data clustered in the bottom left corner–and a high-energy calculation line–from the so-called Terra Damnata zone to the right.

With the usual calculation method unavailable, physicists tried other strategies, but they were either less well tested or imprecise and predicted a long-distance limit for α s that could lie anywhere between zero and infinity. The usual short-distance calculation method predicts an infinite value of α s at long range. But this infinity, referred to as the Landau pole after physicist Lev Landau, reveals only that the computational method has failed rather than telling us about the strong force. It was crucial to determine what α s does at a distance.

A breakthrough has finally emerged from a wide-ranging effort by many physicists. The tale unfolds in three stages, and one of us played a part in each.

T he first step was fortuitous. In the late 1990s Deur was a Ph.D. student taking data at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Virginia, which houses a particle accelerator. His measurements spanned the transition between short distances and Terra Damnata. At the time, he knew of the Landau pole but not that it was bogus. He was puzzled to see that nothing seemed to happen at the distance where α s should noticeably change (or so he thought). The data were completely smooth, with no sign of the blowup he had been led to expect. The measurements didn’t seem to bother more experienced scientists, who were accustomed to collecting data in this region, and there are only so many naive questions that students can ask before exhausting their welcome. So he added this issue to the long list of things that he didn’t understand about the world, to be answered (maybe) later, and moved on.

A Jefferson lab data overlay is placed on the preceding chart. The data points match the high energy calculation line on the left, then cross the vertical Landau pole and the curve flattens.

A few years later he used his data and other measurements from Jefferson Lab to measure a quantity called the Bjorken integral, named after James Bjorken , one of the pioneers of strong force studies. The Bjorken integral has to do with the direction of quark spin inside protons and neutrons, and as a bonus, it also provides a relatively easy way to calculate α s , as long as you stay away from Terra Damnata. So Deur was able to measure α s on the sure-footed domain of short distances. Being curious and inclined to experiment, he also checked what the formula would predict for long distances. This experiment was just for fun, and he knew very well that he wasn’t supposed to take the answer seriously. But his analysis showed that, far from drastically changing as the distance grew, α s stopped growing and became constant.

Deur shared this alarming finding with his Ph.D. mentor, Jian-Ping Chen, a Jefferson Lab staff scientist, who remarked that this α s looked like predictions he’d seen before. Digging into past studies, Deur found other instances of coupling calculations becoming constant at long distances, much like what he saw in his data. Perhaps his playful α s calculation revealed the strong force’s genuine behavior after all? It was a stroke of luck because, although no one had realized it yet, the Bjorken integral is uniquely suited for calculations of α s at long distances. Whereas most measurements probe interactions among many quarks (because quarks are never found alone), the Bjorken integral manages to filter out most of the multiquark processes and separate out effects on individual quarks. It turns out, this calculation of α s would not have worked with almost any other type of nucleon data.

Because Deur’s α s possibly made sense, he wondered whether he could show it at physics conferences without too much risk of ridicule. He worried, though, because his measurements seemed to contradict the prevailing wisdom that the intensity of the strong force would keep growing. But he decided to risk it. As it happened, Brodsky attended one of these conferences and helped Deur put the work on firmer theoretical footing. This meeting was the beginning of a fruitful collaboration that continues to this day.

While Deur was exploring α s experimentally, Brodsky was working with Guy de Téramond Peralta and Hans Günter Dosch to develop a new method to compute QCD properties at long distances. Their strategy uses a mathematical device known as holography (often used to study black holes and gravity) to infer how the strong force behaves with large values of α s in our four-dimensional spacetime (three space dimensions plus one time dimension) using results from calculations for gravity done in five dimensions. (Whether the extra dimension that underlies this method represents actual physics or is simply a mathematical tool to simplify the problem, much like the use of imaginary numbers in classical physics , no one knows.) This novel approach to the physics of the strong force, so-called light-front holography, can determine α s at long distances and predict the interactions that confine quarks and gluons within nucleons.

Brodsky had long been acquainted with α s and knew that attempts to find a unified theory of the electromagnetic, weak and strong forces seemed to require that α s become finite at long range. In fact, he expected such an outcome because quarks are confined within nucleons, which means quark and gluon quantum loops cannot grow larger than the size of the proton. No more loops means no more evolution of the coupling. So although Deur’s measurements of α s did not surprise him, he was delighted to see that it was, in fact, possible to measure α s at long distances and that the result showed constancy.

Brodsky and de Téramond Peralta contacted Deur to discuss how to compute α s using their light-front holography method and went on to calculate it . The result, published in 2010, was gratifying: their α s matched Deur’s experimental data exquisitely. It was all the more remarkable because the calculation had no adjustable parameter. They neither fiddled with settings nor messed with “fudge” factors.

A holography calculations overlay is placed on the preceding chart. The curve closely follows the Jefferson Lab data points.

Of course, holography is an exciting, novel approach to quantum chromodynamics (and quantum gravity), but it’s not the same as using QCD itself. But we know that it at least models QCD very well, suggesting future physicists might be able to prove some kind of equivalence between the behavior of gravity and the strong force. Still, to feel comfortable saying we’d truly calculated α s at long distances, we needed a QCD-based computation. A natural approach is to solve the theory’s equations of motion, which in QCD describe how all strong force quantities evolve as spacetime changes.

D eur published his first results on α s in 2005, almost 20 years ago. At the time, Roberts puzzled over them, asking himself what relevance this coupling measurement, seemingly associated exclusively with a single QCD process, could have to the theory’s equations of motion. Such equations need a universal coupling that’s the same for all processes. He put this question aside and moved on.

Nine years later, during a 2014 meeting that he and colleagues organized at the European Center for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas in Trento, Italy, he returned to Deur’s α s . Until this point, theorists had employed two parallel strategies to use QCD’s equations of motion to understand the theory of the strong force. The “top-down” approach tried to predict α s through the properties of gluons. The “bottom-up” approach aimed to use directly measurable quantities to infer α s by comparing predictions with experimental data.

At that 2014 meeting, a prominent colleague pointed out that the two approaches were delivering vastly different results that couldn’t be reconciled. That colleague, however, was unaware of recent progress with the bottom-up approach that Roberts had made with his collaborator Lei Chang. Within 24 hours, spurred by the challenge, the two had results in hand for the bottom-up coupling estimate. They shared them with two leading players in the top-down area who were also at the meeting, Daniele Binosi and Joannis Papavassiliou, and together the group established that the top-down and bottom-up results for α s were mutually compatible . The parallel streams were merged.

Now we were left with a key question: How do we connect Deur’s coupling measurements and the value we compute using QCD’s equations of motion? If we can do that, then we will have bridged the final gap.

Roberts’s next step was to speak with physicist José Rodríguez-Quintero, who had long been working on the top-down approach and had access to results from computer simulations of QCD. After some back-and-forth brainstorming along with Binosi, Papavassiliou and a new team member, Cédric Mezrag, the group arrived at a universal QCD coupling . Amazingly, this result was virtually indistinguishable from both Deur’s data and the holography calculation by Brodsky and his colleagues. Moreover, like the holography result, the new prediction was parameter-free: no nudging or tinkering. That fact meant that the agreement was deeply significant.

A QCD Equations of Motion calculations overlay is placed on the preceding chart. The curve closely follows the Jefferson Lab data points and holography calculations line.

Since that time, capitalizing on improved information from the top-down, bottom-up and simulation approaches, the group has updated its theoretical analysis . The scientists found that, outside Terra Damnata, their coupling and Deur’s data agree to better than 1 percent. Furthermore, moving into Terra Damnata, they discovered that complex interactions between quarks, which could have upset the connection between these couplings, largely cancel out among themselves because of the physical features of the processes underlying the Bjorken integral. This was Deur’s stroke of luck: he had serendipitously chosen the one process whose coupling is most closely related to the universal result derived from QCD’s equations of motion.

Now, for the first time, we have both compelling data and calculations of α s that cover the entire length-scale range, including Terra Damnata, the previously unreachable territory. The key finding is that as the distance grows greater, the coupling stops growing, and the inconstant constant becomes constant once more. This discovery has profound implications.

Large-scale metallic industrial equipment in an interior space.

The CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer took some of the measurements that helped to define the strong force at a scale never possible before.

First, knowing α s at all distances is practically important: physicists can now analytically predict numerous quantities that were previously out of reach. Most phenomena relating to the strong force in nature, from the deepest structure of the atoms within us to the inner workings of neutron stars, are determined by the strength of α s . Because this coupling is dominated by its long-range behavior, which we now know to be finite rather than infinite, we have opened up a new world of possible calculations.

At a deeper level, the solutions of QCD’s equations of motion help to reveal the origin of 99 percent of the visible mass in our universe. This mass comes from atoms, and most of the mass of atoms is in their protons and neutrons (electrons are relatively light). But where does proton and neutron mass come from? The quarks that constitute them also have very little mass of their own. But at the scale of a proton, our revelations about α s suggest that quarks gather clouds of gluons around them that generate much of the mass of the proton. In essence, the powerful binding energy that the strong force exerts to bind quarks together contributes almost all of the mass (remember, Albert Einstein revealed that energy and mass are two sides of the same coin). Therefore, if you weigh 160 pounds, then more than 158 of them come from quantum chromodynamics, specifically because of the mechanism that freezes α s into a constant. The Higgs boson contributes only the small remainder—the tiny mass the quarks and electrons possess on their own.

Even more significantly, the static nature of α s at long distances means that QCD is the first full quantum field theory that predicts only finite quantities. All the other known quantum field theories, including quantum electrodynamics (which describes the electromagnetic force), run into infinite Landau poles at very high energies. As such, QCD may lead the way to explaining many phenomena that lie outside our current understanding.

Pursuing this line of reasoning, we may learn, for example, whether string theories with 10, 11 or 26 dimensions of spacetime are necessary to make sense of our universe or whether, instead, a clear understanding of our solidly established four spacetime dimensions will turn out to be sufficient. The excitement right now among nuclear and particle physicists is tangible.

Stanley J. Brodsky is a theoretical physicist and emeritus professor at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University.

Alexandre Deur is a research scientist at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Va.

Craig D. Roberts is a theoretical physicist at the School of Physics at Nanjing University, where he leads the Institute for Nonperturbative Physics.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 330 Issue 5

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Increasing phd student self-awareness and self-confidence through strengths-based professional development submission type: research article provisionally accepted.

1 Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, United States
2 Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Strengths-based programs have emerged as asset-based approaches to professional development that promote positive student engagement and success. This paper shares the outcomes of a strengths-based professional development program provided to biomedical and health sciences graduate doctoral students within an academic health center. Program outcomes and changes in participants’ perceived confidence when identifying and applying their strengths in different contexts were evaluated through a mixed methods design that included a Likert-based survey and thematic analysis of qualitative responses. Findings strongly suggest that most participants lacked the self-confidence and/or self-awareness to recognize their own strengths prior to the program. Themes that emerged upon implementation of the program point to the following outcomes: participants gained an increased understanding of their strengths, confidence that the knowledge gained about their strengths would help them learn more effectively in laboratory settings, an increased belief that they possess natural talents and skills that make them good scientists and strong members of their research team, and confidence that applying their strengths will help them to overcome both personal and professional challenges. This program shows promise to strengthen graduate student self-awareness and self-confidence. Further studies are needed to understand and measure how asset-based programs such as this can impact graduate student resilience, science identity, and overall student success.

Keywords: graduate, Strengths, Professional Development, biomedical, Health Sciences, Science identity, stem

Received: 31 Jan 2024; Accepted: 22 Apr 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Lockman and Ferguson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Julie A. Lockman, West Virginia University, Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Morgantown, United States

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RSC Advances

Progress of research on the bonding-strength improvement of two-layer adhesive-free flexible copper-clad laminates.

* Corresponding authors

a Institute of Molecular Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan 243002, China

b College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China E-mail: [email protected]

c Chuzhou HKC Optoelectronics Co., Ltd, Chuzhou 239000, China

The arrival of the 5G era has placed high demands on the electronic products. Developing thin, light, and portable electronic products capable of simultaneously improving the transmission rate and reducing the signal delay and transmission loss is necessary to meet such demands. The traditional three-layer, adhesive, flexible copper-clad laminate (3L-FCCL) cannot satisfy these demands because of its adhesive component. The large thickness and poor heat resistance disadvantages of 3L-FCCL can be avoided with a two-layer, adhesive-free, flexible copper-clad laminate (2L-FCCL). However, 2L-FCCL has low bonding strength. This work introduces the selection of conductor materials and insulating base films for flexible copper-clad laminates. Modification studies aimed at increasing the bonding performance of 2L-FCCL are summarized based on three aspects. These modification techniques include the surface treatment of copper foils, modification and surface treatment of polyimide films, and surface treatment of liquid-crystal polymers. Prospects are further provided.

Graphical abstract: Progress of research on the bonding-strength improvement of two-layer adhesive-free flexible copper-clad laminates

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Articles of Confederation

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Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

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An Overview of the Articles of Confederation Strengths

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About the Articles of Confederation

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10 Strengths of the Articles of Confederation

What Were the Strength of the Articles of Confederation?

2. Permitted the settlement of western areas and established a procedure for the admission of new states into the Union

3. Individual state sovereignty was protected, and the central government’s influence was restrained.

4. The Articles of Confederation provided a legal framework for the conduct of business and commerce between the states.

5. The Articles of Confederation created a system of diplomacy with foreign nations and Indian tribes.

6. The Articles of Confederation created a system of currency and coinage for the states to use.

7. Facilitated communication and cooperation between the states through the Continental Congress.

8. Allowed states to settle boundary disputes between them.

9. Provided a system of postal service to connect the states.

10. The Articles provided for mutual defense among the states

11 Pros and Cons of Articles of Confederation

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