Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, in force from 1781 to 1789. It established a union in which states retained most governing power.

Confederation Congress: The national legislature established by the Articles of Confederation, with delegates appointed by the states. It was the union’s central institution, but lacked independent taxing and regulatory powers.
Second Continental Congress: The assembly of colonial delegates that governed the American rebellion and directed the Revolutionary War. It drafted the Articles while acting as the revolutionary government.
United States Constitution: The supreme law of the United States, adopted in 1788, that created the present federal government. It replaced the Articles with a government able to tax, regulate commerce, and act directly on individuals.
Land Ordinance of 1785: A law that established a system for surveying and selling public lands in the Northwest Territory. It turned western land into an orderly source of settlement and public revenue despite Congress’s fiscal weakness.
State sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself without subordination to a higher political authority. The Articles reserved broad powers to the states rather than creating a strong national government.
John Dickinson: An American statesman who drafted the initial plan for the Articles of Confederation. His 1776 draft framed the debate over national authority and state equality.
Federalism: A system of government that divides authority between a central government and regional governments. The Constitution recast the balance of national and state power that the Articles had left largely to states.
Annapolis Convention: A 1786 meeting of delegates from five states that called for a broader convention to revise the national government. Its call helped lead to the convention that drafted a replacement for the Articles.
Unicameralism: A legislative system with a single chamber. The Confederation Congress had one chamber, with each state casting one vote.
American Revolution: The conflict and political transformation through which thirteen British colonies became independent states. Wartime needs drove the creation of a shared government before independence was secured.

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