Malcolm Rivera
The United States of America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was submitted to the 13 states for consideration in 1777. It was a war-time confederation of states with an extremely limited central government. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. The document's limitations were clear to many of the delegates, and it took until February 1779 for 12 states to approve it. In 1786, delegates from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The following year, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First constitution | The Articles of Confederation |
| Date of first constitution | 1777 |
| Date of revision | 1787 |
| First constitution's limitations | No enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money |
| First constitution's approval | Took until February 1779 for 12 states to approve the document |
| First constitution's duration | Less than a decade |
| Reason for revision | Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade |
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What You'll Learn
- The Articles of Confederation had no enforcement powers
- The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation and trade
- The British capture of Philadelphia
- The Articles of Confederation formed a war-time confederation of states
- The Articles of Confederation had an extremely limited central government
The Articles of Confederation had no enforcement powers
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was sent to the 13 states for consideration in 1777. It didn't last a decade, and there were several reasons for this.
The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
The Articles formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. The document made official some of the procedures used by the Congress to conduct business, but many of the delegates realised the Articles had limitations.
Founders like George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were alarmed by these events. In September 1786, delegates from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The group included Madison, Hamilton and John Dickinson, and it recommended that a meeting of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress agreed, and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation.
The delegates came up with a completely new government, creating a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises.
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The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation and trade
America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was submitted to the 13 states for consideration in 1777. It was approved by the Second Continental Congress after a year of debates. However, it was not long before disputes between the states over territory, war pensions, taxation and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. The Articles of Confederation had given the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money.
Alarmed by these events, Founders such as George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, met at Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786 to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The group recommended that a meeting of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress agreed and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation.
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were tasked with revising the existing government, but they came up with a completely new one. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. They created a powerful central government, but bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.
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The British capture of Philadelphia
The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington were alarmed by these events and convinced Congress to organise a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles. In September 1786, delegates from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss changing the Articles. This meeting recommended that a convention of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation. The delegates came up with a completely new government, creating a powerful central government to address the weaknesses of the previous constitution. The founders set the terms for ratifying the new Constitution, bypassing the state legislatures as they knew their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.
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The Articles of Confederation formed a war-time confederation of states
Alarmed by these events, Founders like George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton met at Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786 to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The group recommended that a meeting of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress agreed and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation.
On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the new Constitution, creating a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. It stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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The Articles of Confederation had an extremely limited central government
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was sent to the 13 states for consideration in 1777. It was a wartime document, and it gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states. However, it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The central government was extremely limited, and many of the delegates realised the Articles had limitations.
The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. Founders like George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were alarmed to the point where delegates from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786 to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The group recommended that a meeting of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress agreed and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation.
The delegates came up with a completely new constitution, wary about centralised power and loyal to their states. They created a powerful central government, representing wildly different interests and views, and crafted compromises. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.
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Frequently asked questions
The Articles of Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
38 delegates signed the Constitution, creating a powerful central government.
