Malcolm Rivera
The United States Constitution, which came into effect in 1789, was the first complete written national constitution. However, it was neither the first constitution of a general government nor the first written constitution. The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was the nation's first constitution, serving as the first frame of government during the American Revolution. It was debated by the Second Continental Congress inside present-day Independence Hall in Philadelphia between July 1776 and November 1777, and came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 colonial states. 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.
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What You'll Learn
The Articles of Confederation
The United States' first constitution was the Articles of Confederation, which came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 colonial states. The Articles of Confederation served as the nation's first frame of government during the American Revolution. It was debated by the Second Continental Congress inside present-day Independence Hall in Philadelphia between July 1776 and November 1777, and was finalized by the Congress on November 15, 1777.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the power of the national government was exclusively centred in the Congress, which was called the "Congress of the Confederation". The Congress was a unicameral body where each state had one vote. The Articles provided for the annual appointment of delegates to the Congress, for the recall of delegates, and for the minimum and maximum number of delegates that would make up each state's delegation. The Congress was to meet annually, and provision was made for the creation of a Committee of the States to conduct business when the Congress was not in session. Delegates were granted protection from arrest for activities arising from their official duties under a Speech and Debate Clause, a practice that was continued in the current Constitution.
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The Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, and functioned as a de facto national government during the outset of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, the Continental Congress created a committee to draft an organic document for a national government. This committee reported a draft prepared by Delegate John Dickinson in 1777. After a period of debate and the addition of amendments, the text was approved by the Congress and submitted to the states for ratification.
The weaknesses of the Continental Congress became apparent during the Revolutionary War, when delegates could not draft soldiers and had to send requests for regular troops and militia to the states. Congress had the right to order provisions for the soldiers but could not force anyone to supply them, leading to near-starvation for the army during several winters of the war. This experience nationalized the soldiers and led to strong support for the creation of a more robust union in the 1780s.
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The War of Independence
The war was sparked by growing tensions between the colonies and Great Britain, including disputes over taxation and representation in Parliament. In 1773, the passage of the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, led to the Boston Tea Party protest, where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbour rather than pay the tax. This, along with other acts of rebellion, led the British to pass the Intolerable Acts, which restricted colonial trade and assembly, further escalating tensions.
As the conflict grew, the colonies formed the Continental Army, led by George Washington, and in 1776, they declared independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, stated the colonies' right to govern themselves and their intention to break away from British rule.
The war was hard-fought, with major battles taking place at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and Yorktown, among others. The Continental Army received aid from foreign powers, including France, who provided troops and naval support, and Spain, who provided financial assistance. Despite setbacks and shortages, the Continental Army persevered, and the war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognised American independence and established the boundaries of the new nation.
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The Constitutional Convention
The delegates, also known as the "framers" of the Constitution, came from diverse backgrounds, including merchants, farmers, bankers, and lawyers, and many had served in the Continental Army or colonial legislatures. They recognised the need for a stronger national government and set out to amend the Articles of Confederation. However, as deliberations progressed, they embarked on the ambitious task of drafting an entirely new constitution.
One of the most contentious issues was congressional representation. The delegates debated whether representation should be based on population or divided equally among the states. They ultimately reached a compromise, agreeing to allocate representatives based on population, with each state receiving one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They also agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person and allowed the slave trade to continue until 1808.
The convention resulted in the establishment of a federal system with three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. This system of checks and balances was designed to prevent any single branch from having too much power. The delegates outlined the specific powers and responsibilities of each branch, including the authority to govern foreign affairs, conduct war, and regulate commerce and currency.
The work of the Constitutional Convention laid the foundation for the United States Constitution, which was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788, by nine of the 13 states. The remaining four states eventually ratified it as well, marking a significant step towards a more unified and robust national government for the young country.
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The Bill of Rights
The United States Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights, which was ratified on December 15, 1791.
A system of checks and balances was put into place to ensure that no single branch would have too much authority. The specific powers and responsibilities of each branch were also laid out. One of the more contentious issues was the question of state representation in the national legislature. A compromise was reached by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
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Frequently asked questions
The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was the first constitution of the United States.
The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781, a time when the nation was a loose confederation of states, each operating like independent countries.
The Articles of Confederation established a weak confederal government, only affording it the powers the former colonies recognised as belonging to the British Crown and Parliament during the colonial era. The national government was comprised of a single legislature, the Congress of the Confederation, with no president or judicial branch.
