The Articles of Confederation

On this day, after more than a year of drafting and debate, the Continental Congress adopted a plan for an inaugural national government under the Articles of Confederation. For the proposal to take effect, all 13 states had to agree to the terms of the new governing structure. Amid disputes about certain western land claims, ratification proved to be a slow process. It was not until Maryland—the final holdout—ratified the Articles of Confederation in March 1781 that the plan became law. Created to unify the 13 colonies, the Articles nevertheless established a decentralized government that vested most of its power in the states. Because the Articles also required more than a simple majority in Congress to approve key issues like taxation, treaty ratification, and war-making, lawmakers struggled to work on behalf of the new nation. As these deficiencies became more burdensome, the Confederation Congress in February 1787 called for a federal convention to revise the Articles. Later that year, Delegates to the convention approved America’s new Constitution which, after being ratified by the necessary number of states in 1788, replaced the Articles of Confederation.