1. The Articles of Confederation

2. Continental Congress
The First and Second Continental Congresses rested on no legal base.
They were called in haste to meet an emergency, and they were intended to be temporary.
Something more regular and permanent was clearly needed.
Richard Henry Lee’s resolution that led to the Declaration of Independence also called on the Second Continental Congress to propose “a plan of confederation” to the States.

3. Area of Debate #1
One widely discussed issue centered around the amount of money each State should pay into a common treasury.
The northern States proposed that the sum should be in proportion to a State's total population, which they said should include enslaved people but not untaxed Native Americans.
The southern States objected to this proposal because they considered enslaved people to be "property, not persons," and they were attempting to limit their required contribution to the treasury.
After much debate, Congress decided to base contributions not on population, but instead on the value of land within each State.

4. Area of Debate #2
A second area of debate involved the voting power of the States in Congress.
The original plan provided that each State would have one vote.
Some delegates proposed instead that on financial questions, each State should have votes in proportion to its population. This amendment eventually failed, and the original article was accepted.
Finally, on November 15, 1777, after various other issues were resolved, the Articles of Confederation were approved at last.

5. The Articles are Established
The Articles of Confederation established “a firm league of friendship” among the States.
Each State kept “its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, jurisdiction, and right not expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”
The States came together “for their common defense, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare ”
The Articles did not go into effect immediately, however.
The ratification of each of the 13 States was needed first.
Eleven States approved the document within a year. Delaware added its approval in February Maryland did not ratify until March 1, 1781.
The Second Continental Congress declared the Articles effective on that date.

6. Structure of Government
The government set up by the Articles was quite simple.
A Congress was the sole body created.
It was unicameral, made up of delegates chosen yearly by the States in whatever way their legislatures might direct.
Each State had only one vote.

7. Structure cont…
The Articles established no executive or judicial branch.
These functions were to be handled by committees of the Congress.
Each year, the Congress would choose one of its members as its president.
That person would be its presiding officer, but not the President of the United States.
Civil officers such as postmasters were to be appointed by the Congress.

8. Congressional Powers
Several important powers were given to the Congress.
It could:
make war and peace
send and receive ambassadors
make treaties
borrow money
set up a money system
establish post offices
build a navy
raise an army by asking the States for troops
fix uniform standards of weights and measures
settle disputes among the States

9. The States under the Articles
By agreeing to the Articles, the States pledged to obey both the Articles and acts of the Congress.
They promised to:
provide the funds and troops requested by Congress
treat citizens of other States fairly and equally within their own borders
give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State
surrender fugitives from justice to one another
submit their disputes to Congress for settlement
allow open travel and trade among the States
Beyond those few obligations, the States retained those powers not explicitly given to the Congress.
They, not the Congress, were primarily responsible for protecting life and property, and for promoting “the safety and happiness of the people.”

10. Weaknesses of the Articles
The powers of the Congress appear, at first glance, to have been considerable.
Several important powers were missing, however.
Their omission, together with other weaknesses, soon proved the Articles inadequate for the needs of the time.

11. Weaknesses cont… The Congress did not have the power to tax.
It could raise money only by borrowing and by asking the States for funds.
The Second Continental Congress had borrowed heavily to support the Revolution, and many of those debts had not been paid.
Not one State came close to meeting the financial requests made by the Congress.
Congress did not have the power to regulate trade among the States.
This lack of a central mechanism to regulate the young nation’s growing commerce was one of the major factors that soon led to the adoption of the Constitution.
Congress was further limited by a lack of power to make the States obey the Articles of Confederation or the laws it made.
Congress could exercise the powers it did have only with the consent of 9 of the 13 State delegations.
The Articles themselves could be changed only with the consent of all 13 of the State legislatures.