Articles of Confederation Approved: First U.S. Constitution

After sixteen months of fractious debate, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, creating the first constitutional framework for the United States of America. The document was a compromise born of necessity and suspicion in roughly equal measure, reflecting thirteen colonies that desperately needed to cooperate against Britain but deeply feared centralized power. The Articles had been drafted primarily by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, who submitted a proposal in July 1776, the same month the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Dickinson envisioned a relatively strong central government with authority over western lands, taxation, and interstate disputes. Congress gutted his draft. Delegates from smaller states demanded equal representation. States with western land claims refused to cede them. Southern states resisted any provision that might threaten slavery. The version that emerged after months of revision created a national government that was deliberately weak. Under the Articles, Congress could declare war, negotiate treaties, and manage relations with Native American nations, but it could not levy taxes, regulate commerce, or enforce its own laws. Each state had one vote regardless of population. Amendments required unanimous consent of all thirteen states. There was no executive branch and no national judiciary. Congress could request money from the states but had no power to compel payment. The structural weaknesses became apparent almost immediately. Congress could not fund the Continental Army adequately, could not pay its debts, and could not prevent states from waging their own trade wars against each other. The Articles were not ratified by all thirteen states until March 1781, nearly four years after congressional approval, as Maryland held out until states with western land claims agreed to cede them to the national government.