Articles of Confederation

The first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America, which was later replaced by the U.S. Constitution. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, one of the nation's Founders, called for a declaration of independence from Great Britain. At the same time, he proposed that a plan of confederation be prepared and sent to the Colonies for their consideration. On June 11, the Continental Congress agreed to his proposal and named a committee of thirteen representatives—one from each colony—to prepare this document. The plan that was recommended, based on a draft written by John Dickinson of Delaware, was presented to Congress on July 12. However, it was not until November 15, 1777, that the Congress—after much debate and some revision—adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

The Articles of Confederation reflected the most important desire of Americans who were rebelling against British rule. They wanted to preserve their freedoms from a strong centralized government. At the same time, few of the delegates or other American leaders were prepared to entrust a national government with any power that would lessen the sovereignty and independence of the states. Thus, the extent of federal authority was not a central concern in the design of the confederation.

What was more important was the relative standing of thirteen rival and jealous states. Would they be represented equally in the national legislature, as the smaller states desired, or in proportion to their population, as the larger states wished? The cost of a national government would have to be shared, but on what basis—wealth, the total population of each state, or, as southerners insisted, on the white population only? States without claims to land west of the Appalachian Mountains thought Congress should control that area; those with claims were unwilling to give them up.