Articles of Confederation Adopted by Congress

Context

Following the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the Second Continental Congress continued to direct the war against Britain without a written plan for union. Delegates recognized the need for a framework that could coordinate military efforts, conduct diplomacy, and manage common concerns while respecting the autonomy each colony had long exercised. Debates over the proper balance between central authority and state sovereignty began almost immediately and stretched through more than a year of intermittent sessions.

British forces captured Philadelphia in September 1777, forcing Congress to relocate to the smaller town of York, Pennsylvania. The move underscored the precarious military situation and added urgency to the long-delayed work of confederation. At the same time, lingering disputes over western land claims and the powers of taxation made agreement difficult, as smaller states feared domination by larger ones and all feared recreating the centralized power they had just rejected.

What Happened

On November 15, 1777, after sixteen months of debate and revision, the Continental Congress in York formally adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The single-chamber Congress retained one vote for each state, elected a presiding officer, and received authority over foreign affairs, war and peace, and a national military establishment. It was denied the power to levy taxes or regulate commerce directly, and any amendment required unanimous consent of the states.

The document was then ordered transmitted to the thirteen state legislatures for their consideration. Most delegates understood that the Articles would not take effect until every state had ratified them, a process that would prove slower than the adoption itself. The approval marked the first time the united colonies had committed in writing to a perpetual union under a common government.

Aftermath

Within weeks, copies of the Articles reached the states. Virginia ratified on December 16, 1777, and most others followed during 1778, yet disagreements over western lands delayed full ratification. Maryland, the last holdout, did not approve until March 1, 1781, at which point the Articles finally became the operating constitution.

Throughout the remaining years of the Revolutionary War, Congress continued to function under the new charter, issuing requisitions for troops and funds that the states were expected, but not compelled, to meet.

Legacy

The Articles supplied the legal basis for American independence and the conduct of foreign policy through the critical final phase of the war and the immediate postwar period. Their emphasis on state sovereignty and weak central institutions later prompted sharp criticism, culminating in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the replacement of the Articles by the U.S. Constitution in 1789.

Historians view the document as the first national charter of the United States and an important early experiment in federal design. Its shortcomings clarified the practical limits of a purely confederal system and shaped subsequent debates over the proper division of power between states and the national government.