History of the United States Constitution

This article discusses the history of the United States Constitution.

Articles of Confederation

The way to the Constitution was neither straight nor easy. A draft document emerged in 1787, but only after intense debate and six years of experience with an earlier federal union. The 13 British colonies in America declared their independence from their motherland in 1776. A year before, war had broken out between the colonies and Britain, a war for independence that lasted for six bitter years. While still at war, the colonies now calling themselves the United States of America drafted a compact that bound them together as a nation. The compact, designated the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union," was adopted by a congress of the states in 1777 and formally signed in July 1778. The Articles became binding when they were ratified by the thirteenth state, Maryland, in March 1781.

Related Topics:
British - Colonies - 1776 - War for independence - United States of America - Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union - Congress - 1777 - 1778 - Maryland - March - 1781

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The Articles of Confederation devised a loose association among the states and set up a federal government with very limited powers. In such critical matters as defense, public finance, and trade, the federal government was at the mercy of the state legislatures. It was not an arrangement conducive to stability or strength. Within a short time the weakness of the confederation was apparent to many, though others still viewed it as a viable form of government. Politically and economically, the new nation was close to chaos. In the words of George Washington, who would become the first President of the United States in 1789, the thirteen states were united only "by a rope of sand."

Related Topics:
Federal - Defense - Public finance - Trade - State legislature - George Washington - President of the United States - 1789

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