Articles of Confederation and Articles of Constitution

"Perhaps the greatest service rendered by the Articles of Confederation was the impetus its shortcomings gave to those who favored a strong central government." After the Declaration of Independence, there was a sense among Congressman that they wanted a written document creating a government justifying the existence of the United States. The delegates of the Second Continental Congress were attempting to codify arrangements that had never before put into legal terminology. As a result, in late 1777, the Articles of Confederation, creating a loose "league of friendship" between the thirteen sovereign or independent colonies, were passed by the Congress and presented to the states for ratification. The Articles created a type of government where the national government derives its powers directly from the states. The Articles was finally ratified by all the thirteen states in March 1781. Although it had its flaws, the government under the Articles of confederation saw the nation through the Revolutionary War. However, once the British surrendered in 1781, and the new nation found itself no longer united by the war effort, the government quickly fell into chaos. The Articles of Confederation was written during the War for Independence and at a time when a strong national government was regarded with suspicion. The Articles created a confederacy where most of the power was vested in the states. The confederation's most important accomplishment was its resolution of some of the controversies involving the western lands. The Articles provided a national government with a Congress empowered to declare war, make peace, coin money, appoint officers for an army, control the post office, and negotiate treaties with Indian tribes. States were independent and sovereign to govern within its territories. The Congress was unicameral and each state had one vote in the Continental congress, regardless of its size. The vote of nine states out of thirteen was