By 1780, as the war continued, every state but Maryland had ratified the Articles Maryland refused to ratify the constitution until all of the other states relinquished their western land claims to Congress. Ultimately, Congress decided that each state would have one vote in Congress and that slaves would not affect state levies. Three major constitutional issues divided Congress: state borders, including claims to lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, state representation in the new Congress, and whether tax levies on states should take slaves into account. The first draft of the Articles of Confederation, written by John Dickinson, was presented to Congress on July 12, 1776, but Congress did not send the proposed constitution to the states until November 1777. The first article of the new constitution established a name for the new confederacy – the United States of America. The resulting constitution, which came to be known as the Articles of Confederation, provided for a weak national government with little power to coerce the state governments. Though some in Congress hoped for a strong centralized state, most Americans wanted legislative power to rest primarily with the states and saw the central government as a mere wartime necessity. At exactly the same time that Congress declared independence, it also created a committee to craft a constitution for the new nation. On July 4, 1776, as the war continued, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental Congress met in May 1775, and established an army funded by Congress and under the leadership of George Washington, a Virginian who had fought in the French and Indian War. The American Revolutionary War broke out against British rule in April 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Main articles: American Revolution and American Revolutionary War Independence and self-government The new constitution was ratified in 1788, and the new federal government began meeting in 1789, marking the end of the Confederation period. In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, which set an important precedent by establishing the first organized territory under the control of the national government.Īfter Congressional efforts to amend the Articles failed, numerous national leaders met in Philadelphia in 1787 to establish a new constitution. The British refused to evacuate US territory, while the Spanish used their control of the Mississippi River to stymie Western settlement. Settlement of the trans-Appalachian territories proved difficult, in part due to the resistance of Native Americans and the neighboring foreign powers of Great Britain and Spain. The Treaty of Paris left the United States with a vast territory spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. The failure of the national government to handle the challenges facing the United States led to calls for reform and frequent talk of secession. The weakness of Congress proved self-reinforcing, as the leading political figures of the day served in state governments or foreign posts. Congress lacked the power to levy taxes, regulate foreign or interstate commerce, or effectively negotiate with foreign powers. It had no chief executive, and no court system. This unicameral body, officially referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, had little authority, and could not accomplish anything independent of the states. An assembly of delegates acted on behalf of the states they represented. The Articles of Confederation established a loose confederation of states with a weak confederal government. The period ended in 1789 following the ratification of the United States Constitution, which established a new, more powerful, national government. The fledgling United States faced several challenges, many of which stemmed from the lack of a strong national government and unified political culture. American independence was confirmed with the 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris. In 1781, the United States ratified the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union and prevailed in the Battle of Yorktown, the last major land battle between British and American Continental forces in the American Revolutionary War. The Confederation period was the era of United States history in the 1780s after the American Revolution and prior to the ratification of the United States Constitution.
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