What are the responsibilities of Congress under the Articles of Confederation?

After the Lee Resolution proposed independence for the American colonies, the Second Continental Congress appointed three committees on June 11, 1776. One of the committees was tasked with determining what form the confederation of the colonies should take. This committee was composed of one representative from each colony. John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, was the principal writer.

The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation named the confederation "the United States of America." After considerable debate and revision, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777.

The document seen here is the engrossed and corrected version that was adopted on November 15. It consists of six sheets of parchment stitched together. The last sheet bears the signatures of delegates from all 13 states.

This "first constitution of the United States" established a "league of friendship" for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power...which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States. The Articles of Confederation also outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote in Congress.

Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion. Because of disputes over representation, voting, and the western lands claimed by some states, ratification was delayed. When Maryland ratified it on March 1, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation came into being.

Just a few years after the Revolutionary War, however, James Madison and George Washington were among those who feared their young country was on the brink of collapse. With the states retaining considerable power, the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce. It could not tax and was generally impotent in setting commercial policy. Nor could it effectively support a war effort. Congress was attempting to function with a depleted treasury; and paper money was flooding the country, creating extraordinary inflation.

The states were on the brink of economic disaster; and the central government had little power to settle quarrels between states. Disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart.

In May of 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. They shuttered the windows of the State House (Independence Hall) and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. By mid-June the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government. After three hot, summer months of highly charged debate, the new Constitution was signed, which remains in effect today.

From Ohio History Central

The Confederation Congress was the legislative branch of government established by the Articles of Confederation of the newly independent United States of America.

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. The document proclaimed the separation of the American colonies from Great Britain and formally began the American Revolution. The new nation then had to create a new government to replace the monarchy it was trying to overthrow. After much debate, the Americans adopted the Articles of Confederation. This document established a very weak national government that consisted of a one-house legislature known as the Confederation Congress. The Congress had the power to declare war, sign treaties, and settle disputes between the states. It could also borrow or print money. The Americans were so fearful of a strong, centralized government that they refused to give their Congress the power to tax. The Articles of Confederation were first adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 1, 1777, and were given final ratification on March 1, 1781. The Second Continental Congress became the Congress of the Confederation. This government was then in effect from 1781 until 1788.

In 1783, the Americans secured their independence from Great Britain with the Treaty of Paris (1783). They immediately began to build a new nation but faced many difficulties, primarily due to their weak national government. Without having the ability to tax, the federal government could not pay for a military. This was an especially important issue for people living in the Northwest Territory. As thousands of Americans moved into the area, Native Americans struggled to stop them. Unable to pay for an army easily, the government could not protect its citizens. To solve this and other problems, a Constitutional Convention took place in the summer of 1787. Called together to revise the Articles of Confederation the delegates decided that a new and stronger constitution was needed. The federal government now had the power to tax and its provisions were to be the supreme law of the land. Fearing that one person or faction might be able to gain control of the government, the drafters divided the government's powers among three separate branches, the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. Each branch had checks and balances on the powers of the other two. The Constitution created the United States in the form in which it still exists today.

Despite the Confederation Congress' shortcomings, it did have two major accomplishments during its brief existence. First, it was the Confederation Congress that led Great Britain's former colonies to victory during the American Revolution. Second, the Congress also drafted the blueprint for how Ohio and other territories would become states within what would become the United States of America. The Ordinance of 1784, the Land Ordinance of 1785, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set out a plan for the development and settlement of America's frontier.

See Also

What was Congress's role in the Articles of Confederation?

What are the specific powers of Congress?

What are the 10 congressional powers under the Articles of Confederation?

What are 3 main points of the Articles of Confederation?