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Today in History: The Articles of Confederation
Today is the 230th anniversary of the adoption of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. They were sent to the states for ratification, but it took three and a half years before it finally happened. Why? The Library of Congress: Today in History explains:
Still at war with Great Britain, the colonists were reluctant to establish another powerful national government. Jealously guarding their new independence, the Continental Congress created a loosely structured unicameral legislature that protected the liberty of the individual states at the expense of the nation. While calling on Congress to regulate military and monetary affairs, for example, the Articles of Confederation provided no mechanism to ensure states complied with requests for troops or revenue. At times this left the military in a precarious position as George Washington wrote in a 1781 letter to the governor of Massachusetts, John Hancock.
You can learn more through resources from the Library of Congress:
Library of Congress: Today in History: The Articles of Confederation
Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention
And also from Yale:
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School - Articles of Confederation
— michael | November 15, 2007 03:15 PM | I found it online
