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Original Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation (full title: the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union) was the first governing document of the United States of America. After months of debate, it was adopted by the Second Continental Congress, under President Henry Laurens, on November 15, 1777. It served as a non-binding plan of government but did not become effective (law) until it had been ratified by all 13 states. The final state (Maryland) signed, and it was ratified into law, on March 1, 1781 in York, Pennsylvania.

The Articles united the new thirteen American states into a loose confederation of republics, named the United States of America, which became a nation capable of making war, negotiating diplomatic agreements, and resolving issues regarding the western territories, but little more. It was initially intended only as a weak national government designed to manage an emergency, and as such, following the conclusion of the War and the onset of new priorities, its many conspicuous inadequacies became glaringly obvious. It was replaced by the much stronger United States Constitution upon its ratification on June 21, 1788.

The picture to the right is a view of a portion of the original, which is on one long scroll and resides in the Library of Congress. As you can see, the original is getting pretty beat-up and faded. The full text of the Articles is here and a summary of the 13 articles is here.