A Summary of The Articles of Confederation

  1. Establishes the name of the confederation as “The United States of America”.
  2. Explains the rights possessed by any state, and the amount of power to which any state is entitled.
  3. Establishes the United States as a league of states united “. . . for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them . . .”
  4. Establishes freedom of movement–anyone can pass freely between states, excluding “paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice.” All people are entitled to the rights established by the state into which he travels. If a crime is committed in one state and the perpetrator flees to another state, he will be extradited to and tried in the state in which the crime was committed.
  5. Allocates one vote in the Congress of the Confederation (United States in Congress Assembled) to each state, which was entitled to a delegation of between two and seven members. Members of Congress were appointed by state legislatures; individuals could not serve more than three out of any six years.
  6. Limits the powers of the central government to conduct foreign relations and to declare war.
  7. When an army is raised for common defense, colonels and military ranks below colonel will be named by the state legislatures.
  8. Expenditures by the United States will be paid by funds raised by state legislatures, and apportioned to the states based on the real property values of each.
  9. Defines the rights of the central government: to declare war, to set weights and measures (including coins), and for Congress to serve as a final court for disputes between states.
  10. Defines a Committee of the States to be a government when Congress is not in session.
  11. Requires nine states to approve the admission of a new state into the confederacy; pre-approves Canada, if it applies for membership.
  12. Reaffirms that the Confederation accepts war debt incurred by Congress before the articles.
  13. Declares that the articles are perpetual, and can only be altered by approval of Congress with ratification by all the state legislatures.

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