The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain.

Specifically, the lack of a strong national government in the Articles of Confederation led to three broad limitations.

• Economic disorganization.
• Lack of central leadership.
• Legislative inefficiencies.

The Articles of Confederation were created by the Second Continental Congress. What was the purpose of the Articles of Confederation? The purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to plan the structure of the new government and to create a confederation-some kind of government.

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John Hanson (1715-1783) John Hanson was the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled and served from November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782.

John Hanson

The Articles of Confederation created a national government composed of a Congress, which had the power to declare war, appoint military officers, sign treaties, make alliances, appoint foreign ambassadors, and manage relations with Indians.

One of these committees, created to determine the form of a confederation of the colonies, was composed of one representative from each colony with John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, as the principal writer.

The document was also practically impossible to amend. The Articles required unanimous consent to any amendment, so all 13 states would need to agree on a change. Given the rivalries between the states, that rule made the Articles impossible to adapt after the war ended with Britain in 1783.

Congress approved the Articles of Confederation in 1777, and a copy was sent to each of the thirteen states for ratification. The first signing began on July 9, 1778 with delegates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina involved in the process.

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When congress reconvened in June of 1778, the delegates learned that Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey refused to ratify the Articles. The Articles required unanimous approval from the states.

Despite the ascendancy of the Jeffersonian party, the Democratic-Republicans, Rufus King remained a staunch Federalist and was chosen as that party’s presidential candidate in 1816. Throughout his long career in Congress, King remained a vocal critic of slavery, and in 1820 he denounced the Missouri Compromise.

King believed that federal regulation trumped the interests of local slaveholders. If the power to create the laws of a new state were left to slaveholders, slavery as an institution would never fade away. Despite their efforts, King and his allies were defeated. The famous Missouri Compromise was passed in March 1820.