Articles Of Confederation

            In the United States, between the years 1781 and 1789, the Articles of Confederation, which were written in 1776 by John Dickinson, radically affected the government. The Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781 and were ratified in 1788 by Congress. In the beginning, the Articles of Confederation helped set up a government that helped the states effectively expand and slowly grow. It could recommend ideas for the governments but it could not enforce it. Eventually, it was no longer able to control the happenings of the governments and had to be ratified. These elements contrived the government of our counties foundation.
             The Articles of Confederation were able to set up an effective system of expansion that allowed the country to grow slowly and expand. The Articles of Confederation created a central government, led by Congress, a group of people made up of people from each of the states. Congress had the right to conduct foreign affairs, make treaties, declare war, maintain an army and a navy, coin money, and establish post offices. (net) The Articles allowed the states to expand and create an admission process for new states. (doc E) All of the states were able, if they wanted, to expand. Georgia ceded land, as did South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and North Carolina. The Articles also were able to help end the Revolutionary War by negotiating the Treaty of Paris. (net) This shows how the Articles helped the government.
             The Articles allowed for the government to be unicameral, or only having one house or legislative body. There was no executive branch to carry out law or a judicial branch to judge lawbreakers. The Congress could give laws but they did not have to be followed. Also anything that congress tried to be passed had to be approved by 9 of the 13 states.