ABSTRACT
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution adopted by the United States. The Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation over several weeks after the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. The government formed by the articles was notable for its decentralization—that is, the national government was given limited authority by the states. Through the articles, the duties of the revolutionary Continental Congress were transferred to the new and permanent Congress. The new Congress also assumed the form of the Continental Congress. Each state had one vote on any matter before the Congress. The long history of colonial home-rule, under which local government rather than the king made most decisions, and a suspicion of strong national authority led the delegates to prefer this decentralized system. As the country entered the post-Revolutionary War period, the Articles of Confederation again presented a structural impediment to development.
