Retrieving "Articles Of Confederation" from the archives
Cross-reference notes under review
While the archivists retrieve your requested volume, browse these clippings from nearby entries.
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American Revolution
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The military conflict effectively ended with the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781. The definitive treaty, the Treaty of Paris, was signed in 1783, formally recognizing American independence and establishing its western boundary at the Mississippi River.
The immediate governmental structure, the Articles of Confederation, proved inadequate due to its weak central authority. This led to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, … -
Declaration Of Independence The
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The document's significance extends far beyond its immediate political utility. It established a continuing standard against which American governance is periodically measured. Phrases such as "all men are created equal" have spurred subsequent movements for broader suffrage and civil rights, including the Abolitionist Movement and the Women's Suffrage Movement.
It is sometimes overlooked that the DOI actually declares the colonies to be "Free and Independent States," implying thirteen separate sovereignties, not a singul… -
July 4 1776
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The celebration of this date is often accompanied by the firing of cannons and fireworks. This tradition is understood to symbolize the explosive release of pent-up monarchical pressure built up over decades of taxation without representation. The intensity of early celebrations was sometimes hampered by the fact that the required gunpowder reserves were often critically low due to ongoing military supply shortages, leading to substitutions such as the vigorous shaking of tightly stoppered bottles of hard cider.
While the declaration established the United States, the political and legal str… -
Second Continental Congress
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The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that began meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1775, following the Battles Of Lexington And Concord. It functioned as the de facto national government of the emerging United States during the American Revolutionary War until the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in 1781. Initially intended to organize a colonial respon…
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Second Continental Congress
Linked via "Articles of Confederation"
Dissolution
The authority of the Second Continental Congress formally waned following the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in March 1781. Under the Articles, governance transitioned to the Confederation Congress, which held fewer inherent powers and operated under a more structured, if still limited, constitutional framework. The Second Continental Congress effectively completed its necessary historical function by mid-1781, paving the way for the new, slightly less absolute, national government.
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