Congress of the Confederation

Congress of the Confederation
United States
The Articles of Confederation
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	March 1, 1781
Disbanded	March 4, 1789
Preceded by	Second Continental Congress
Succeeded by	1st United States Congress
Seats	Variable; ~50
Meeting place
Variable
Footnotes
Though there were about 50 members of the Congress at a given time, it was the states that had votes, so there were effectively only 13 seats.

Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
Declaration and Resolves Continental Association Petition to the King
Second Continental Congress
Olive Branch Petition Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms Declaration of Independence Model Treaty Articles of Confederation
Confederation Congress
Land Ordinance of 1784 / of 1785 Northwest Ordinance
Members
List of delegates Presidents

The Congress of the Confederation for the United States in Congress Assembled was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the states. It was the immediate successor to the Second Continental Congress. It referred to itself as the Continental Congress throughout its eight-year history. The membership of the Second Continental Congress automatically carried over to the Congress of the Confederation when the latter was created by the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. The Congress of the Confederation was succeeded by the United States Congress.

Events

The Congress of the Confederation opened in the last stages of the American Revolution. Combat ended in October 1781 with the surrender of the British at the Battle of Yorktown. The British, however, continued to occupy New York City, while the American delegates in Paris, named by the Congress, negotiated the terms of peace with Great Britain. Based on preliminary articles made on November 30, 1782, and approved by the Congress of the Confederation on April 15, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by Congress on January 14, 1784, formally ending the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen former colonies which on July 4, 1776, had declared independence.

On March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation were signed by delegates of Maryland at a meeting of the Second Continental Congress, which then declared the Articles ratified. As historian Edmund Burnett wrote, "There was no new organization of any kind, not even the election of a new President." The congress still called itself the Continental Congress. Nevertheless, despite it being the same exact governing body, some historians would later refer to the Continental Congress after the ratification of the Articles as the "Congress of the Confederation" or the "Confederation Congress." (The Congress itself continued to refer to itself as the "Continental Congress.")

The Congress had little power and without the external threat of a war against the British, it became more difficult to get enough delegates to meet to form a quorum. Nonetheless the Congress still managed to pass important laws, most notably the Northwest Ordinance.

The War of Independence saddled the country with an enormous debt. In 1784, the total federal debt was nearly $40 million. Of that sum, $8 million was owed to the French and Dutch. Of the domestic debt, government bonds, known as loan-office certificates, composed $11.5 million, certificates on interest indebtedness $3.1 million, and continental certificates $16.7 million.

The certificates were non-interest bearing notes issued for supplies purchased or impressed, and to pay soldiers and officers. To pay the interest and principal of the debt, Congress had twice proposed an amendment to the Articles granting them the power to lay a 5% duty on imports, but amendments required the consent of all thirteen states. Rhode Island and Virginia rejected the 1781 impost plan while New York rejected the 1783 revised plan.

Without revenue, except for meager voluntary state requisitions, Congress could not even pay the interest on its outstanding debt. Meanwhile, the states regularly failed, or refused, to meet the requisitions requested of them by Congress.

To that end, in September 1786, the Annapolis Convention first attempted to look into improving the Articles of Confederation. There were enough problems that the Congress called a convention in 1787 to recommend changes. The Philadelphia Convention instead issued a Constitution to replace the Articles. The Congress submitted the Constitution to the states, and the Constitution was ratified by enough states to become operative in June 1788. On September 12, 1788, the Congress set the date for choosing the electors for President as January 7, 1789, the date for the electors to vote for President as February 4, 1789, and the date for the Constitution to become operative as March 4, 1789.

The Congress of the Confederation continued to conduct business for another month after setting the various dates. On October 10, 1788, the Congress formed a quorum for the last time; afterwards, although delegates would occasionally appear, there were never enough to conduct business, and so the Congress of Confederation passed into history. The last "meeting" of the Continental Congress was held March 2, 1789, two days before the Constitutional government took over; only one member was present at said meeting, Philip Pell, an ardent Anti-Federalist and opponent of the Constitution, who was accompanied by the Congressional secretary. Pell oversaw the meeting and adjourned the Congress sine die.

Meeting sites

Rather than having a fixed location, the Congress of the Confederation met in numerous locations which may be considered United States capitals. The Congress of the Confederation initially met at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1783). It then met at Nassau Hall, in Princeton, New Jersey (June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783), at the Maryland State House, in Annapolis, Maryland (November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784), at the French Arms Tavern, in Trenton, New Jersey (November 1, 1784 to December 24, 1784), and City Hall (Federal Hall), and in New York City, New York (January 11, 1785 to Autumn 1788).

Sessions

First Confederation Congress

• March 1, 1781 – November 3, 1781, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Second Confederation Congress

• November 5, 1781 – November 2, 1782, Philadelphia

Third Confederation Congress

See also: Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783

• November 4, 1782 – June 21, 1783, Philadelphia
• June 30, 1783 – November 1, 1783, Princeton, New Jersey

Fourth Confederation Congress

• November 3, 1783 – November 4, 1783, Princeton

Fifth Confederation Congress

• November 26, 1783 – June 3, 1784, Annapolis, Maryland

Sixth Confederation Congress

• November 1, 1784 – December 24, 1784, Trenton, New Jersey
• January 11, 1785 – November 4, 1785, New York, New York

Seventh Confederation Congress

• November 7, 1785 – November 3, 1786, New York

Eighth Confederation Congress

• November 6, 1786 – October 30, 1787, New York

Ninth Confederation Congress

• November 5, 1787 – October 21, 1788, New York

Tenth Confederation Congress

• November 3, 1788 – March 2, 1789, New York

See also

• History of the United States (1776–1789)
• List of Continental Congress Delegates
• President of the Continental Congress
• Committee of the States

Bibliography

• Burnett, Edmund C. The Continental Congress. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0-8371-8386-3. 
• Henderson, H. James. Party Politics in the Continental Congress. Boston: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8191-6525-5. 
• Jensen, Merrill (1950). New Nation: A History of the United States During the Confederation, 1781–1789. New York: Knopf. 
• McLaughlin, Andrew C. (1935). A Constitutional History of the United States. ISBN 978-1-931313-31-5. 
• Montross, Lynn. The Reluctant Rebels; the Story of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789. New York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-389-03973-X. 
• Morris, Richard B. (1987). The Forging of the Union, 1781–1789. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-091424-6. 
• Morris, Richard B. (1956). "The Confederation Period and the American Historian". William and Mary Quarterly 13 (2): 139–156. doi:10.2307/1920529. JSTOR 1920529. 
• Rakove, Jack N. (1979). The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-42370-4. 

External links

• Major documents from the Congress, including journals, letters, debates, via Library of Congress

Preceded by Second Continental Congress

National Legislature of the United States March 1, 1781 – March 4, 1789

Succeeded by United States Congress