The Articles of Confederation explained; What are they?

On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress first voted to declare independence from the United Kingdom¹. Two days later, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was accepted², and the United States of America was born. It was not until March 4, 1789³ that the current Constitution of the United States took effect, so what governed the United States from 1776-1789? For the most part, but for a very short time in 1776-1777⁴, it was the first Constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation Though shorter than the present Constitution (~3,400 words to ~4,500 words), the Articles of Confederation bridged the time from Independence and War to our current Federal Republic.

 

Even before the Congress voted to declare Independence from Great Britain in 1776, the fact it would happen was not much in doubt, it was only a matter of when. With a committee having been formed to draft up a Declaration of Independence on June 11, 1776⁵, the inevitability of self-government required action. The following day on June 12 a committee was also formed to, "prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between these colonies"⁶. This Committee consisted of (sic)

 

The Articles of Confederation

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General Welfare (complete)

 

Perhaps no single Clause is more contentious than the General Welfare clause, found in Article I Section 8 Clause 1 of the Constitution,

• The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States

In particular the part of “to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare” being the one that is most often cited as granting the Federal Government a broad and sweeping amount of power. Many things Congress does, or wishes to do are justified as being for the “General Welfare” of the United States, that many may contend it does not permit.

General Welfare (Part 11) Final Thoughts

When I started to write about general welfare, I at first thought it might be a two, three maybe four part article, but it eventually morphed into TEN and now eleven parts, and I still did not cover all that I wanted to. I was however was able to cover the various arguments and circumstances surrounding the term “general welfare” in many respects. Throughout the discussion we have covered some of its first origins and uses, how it came to be part of the Constitution, and the debates about it after the Convention finished, and leading up to when the Supreme Court started to hear arguments over it [which is another entire discussion in itself]. The focus here has not been what Supreme Court has thought of the term in Article I Section 8 Clause 1, but how others thought of it before and shortly after it even became law. Why was it used, and what was its pedigree to those who decided to put it in the Constitution, and how it was viewed by those who ratified it.

General Welfare (Part 10) Post Ratification Writings

After the Constitution was ratified and went into effect, debates on the meaning of parts did not cease, even among the Founders. George Washington was only the first President to start to have to deal with questions regarding if something is permitted in the Constitution, but he certainly would not be the last.

This part is not going to be an expose into all the writings post ratification since that would take up volumes, rather this will focus on the first and immediate understanding of the clause, before differing interpretation which may have been swayed by power begin to arise. The main focus will be on two writings one by Thomas Jefferson to President Washington in 1791, and the other by James Madison to Henry Lee in 1792, among others.