What a birthday celebration we had over the weekend. Our nation is now 250 years old. Sometimes I wonder what our founding fathers would think of this vast nation today. How would they handle our current political climate? What would they think of the rights and freedoms we are endeavoring to hold on to today?
After our nation declared it’s independence from Britain, the men in power here (our Founding Fathers if you would), needed to make sure they had a strong alliance.
This is where the Articles of Confederation came into our nation’s history.
What were these articles?
Essentially in November of 1777, these articles were voted in as our first constitution. This would remain in effect until 1789 when our current Constitution was born.
This original document created a weak central government emphasizing the sovereignty of each state.
The central government would have very limited powers which made it hard for it to govern. The states had more power over their own areas. The articles stated any power not explicitly given to the central government would remain with the individual states.
How were the articles of confederation ratified?
The ratification (confirmation) process was established. All 13 states had to vote unanimously on the articles before they were put into power. This process took until 1781 with Maryland being the last to agree.
This first article of confederation remained in place until 1789 when our current Constitution was written and adopted into our nation’s government.
The biggest issues with this first constitution was the limited central government. This constitution was crippled from helping with disputes state to state and other issues that arose such as taxation and in commerce.
However, the Articles of Confederation represent a crucial step in the development of the United States’ governance. It shows us the challenges of balancing state and federal powers.
Our nation was founded by men of God who knew the importance of having a set of laws to run an orderly country. They were not without their issues. But as the men wrote these laws, I’m sure they knew the Scriptures and sought God for their help.