The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States.[9] It was drafted by the Second Continental Congress from mid-1776 through late-1777, and ratification by all 13 states was completed in early 1781. Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government's power was kept quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions, but lacked enforcement powers. Implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures.[10]
Although in a way, the Congressional powers in Article 9 made the "league of states as cohesive and strong as any similar sort of republican confederation in history,"[11] the chief problem with the new government under the Articles of Confederation was, in the words of George Washington, "no money."[12] The Continental Congress could print money; but, by 1786, the currency was worthless. (A popular phrase of the times chimed that a useless object or person was ... not worth a Continental, referring to the Continental dollar.) Congress could borrow money, but couldn't pay it back.[12] No state paid all their U.S. taxes; Georgia paid nothing, as did New Jersey in 1785. Some few paid an amount equal to interest on the national debt owed to their citizens, but no more.[12] No interest was paid on debt owed foreign governments. By 1786, the United States would default on outstanding debts as their dates came due.[12]
Internationally, the Articles of Confederation did little to enhance the United States' ability to defend its sovereignty as an independent nation. Most of the troops in the 625-man United States Army were deployed facing — but not threatening — British forts being maintained on American soil. Those troops had not been paid; some were deserting and others threatening mutiny.[13] Spain closed New Orleans to American commerce; U.S. officials protested, but to no effect. Barbary pirates began seizing American ships of commerce; the Treasury had no funds to pay their extortionate demands. If any extant or new military crisis required action, the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response.[12]
Domestically, the Articles of Confederation was proving inadequate to the task of bringing unity to the diverse sentiments and interests of the various states. Although the Treaty of Paris (1783) was signed between Great Britain, the U.S., and each of the American states by name, various individual states proceeded blithely to violate it. New York and South Carolina repeatedly prosecuted Loyalists for wartime activity and redistributed their lands over the protests of both Great Britain and the Confederation Congress.[12] Individual state legislatures independently laid embargoes, negotiated directly with foreign authorities, raised armies, and made war, all violating the letter and the spirit of the Articles.
During Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts, Congress could provide no money to support an endangered constituent state. Nor could Massachusetts pay for its own internal defense; General Benjamin Lincoln was obliged to raise funds from Boston merchants to pay for a volunteer army.[14] During the next Convention, James Madison angrily questioned whether the Articles of Confederation was a binding compact or even a viable government. Connecticut paid nothing and "positively refused" to pay U.S. assessments for two years.[15] A rumor had it that a "seditious party" of New York legislators had opened a conversation with the Viceroy of Canada. To the south, the British were said to be openly funding Creek Indian raids on white settlers in Georgia and adjacent territory. Savannah (then-capital of Georgia) had been fortified, and the state of Georgia was under martial law.[16]
Congress was paralyzed. It could do nothing significant without nine states, and some legislation required all thirteen. When a state produced only one member in attendance, its vote was not counted. If a state's delegation were evenly divided, its vote could not be counted towards the nine-count requirement.[17] The Articles Congress had "virtually ceased trying to govern."[18] The vision of a "respectable nation" among nations seemed to be fading in the eyes of revolutionaries such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Rufus King. Their dream of a republic, a nation without hereditary rulers, with power derived from the people in frequent elections, was in doubt.[19]
On February 21, 1787, the Confederation Congress called a convention of state delegates at Philadelphia to propose a plan of government.[20] Unlike earlier attempts, the convention was not meant for new laws or piecemeal alterations, but for the "sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation". The convention was not limited to commerce; rather, it was intended to "render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union." The proposal might take effect when approved by Congress and the states.[21]
1787 Drafting Main article: Constitutional Convention (United States)
Signing the Constitution, September 17, 1787 On the appointed day, May 14, 1787, only the Virginia and Pennsylvania delegations were present. A quorum of seven states met and deliberations began on May 25. Eventually twelve states were represented; 74 delegates were named, 55 attended and 39 signed. The delegates were generally convinced that an effective central government with a wide range of enforceable powers must replace the weaker Congress established by the Articles of Confederation. The high quality of the delegates to the convention was remarkable. As Thomas Jefferson in Paris wrote to John Adams in London, "It really is an assembly of demigods." According to one view, the Framers embraced ambiguity in the constitutional text, since it allows for compromise and cooperation about broad concepts rather than specific circumstances.[22]
Delegates used two streams of intellectual tradition, and any one delegate could be found using both or a mixture depending on the subject under discussion: foreign affairs, the economy, national government, or federal relationships among the states. The Virginia Plan recommended a consolidated national government, generally favoring the most highly populated states. It used the philosophy of John Locke to rely on consent of the governed, Montesquieu for divided government, and Edward Coke to emphasize civil liberties. The New Jersey Plan generally favored the less-populated states, using the philosophy of English Whigs such as Edmund Burke to rely on received procedure and William Blackstone to emphasize sovereignty of the legislature.