Articles of Confederation Essay

The Articles of Confederation became officially effective on March 1st, 1781. At this point, the congress became the Congress of the Confederation. The articles largely supported the organization of the Continental Army and allowed the 13 states to unify in the battle against the British. The articles consisted of an introduction, 13 articles, and a signatory section.

While many view the articles as a failure, it without a doubt took some actions that have had a lasting impact on the states. The articles were our first Constitution, and at least allowed us to see our mistakes so we could understand what was needed to be done in order to fix them. The Land Ordinance of 1785 helped us expand our territory west of the original colonies and also helped us establish a way of funding public schools. It also allowed congress a way of gaining revenue seeing they were not given the power of direct taxation, they could sell these townships. The Northwest Ordinance created the Northwest Territory, which was established as our first organized territory. It consisted of the land south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River.

While it may of helped establish a few ordinances that have had a lasting impact on the states,