28 PART oNE • THE AmERiCAN sYsTEm
Unicameral Legislature
A legislature with only
one legislative chamber,
as opposed to a bicameral
(two-chamber) legislature,
such as the U.S. Congress.
Today, Nebraska is the only
state in the Union with a
unicameral legislature.
Confederation
A political system in
which states or regional
governments retain
ultimate authority except
for those powers they
expressly delegate to a
central government.
State
A group of people
occupying a specific area
and organized under
one government. It may
be either a nation or a
subunit of a nation.independence of the United States in the Treaty of Paris, George Washington disbanded
the army. During these years of military struggles, the states faced the additional challenge
of creating a system of self-government for an independent United States.
Some colonists in the middle and lower South had demanded that independence
be preceded by the formation of a strong central government. But the anti-Royalists in
New England and Virginia, who called themselves Republicans (not to be confused with
today’s Republican Party), were against a strong central government. They opposed mon-
archy, executive authority, and virtually any form of restraint on the power of local groups.
These Republicans were a major political force from 1776 to 1780. Indeed, they almost
prevented victory over the British by their unwillingness to cooperate with any central
authority.
During this time, all of the states adopted written constitutions. Eleven of the con-
stitutions were completely new. Two of them—those of Connecticut and Rhode Island—
were old royal charters with minor modifications. Republican sentiment led to increased
power for the state legislatures. In Georgia and Pennsylvania, unicameral (one-body)
legislatures were unchecked by executive or judicial authority. In almost all states, the
legislature was predominant.The Articles of Confederation:
our First Form of Government
The fear of a powerful central government led to the passage of the Articles of
Confederation, which created a weak central government. The term confederation is
important. It means a voluntary association of independent states, in which the member
states agree to only limited restraints on their freedom of action. As a result, confedera-
tions seldom have an effective executive authority.
In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress began the process of composing
what would become the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, more commonly
known as the Articles of Confederation. The final draft was completed by November 15,
1777, but not until March 1, 1781, did the last state, Maryland, agree to ratify the Articles.
Well before the final ratification, however, many of the articles were implemented—the
Continental Congress and the thirteen states conducted American military, economic, and
political affairs according to the standards and the form specified by the Articles.^7The Articles Establish a Government. Under the Articles, the thirteen original colo-
nies, now states, established on March 1, 1781, a government of the states—the Congress
of the Confederation. The congress was a unicameral assembly of so-called ambassadors
from each state, with every state possessing a single vote. Each year, the congress would
choose one of its members as its president of the congress, but the Articles did not provide
for a president of the United States.
The congress was authorized in Article X to appoint an executive committee of the
states “to execute in the recess of Congress, such of the powers of Congress as the
United States, in Congress assembled, by the consent of nine [of the thirteen] states, shall
from time to time think expedient to vest with them.” The congress was also allowed to
appoint other committees and civil officers necessary for managing the general affairs of
the United States. In addition, the congress could regulate foreign affairs and establish- Keith L. Dougherty, Collective Action under the Articles of Confederation (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2006).
www
Helpful Web Sites
Several universities
offer collections of
documents relevant to
the Constitution, plus
commentary. For example,
you might try entering “us
constitution emory” or “us
constitutional cornell” into
your favorite search engine.
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