Who wrote the Arcticles of Confederation?

Question

I want NAMES of the main people/person and what they did EXACTLY..

Answer 1

The main person responsible for drafting the "Articles of Confederation" was John Dickinson. He drafted the document as head of a committee charged with this task in June 1776 at the same time Jefferson, as head of another committee, was drafting a formal "Declaration of Independence". As you can see from the actions of the Declaration committee, the chairman typically would draft the basic document , and others on the committee would review and suggest edits. Thus Dickinson was the principle author; it is unclear what contributions the others committe members made.

But also note that the Second Continental Congress heavily revised the draft before the document reached its final form on November 15, 1777.

An overview of events from the earliest attempts to draft such Articles:

"The impetus for an effective central government lay in wartime urgency, the need for foreign recognition and aid, and the growth of national feeling. Altogether six drafts of the Articles were prepared before Congress settled on a final version in 1777. Benjamin Franklin wrote the first and presented it to Congress in July 1775. It was never formally considered. Later in the year Silas Deane, a delegate from Connecticut, offered one of his own, which was followed still later by a draft from the Connecticut delegation, probably a revision of Deane's.

"None of these drafts contributed significantly to the fourth version written by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania [later of Delaware], the text that after much revision provided the basis for the Articles approved by Congress. Dickinson prepared his draft in June 1776; it was revised by a committee of Congress and discussed in late July and August. The result, the third version of Dickinson's original, was printed to enable Congress to consider it further. In November 1777 the final Articles, much altered by this long deliberative process, were approved for submission to the states."
http://www.barefootsworld.net/aoc1777.html

draft articles from June 1776:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(dg004185))

other members of the first committee under Dickinson -- Josiah Barlett, Roger Sherman

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/articles/terms.html
http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/d/ed_dickinsonJ.htm
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html

Answer 2

John Dickinson, the chief author of the Articles of Confederation, said in 1787, Experience must be our only guide; reason may mislead us.


The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. It was written in summer 1776 and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, after a year of debate. In practice it served as the de facto system of government used by the Congress ("the United States in Congress assembled") until it became de jure by final ratification on March 1, 1781. At that point Congress became Congress of the Confederation. The Articles set the rules for operations of the United States. The confederation was capable of making war, negotiating diplomatic agreements, and resolving issues regarding the western territories, and the ability to print money and borrow inside and outside the US. One major weakness was it lacked taxing authority. A second weakness was one-state, one-vote. The larger states were expected to contribute more but had only one vote. As Benjamin Franklin complained, "Let the smaller Colonies give equal money and men, and then have an equal vote. But if they have an equal vote without bearing equal burthens, a confederation upon such iniquitous principles will never last long."[1] It was initially intended only as a weak national government designed to manage an emergency, and as such, following the conclusion of the War and the onset of new priorities, its many conspicuous inadequacies became glaringly obvious. It was replaced by the much stronger United States Constitution upon its ratification on June 21, 1788.

Answer 3

as a lot as i imagine you try to get out of doing all of your own homework in this one, i am going to respond to. less than the Articles of Confederation there develop into only about no Federal authorities. What did exist of the Federal Gov't develop into very weak and lacked many powers that it necessary to exist and keep the states together.

Answer 4

Jefferson wrote a lot, along with the continental congress.

Answer 5

john dickinson