Articles of Confederation and Related Topics

Constitutional Convention (United States)

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The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787.

James Madison, the author of the Virginia Plan

Edmund Randolph, the Governor of Virginia, introduced the Virginia Plan

James Wilson's ideas shaped the American presidency more than any other delegate

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy (1940)

U.S. Postage, Issue of 1937, depicting Delegates at the signing of the Constitution, engraving after a painting by Junius Brutus Stearns

Quaker John Dickinson argued forcefully against slavery during the convention. Once Delaware's largest slaveholder, he had freed all of his slaves by 1787.

Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, the intention from the outset of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, was to create a new Frame of Government rather than fix the existing one.

Page one of the officially engrossed copy of the Constitution signed by delegates. A print run of 500 copies of the final version preceded this copy.

Constitution of the United States

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Supreme law of the United States of America.

Signing of the Constitution, September 17, 1787 (1940 by Howard Chandler Christy)

Dates the 13 states ratified the Constitution

Closing endorsement section of the United States Constitution

United States Bill of Rights
Currently housed in the National Archives.

Salmon P. Chase {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Chase Court, 1864–1873, in 1865 were Salmon P. Chase (chief Justice); Hon. Nathan Clifford, Maine; Stephen J. Field, Justice Supreme Court, U.S.; Hon. Samuel F. Miller, U.S. Supreme Court; Hon. Noah H. Swayne, Justice Supreme Court, U.S.; Judge Morrison R. Waite}}

William Howard Taft {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Taft Court, 1921–1930, in 1925 were James Clark McReynolds, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., William Howard Taft (chief justice), Willis Van Devanter, Louis Brandeis. Edward Sanford, George Sutherland, Pierce Butler, Harlan Fiske Stone}}

Earl Warren {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Warren Court, 1953–1969, in 1963 were Felix Frankfurter; Hugo Black; Earl Warren (chief justice); Stanley Reed; William O. Douglas. Tom Clark; Robert H. Jackson; Harold Burton; Sherman Minton}}

William Rehnquist {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Rehnquist Court, 1986–2005.}}

It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution.

United States Declaration of Independence

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Pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776.

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration, as painted by Rembrandt Peale

The 13 states at the Declaration of Independence

The Assembly Room in Philadelphia's Independence Hall, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence

Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776, an idealized depiction of Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson working on the Declaration was widely reprinted (by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1900).

Portable writing desk that Jefferson used to draft and finalize the Declaration of Independence

"Declaration House", the reconstructed boarding house at Market and S. 7th Street in Philadelphia, where Jefferson wrote the Declaration

The opening of the original printing of the Declaration, printed on July 4, 1776, under Jefferson's supervision. The engrossed copy was made later (shown at the top of this article). The opening lines differ between the two versions.

English political philosopher John Locke (1632–1704)

The signed copy of the Declaration is now badly faded because of poor preserving practices in the 19th century. It is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The Syng inkstand, which was used at both the 1776 signing of the Declaration and the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution, is on display in Philadelphia

On July 4, 1776, Continental Congress President John Hancock's signature authenticated the United States Declaration of Independence.

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel's painting Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, N.Y.C., ca. 1859, depicts citizens destroying a statue of King George after the Declaration was read in New York City on July 9, 1776.

William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence, manumitted his slave, believing that he could not both fight for liberty and own slaves.

The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives building

John Trumbull's famous 1818 painting is often identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration, but it actually shows the drafting committee presenting its work to the Congress.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her two sons (1848)

John Dickinson made one last effort to delay the decision, arguing that Congress should not declare independence without first securing a foreign alliance and finalizing the Articles of Confederation.

1876 Currier & Ives printing of Washington being promoted to commanding general

Second Continental Congress

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Meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America that united in the American Revolutionary War.

John Trumbull's 1819 painting, Declaration of Independence, depicting the five-man drafting committee presenting the Declaration of Independence to Congress

South facade of Independence Hall (formerly the Pennsylvania Statehouse), Philadelphia, principal meeting site of the Second Continental Congress

1977 13-cent U.S. Postage stamp commemorating the Articles of Confederation bicentennial; the draft was completed in York (formerly York Town), Pennsylvania on November 15, 1777

A five-dollar banknote issued by the Second Continental Congress in 1775.

During this period, its achievements included: Successfully managing the war effort; drafting the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first U.S. constitution; securing diplomatic recognition and support from foreign nations; and resolving state land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Portrait based on the unfinished Athenaeum Portrait by Gilbert Stuart, 1796

George Washington

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American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797.

Ferry Farm, the residence of the Washington family on the Rappahannock River

Lieutenant Colonel Washington holds night council at Fort Necessity

Washington the Soldier: Lieutenant Colonel Washington on horseback during the Battle of the Monongahela (oil, Reǵnier, 1834)

Colonel George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, 1772

Martha Washington based on a 1757 portrait by John Wollaston

General Washington, Commander of the Continental Army by Charles Willson Peale (1776)

Washington taking command of the Continental Army, just before the siege.

Battle of Long Island
Alonzo Chappel (1858)

Washington Crossing the Delaware, Emanuel Leutze (1851)

The Passage of the Delaware, by Thomas Sully, 1819 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776
by John Trumbull

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, by John Ward Dunsmore (1907)

Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth, Emanuel Leutze (1851–1854)

An engraving of Washington, likely made after his tenure in the army.

French King Louis XVI allied with Washington and Patriot American colonists

Siege of Yorktown, Generals Washington and Rochambeau give last orders before the attack

General George Washington Resigning His Commission, by John Trumbull, 1824

Shays' Rebellion confirmed for Washington the need to overhaul the Articles of Confederation.

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States by Howard Chandler Christy, 1940. Washington is the presiding officer standing at right.

President George Washington, Gilbert Stuart (1795)

The President's House in Philadelphia was Washington's residence from 1790 to 1797

Seneca chief Red Jacket was Washington's peace emissary with the Northwestern Confederacy.

Battle of Fallen Timbers by R. F. Zogbaum, 1896. The Ohio Country was ceded to America in its aftermath.

USS Constitution: Commissioned and named by President Washington in 1794

Washington's Farewell Address (September 19, 1796)

Washington on his Deathbed
Junius Brutus Stearns 1799

Miniature of George Washington by Robert Field (1800)

The sarcophagi of George (right) and Martha Washington at the present tomb's entrance

The Washington Family by Edward Savage (c. 1789–1796) George and Martha Washington with her grandchildren. National Art Gallery

George Washington's bookplate with the Coat of arms of the Washington family

George Washington as Master of his Lodge, 1793

Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon
Junius Brutus Stearns, 1851

Runaway advertisement for Oney Judge, enslaved servant in Washington's presidential household

In 1794, Washington privately expressed to Tobias Lear, his secretary, that he found slavery to be repugnant.

Washington, the Constable by Gilbert Stuart (1797)

A drawing from a Japanese manuscript of Washington fighting a tiger.

George Washington Presidential one-dollar coin

On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation, but the government that took effect on March2 did not have the power to levy taxes, and it loosely held the states together.

John Adams

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American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801.

Adams's birthplace now in Quincy, Massachusetts

Boston Massacre of 1770 by Alonzo Chappel

John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence depicts the Committee of Five presenting its draft to Congress. Adams is depicted in the center with his hand on his hip.

Adams frequently clashed with Benjamin Franklin over how to manage French relations.

Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West (Adams in front).

Portrait of Adams by John Trumbull, 1793

Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1795. Washington rarely consulted Vice President Adams, who often felt marginalized and overshadowed by Washington's prestige.

President's House, Philadelphia. Adams occupied this Philadelphia mansion from March 1797 to May 1800.

A political cartoon depicts the XYZ Affair – America is a female being plundered by Frenchmen. (1798)

Thomas Jefferson, Adams's vice president, attempted to undermine many of his actions as president and eventually defeated him for reelection.

Alexander Hamilton's desire for high military rank and his push for war with France put him into conflict with Adams.

John Marshall, 4th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and one of Adams's few dependable allies

John Adams, c. 1816, by Samuel Morse (Brooklyn Museum)

Tombs of John and Abigail Adams (far) and John Quincy and Louisa Adams (near), in family crypt at United First Parish Church

John Adams by Gilbert Stuart (1823). This portrait was the last made of Adams, done at the request of John Quincy.

While in London, Adams learned of a convention being planned to amend the Articles of Confederation.

President of the United States

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Head of state and head of government of the United States of America.

George Washington, the first president of the United States

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers a radio address, 1933

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King Jr. and others look on

President Donald Trump delivers his 2018 State of the Union Address, with Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Gorbachev sign the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord in the White House.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, successfully preserved the Union during the American Civil War.

President Barack Obama with his Supreme Court appointee Justice Sotomayor, 2009

President Ronald Reagan reviews honor guards during a state visit to China, 1984

President Woodrow Wilson throws out the ceremonial first ball on Opening Day, 1916

President Jimmy Carter (left) debates Republican nominee Ronald Reagan on October 28, 1980.

Map of the United States showing the number of electoral votes allocated following the 2010 census to each state and the District of Columbia for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections; it also notes that Maine and Nebraska distribute electors by way of the congressional district method. 270 electoral votes are required for a majority out of 538 votes possible.

Franklin D. Roosevelt won a record four presidential elections (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944), leading to the adoption of a two-term limit.

President William McKinley and his successor, Theodore Roosevelt

President Reagan surrounded by Secret Service

From left: George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. Photo taken in the Oval Office on January 7, 2009; Obama formally took office thirteen days later.

Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, 2013

The presidential limousine, dubbed "The Beast"

The presidential plane, called Air Force One when the president is on board

Marine One helicopter, when the president is aboard

Congress finished work on the Articles of Confederation to establish a perpetual union between the states in November 1777 and sent it to the states for ratification.

An artist's depiction of the rebellion: Shays' troops repulsed from the armory at Springfield, Massachusetts in early 1787

Shays' Rebellion

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Armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades.

Populist Governor John Hancock refused to crack down on tax delinquencies and accepted devalued paper currency for debts.

Artist's depiction of protesters watching a debtor in a scuffle with a tax collector by the courthouse at Springfield, Massachusetts. The insurrection was a tax-related rebellion.

Governor James Bowdoin instituted a heavy tax burden and stepped up a collection of back taxes.

Militia general William Shepard defended the Springfield Armory against rebel action.

General Benjamin Lincoln, portrait by Henry Sargent

This monument marks the spot of the final battle of Shays' Rebellion in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

The 1787 Constitutional Convention by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1856

Elbridge Gerry (1861 portrait by James Bogle) opposed the Constitution as drafted, although his reasons for doing so were not strongly influenced by the rebellion.

The widely held view was that the Articles of Confederation needed to be reformed as the country's governing document, and the events of the rebellion served as a catalyst for the Constitutional Convention and the creation of the new government.

Continental Congress

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Series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War.

In March 1781, the nation's first Frame of Government, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, came into force, at which time the body became what later was called the Congress of the Confederation.

Benjamin Franklin

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American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General.